Year End Payroll Obligations In Canada. What Has To Be Filed And When
Canadian year end payroll is not a single task. It is a series of filing obligations with strict deadlines, and the consequences of missing them are immediate.
If you employ anyone in Canada, whether through your own entity, payroll, or through an EOR, these obligations apply.
Here is exactly what needs to happen and when.
T4 Slips
- A T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid, must be issued to every employee who was paid during the calendar year.
- The T4 reports total employment income, CPP contributions, EI premiums, income tax deducted, RRSP contributions, taxable benefits, and any other reportable amounts.
- T4 slips must be provided to employees and filed with the CRA by the last day of February following the calendar year.
- T4 slips are filed electronically through the CRA’s Web Forms or Internet file transfer.
T4 Summary
- The T4 Summary accompanies the T4 slips and reconciles total payroll for the year.
- It reports total employment income paid, total CPP contributions (employee and employer), total EI premiums (employee and employer), total income tax deducted, and any differences between amounts remitted and amounts reported.
- Filed with the CRA alongside the T4 slips by the same February deadline.
- Any discrepancy between your remittances throughout the year and the amounts on the T4 Summary must be resolved – either through an additional payment or a request for refund.
Relevé 1 (RL-1) - Québec Employees
- Employees who worked in Québec receive a Relevé 1 in addition to their T4.
- The RL-1 reports Québec specific information: QPP contributions, QPIP premiums, Québec provincial income tax, and Québec specific taxable benefits.
- Filed with Revenu Québec (not the CRA) by the last day of February.
- RL-1 requirements are distinct from T4 requirements. The two are not interchangeable.
Records Of Employment (ROE)
- An ROE must be filed with Service Canada any time an employee has an interruption of earnings including termination, resignation, layoff, or leave of absence.
- ROEs are filed throughout the year, not just at year end. However, year end is a common time for reconciliation and catch up.
- Must be filed electronically within five calendar days of the end of the pay period in which the interruption occurs.
- Failure to file an ROE on time can delay the employee’s access to EI Benefits and result in penalties for the employer.
Other Year End Obligations
- T2200 Declaration Of Conditions Of Employment – Required for employees claiming home office expenses supporting eligable home office expense claims.
- T4A Slips – Required for certain types of non-employment payments such as pension benefits, lump sum payments, or self employed commissions.
- Workers’ Compensation Annual Reporting – Most provincial WCB/WSIB boards require an annual reconciliation of insurable earnings and premium payments.
- Group Benefits Reconciliation – Year end is the time to reconcile taxable benefit values and ensure they are correctly reported. Employer paid private health services plan premiums are generally not taxable federally, but Québec and plan structure may affect treatment.
How We Handle It
We prepare and file T4 slips, T4 Summaries, and Relevé 1 slips for every employee.
ROE’s are filed throughout the year as interruptions occur. T2200 declarations are prepared where applicable. Workers’ compensation annual reporting is reconciled. You receive a year end summary for your records.
The CRA and Revenu Québec get what they need, on time and accurately.
Need Year End Payroll Handled For You?
Book a call.
We manage every filing obligation so you never miss a deadline.