Canadian Payroll Guide

Employee Tax Slips

Save yourself some time and avoid headaches during your year-end tax season. Our handy employee tax slip guides, FAQs, and year-end resources have everything you need for a smooth end to the year.

Tax Slip Guides for Employees

Our interactive and downloadable tax slip guides are the most accessed resources we provide for Canadian Payroll Year-End. You’ll find a bilingual guide to T4 tax slips, a T4A tax slip guide and the Relevé RL-1 tax slip guide (English only) for employees in Québec.

Additional Resources

We’re here to help make your year-end prep go as smoothly as possible. To help you get across the finish line, we’ve created an easy-to-use year-end toolkit and other helpful resources.

Employee Tax Slip FAQ for Payroll Year-End

Sometimes internal communications get missed. If your employees don’t receive or see your communications regarding 2023 tax slip information or what they can expect from their first pay of 2024, we’ve put together a comprehensive FAQ of the most common questions employees ask their payroll team.

1. Why do I have two T4 Slips?

If you have received more than one T4 from us, there are a few possible reasons:

  • You worked at different locations and/or different divisions of the company which required us to produce a T4 for each business number you worked in
  • You worked or earned income in different ways, for example, you were on contract for a period of time and then gained full-time employment with us
  • You worked for the company in two different provinces during the year

If any of these apply, and you received the two slips together, make sure you include both slips in your tax return.

2. What is box 40 on my T4?

Box 40 includes Taxable Benefits you’ve received in the year as well as earnings and allowances. The company pays Taxable Benefits on your behalf and may include life insurance, wellness spending accounts, flat-rate car/cell phone allowances, etc.

Taxable Benefits are identified as such on your pay statements. When you add up the items identified as Taxable Benefits on your pay statements, you should arrive at the total in box 40. If your total is not the same as box 40, please contact your payroll team or manager.

For more information on how taxable benefits and allowances appear on your T4, go to the CRA’s Benefits and Allowances Chart.

3. Why does my income in box 14 on my T4 seem high?

Box 14 includes your gross income and taxable benefits in box 40. The amount shown in box 40 should be added to your gross year-to-date income from your final pay statement in December. The total should equal the amount shown in box 14. If this is not the case, please contact your payroll team or manager.

2023 may have included an extra pay period if you are paid bi-weekly or weekly, so the amount in box 14 may be slightly higher than you expected.

4. Why does my income in box 14 on my T4 seem low?

You may have received two or more T4s. The amount shown in box 14 in each T4 should be totalled and equal to your final December pay statement's year-to-date earnings, plus the total of taxable benefits recorded in box 40 of each T4. If this is not the case, please contact your payroll team or manager.

For more information on how taxable benefits and allowances appear on your T4 see the Benefits and Allowances Chart.

5. What is the difference between a T4 and a T4A?

The Canada Revenue Agency requires that different tax slips be used to report specific types of income.

6. What’s the difference between an RL-1 and RL-2?

Revenu Québec has different tax slips to report specific types of income.

  • RL-1s are issued to report employment income, commissions, gratuities, scholarships, and fees
  • RL-2s are issued to report retirement and annuity income such as retirement benefits, retirement annuities, RRSPs, RRIFs, and other income as defined by RQ
7.  How can I get a reprint of my tax slip if I lose it?

You can print as many copies of your tax slips from the Avanti Self-Service Portal, if available. You can also access them from your personal CRA or RQ account; they’ll be available once they’ve had a chance to process the slips.

Otherwise, please contact your payroll team or manager and request another copy.

8.  Do I need to print my online tax slips?

If you are filing your taxes electronically, printing the slip is entirely optional since you aren’t required to mail copies to the CRA or RQ. You can always have access to the slips through your Avanti Self-Service Portal should you need them now or in the future.

9. Will the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec (RQ) accept a self-printed/online tax slip?

The CRA gladly accepts self-printed tax slips from our employee self-service portal. The form generated matches all CRA specifications. If you’re filing electronically, there’s no need to print your tax slips since you aren’t required to mail copies to the CRA or RQ.

10. Why can’t I find my 2023 T2200S?

The simplified T2200S, Declaration of Conditions of Employment for Working at Home Due to COVID-19, is no longer in effect for the 2023 tax year. If you worked from home or incurred any other employment-related expenses during 2023, your payroll team may provide you with a standard T2200.

11. What if there is a mistake on my tax slip?

If there’s an error on your tax slip, please contact your payroll team or manager.

12. How do I change my tax claim amounts or have additional taxes deducted from my 2024 pay?

You will need to complete a new Provincial and Federal TD1 for 2024, indicating the additional amount you’d like deducted. You can access the new TD1s through the CRA website. Once completed, please submit your TD1 forms to your payroll team.

13. Why are over half of my tax slip boxes empty?

Only the tax boxes relevant to you will be completed. But if you feel there is a box that should have a value in it please contact your payroll team.

14. Why is my income in box 14 greater than the CPP pensionable and EI insurable earnings? (i.e. amount in box more than box 24 and 26)

Box 24 for EI insurable earnings has a maximum of $61,500 and box 26 for CPP pensionable earnings has a maximum of $66,600, while QPP pensionable earnings has a maximum of $66,600. If your income is higher than those amounts, box 14 will be larger than boxes 24 and 26.

Additionally, while most earnings and taxable benefits are EI Insurable, the ones that aren’t will not be added to box 24.

15. Who should I contact if I have a question?

If you have additional questions or concerns, please contact your Payroll team or manager. To facilitate a response to your query, please have your tax slips, as well as your final December 2023 pay stub available.

16.  I need help filing my tax return.

The Canada Revenue Agency, a professional tax filing service, or an accountant can help you if you’re having a tough time filing your income tax return.

If you are a student, senior, person with a disability, a newcomer to Canada, or a low-income earner with a simple tax-filing situation, contact Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP) at 1-800-959-8281 to ask for help. CVITP volunteers work with members of local community organizations who can help you complete and file your return.

Frequently Asked Questions from employees 2024 first pay period

1. Why is my paycheque less in January than it was in December?

Check your December 2023 pay statement to see if you maxed out on your CPP and EI contributions in 2023. Remember that CPP and EI restart every January.

Additionally, CPP, QPP, EI, and QPIP have increased, which means more will be taken off each paycheque. The new employee annual maximum contributions for 2024 are:

  • CPP: $3,867.50
  • eCPP: $188
  • QPP: $4,160
  • eQPP: $188
  • EI: $1,049.12
  • Québec EI: $834.24
  • QPIP: $464.36
2. I want to contribute to my RRSP in the first 60 days of the new year; what is the RRSP annual contribution limit for 2023?

The maximum RRSP annual contribution limit for 2023 is $30,780.

3. How much am I allowed to put into my TFSA during 2023?

The TFSA limit for 2024 is $7,000.

4. Will the minimum wage be changing in 2023, and if so, when and by how much?

Check out this guide to minimum wages and planned increases across Canada.

5. How do I prevent the additional tax from coming off my cheque this year?

When you complete your new Federal TD1, leave the Additional Tax to be deducted box blank, and Payroll will not deduct additional tax from your pay.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this guide is for informational purposes only. It is not professional financial or legal advice nor is it intended to be a substitute therefore. Where there are discrepancies between the guide and information provided by the federal government, provincial government, or the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) or Revenu Québec, defer to the guidelines provided by the governing agencies.
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