Prepare and submit T4 slips and T4 Summary in QuickBooks Online

T4 slips are used to report all income you paid your employees over the previous calendar year to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). We'll show you how to prepare and submit your slips.

• When you should file
• Tips for income reporting
• Review your company information
• Review your employee information
• Prepare T4 slips and year-end form
• Send T4 slips to your employees using Workforce
• Submit your employee's T4 slips and T4 Summary to the CRA
• Close of Business filing

When you should file

You'll need to fill out T4 slips for your employees if you:

• Paid an employee more than $500.
• Deducted Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions, Québec Pension Plan (QPP) contributions, Employment Insurance (EI) premiums, Provincial Parental Insurance Plan (PPIP) premiums (Québec), or income tax.

You'll need to provide your employees with a T4 slip for each province or territory they worked in for your company.

If you're not sure how to report a specific benefit or amount on the T4 slip, consult an accountant or the CRA.

Tips for income reporting

Types of income that need to be reported on T4 slips

• Salary, wages (including pay in lieu of termination notice), tips or gratuities, bonuses, vacation pay, employment commissions, gross and insurable earnings of self-employed fishers, and all other remuneration you paid to employees during the year (see Box 14 – Employment income for a detailed list)
• ​Taxable benefits or allowances
• Retiring allowances
• Deductions you withheld during the year
• Pension adjustment amounts for employees who accrued a benefit for the year under a registered pension plan (RPP) or deferred profit sharing plan (DPSP)

Note: Report income on a T4 slip for the year during the employee was paid, regardless of when the services are performed or if the employee is deceased. For example, if you pay your employee in January 2024 for income they earned in December 2023, report that income on their T4 slip for 2024, since that's the year it was paid.

Types of income that should not be reported on T4 slips

• Pensions, lump-sum payments, annuities, or other income (including amounts paid to a proprietor or partner of an unincorporated business).
• Fees (except for director fees), commissions, or other amounts to a nonresident for services rendered in Canada, other than employment situations.
• Amounts from a retirement compensation agreement.
• Amounts paid to subcontractors for goods and services rendered in connection with construction activities, when construction is the primary source of income for your business.

Review your company information

The first thing you must do to prepare T4s is to verify key company information.

1. Select Settings ⚙, then Payroll Settings (Take me there).
2. Select Federal Taxes on the Payroll Settings page.
3. Enter your CRA-assigned CRA Payroll Number and T4 Transmitter Number.
4. Select Save.

Review your employee information

Next, verify key employee information.

1. Navigate to Payroll and select Employees (Take me there).
2. Select an employee.
3. Select Edit ✏ to add or modify the following employee information:
   • Employee data
   • Employee benefit information
   • Payroll deductions
4. Select Save.

Prepare T4 slips and year-end form

1. Navigate to Taxes and select Payroll tax (Take me there).
2. Select the Filings tab.
3. Select Review for T4 Summary under Action needed to make sure the aggregated amounts are correct. Select Next to continue to the next screen.
   Note: This section opens on January 1st.
4. Under T4 Employer Slips, select Preview to make sure the amounts are correct and then download the XML file that needs to be uploaded to the CRA website. Select Next to continue to the next screen.
5. Under T4 Employee Slips, select Preview to save or print the employee copy of the T4 slips to send to employees. Select Record filing to continue to the next screen.
6. Under Send to Workforce, select the employees that you would like to send the T4s to through Workforce and select Submit.
7. Select Done to finish.

Give each of your employees their T4 slip in one of the following ways by the last day of February:

• One copy sent electronically, by secure email or Workforce employee portal. You must have the employee's consent, in writing or electronic format, to send T4 slips electronically
• Two copies delivered in person
• Two copies sent by mail to the employee's last known address

Send T4 slips to your employees using Workforce

Invite your employee to Workforce:

1. Navigate to Payroll, select Employees (Take me there), then select the employee you want to invite.
2. Select the Edit the Personal info widget.
3. Enter the employee's email address and select Save. Your employee will receive an invitation by email.

Once your employee accepts the invitation and logs into Workforce, they're ready to receive their T4 slip. For more information, review our support article Invite employees to access pay stubs and time sheets online.

If you didn't send the T4 to your employees while preparing the T4s and year-end forms, or need to resend the T4 slips, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to Taxes and select Payroll tax (Take me there).
2. Select the Filings tab, then scroll down to the Done section.
3. Select Send in the T4 Employee slips box.
4. Select the employees that you would like to send the T4s through Workforce and select Submit.

Submit your employee's T4 slips and T4 Summary to the CRA

Here's how to submit your employees's T4 slips and T4 Summary to the CRA:

1. After downloading the XML file in the steps above, navigate to the CRA Filing Information Returns Electronically page on the CRA website.
2. Select Internet file transfer. This is the only selection QuickBooks Online supports at this time.
3. Read through the Disclaimer and select I agree.
4. Enter the Account number without dashes or spaces, and the case-sensitive Web access code you received from the CRA.
5. Select Next.
6. Browse to find the T4 XML file on your computer and upload it to the CRA website.
7. Submit your return.

Note: The T4 XML file generated by QuickBooks Online includes your T4 slips as well as the T4 Summary.

It's a good idea to keep a record of the date and time the file was submitted.

Note: 

• If you are mailing your forms to the CRA instead of using the XML file generated by QuickBooks Online, you'll need to send printed versions of the T4 slips (employer) for all of your employees as well as the T4 Summary. You can find the T4 Summary form on the CRA website.
• Your T4 Summary must be filed with the CRA by the last day of February of the following year. If you miss the filing deadline you may be penalized by the CRA.
• If you file more than five T4 slips for a calendar year, they must be submitted electronically. For further details, visit Employers' Guide – Filing the T4 Slip and Summary on the CRA website.

Close of Business filing

When closing a business, you are required to file your T4 forms within 30 days of closing the business. The section COMING UP shows an accruing year where you can preview and print PDF forms for paper filing.

Follow the steps below to get the T4 documents required for your Close Of Business filings:

1. Navigate to Taxes, then select Payroll tax (Take me there).
2. Select the Filings tab, then navigate to the Coming up section.
3. Select Preview to view and print out the T4 Summary, T4 Employer and T4 Employee slips.
4. Paper file the required forms.