How to edit COVID-related boxes on the T4 slip in QuickBooks Desktop

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) introduced additional reporting for the statement of Remuneration Paid (T4 Slip) for the 2020 tax year.

The CRA added the following codes for reporting employment income and retroactive payments due to the COVID-19 pandemic: 57, 58, 59, and 60.

In addition to reporting employment income in Box 14 or Code 71, employers can use these new information codes when reporting employment income and retroactive payments in the following periods:

Code 57: Employment income – March 15 to May 9
Code 58: Employment income – May 10 to July 4
Code 59: Employment income – July 5 to August 29
Code 60: Employment income – August 30 to September 26

The eligibility criteria for the CERB, CEWS, and CESB is based on employment income for a defined period. The new requirement means employers should report income and any retroactive payments made during these periods. The period is the day employee was paid (paycheque date).

For example, when reporting employment income for the period of April 25 to May 8, payable on May 14, use code 58.

Review the CRA website for more information, or watch the video below to learn more.

• Autofill the new COVID-related boxes
• Edit the new boxes
• Get employment income for a specific period

Autofill the new COVID-related boxes

QuickBooks Desktop is able to autofill the T4 COVID-related boxes.

1. Make sure you are using the most recent version of QuickBooks Desktop.
2. Review the information on the T4 slip (COVID-related boxes 57, 58, 59, and 60) to confirm that autofill has been applied.
3. Review the date on the cheque to ensure autofill has been applied.
4. In any instances in which the amounts display differently in the boxes, ensure that the paycheque dates are accurate. An inaccurate date will impact which box a paycheque is allocated to.

Note: If the boxes are complete but the slip is not yet printed, the manually entered values will be overwritten with the QuickBooks-calculated values in the T4 Review dialogue.

Edit the new boxes

1. Select Employees, then select Payroll forms, then Process T4s.
2. Choose the employee and select Review.
3. Select the new COVID boxes requiring an update.
4. Enter a description and new amount.
5. Select OK.

Review our T4 and Releve-1 form article for more information on processing the T4 slip.

Get employment income for a specific period

1. Select Reports, then select Employees & Payroll, then PD7A report. The PD7A Summary displays.
2. Double-click the value of Gross Payroll for Period. A detailed report displays.
3. Change the date range to March 15 - May 9 and total by Payee. The employment income (gross income) for all employees displays.