What Is a T4A Slip? Boxes, RESP Payments, and Penalties

A T4A slip is a Canadian tax information slip that reports income you received outside of a regular employer-employee paycheck — pension and superannuation payments, self-employed commissions, scholarships and bursaries, RESP distributions, annuities, lump-sum pension payouts, and certain other taxable amounts. The payer sends a copy to you and to the Canada Revenue Agency, and each numbered box on the slip corresponds to a specific line on your T1 return. Payers generally must issue a T4A when total payments to you exceed $500 in the calendar year, or whenever any tax was withheld regardless of the amount.¹

How the T4A Differs From a T4, T4RIF, or NR4

A T4 reports employment income — salary, wages, and payroll deductions from your employer. The T4A picks up the categories of taxable income that fall outside that employer-employee relationship.

Regular withdrawals from a Registered Retirement Income Fund don’t appear on a T4A. Those go on a T4RIF. The T4A only enters the picture for RRIF-related money when you receive annuity payments purchased with RRIF proceeds, which show up in Box 024.¹

If you’re a non-resident of Canada, you won’t receive a T4A on pension or annuity income. You get an NR4 instead. Payers must issue an NR4 whenever at least $50 is paid or credited, or whenever Part XIII withholding tax was deducted regardless of the amount.² The default Part XIII rate is 25%, though a tax treaty between Canada and your country of residence often reduces it.³

When You Should Receive Your T4A

Payers must deliver your T4A by the last day of February following the calendar year of payment.¹ That gives you roughly two months before the April 30 T1 filing deadline. Self-employed individuals have until June 15 to file, though any tax owing is still due April 30.⁴

What Each Box Means and Where It Goes

The T4A is really a container for several different income types, each with its own tax treatment. The box number tells you what kind of income it is and drives where it lands on your return.

Box 016 — Pension and Superannuation

This is the taxable portion of periodic payments from a registered pension plan, whether you’re the retired employee, a surviving spouse, or another beneficiary.¹ The amount goes on Line 11500 of your T1.⁵ If you’re 65 or older, or if you received the pension because your spouse or common-law partner died, this income may qualify for the pension income amount at Line 31400 and for pension income splitting.⁶

Box 018 — Lump-Sum Payments

One-time payments from a pension fund or plan, typically from a withdrawal, retirement, death of a plan member, or a plan termination or amendment.¹ Tax is generally withheld before the money reaches you.

Box 020 — Self-Employed Commissions

Commissions and fees paid to you as an independent contractor rather than an employee.¹⁷⁸ Box 020 income also triggers CPP contributions on the self-employed schedule, covered further down.

Box 022 — Income Tax Deducted

Not an income type — this is tax already withheld by the payer. Claim it as a credit at Line 43700 to reduce what you owe or increase your refund.⁹ The CRA won’t always flag a missed credit for you, so double-check that this number moves onto your return.

Box 024 — Annuity Payments

Life annuities purchased with RRIF or life income fund proceeds, advanced life deferred annuities, income-averaging annuity contracts, and deferred profit sharing plan instalments.¹ Only the taxable portion appears; any return-of-capital component is excluded. Box 024 amounts go on Line 11500 when you’re 65 or older at year-end or received the annuity because your spouse or common-law partner died.⁵

Box 028 — Other Income

A catch-all for taxable payments that don’t fit elsewhere, such as certain government grants or benefits paid to former employees. When a payer combines multiple payment types in Box 028, they should give you a breakdown so you can apply the right treatment to each.⁶

Box 105 — Scholarships, Bursaries, and Fellowships

Box 105 shows the total amount paid, not the taxable amount. You calculate the taxable portion yourself. A full-time qualifying student can generally exempt the entire scholarship related to their program. A part-time qualifying student can exempt an amount equal to their tuition plus program-related material costs. If you weren’t enrolled, only the first $500 is exempt.¹⁰ The taxable remainder goes on Line 13010. If everything is exempt, enter zero.

Box 106 — Death Benefits

When an employer pays a death benefit to the estate or a beneficiary of a deceased employee, the first $10,000 across all recipients and all years is tax-free. Only amounts above that threshold are reported as income. The Canada Pension Plan death benefit is a separate payment and does not qualify for this exemption.¹¹

RESP Payments: Two Very Different Boxes

Registered Education Savings Plan distributions have their own boxes, and the treatment depends on who receives the money.

Educational Assistance Payments (Box 042) go to the student beneficiary. They include investment earnings, the Canada Education Savings Grant, and the Canada Learning Bond. The student reports these on their own return, which usually means little or no tax if they have low other income.¹²

Accumulated Income Payments (Box 040) usually go to the subscriber when the beneficiary doesn’t pursue post-secondary education. These get hit twice. They’re included in your regular income, and you owe an additional 20% tax on top (12% for Quebec residents), calculated on Form T1172.¹² The extra 20% is the surprise many subscribers don’t see coming.

CPP Contributions on Box 020 Income

Freelancers who receive Box 020 payments pay both halves of CPP, because there’s no employer to split it with. For 2026, the combined self-employed rate is 11.90% on net earnings up to $74,600 (after the basic exemption), with a maximum contribution of $8,460.90.¹³

A second-tier contribution (CPP2) then applies to earnings between $74,600 and $85,000, at a combined self-employed rate of 8% for 2026 and a maximum of $832.¹⁴ Together, base CPP and CPP2 can add up to $9,292.90 on top of your income tax. Everything gets calculated on Schedule 8 with your T1. Half of your total self-employed CPP is deductible from income; the other half generates a non-refundable credit.

Pension Income Splitting

If your T4A shows Box 016 pension income, you can elect to split up to 50% of it with your spouse or common-law partner regardless of their age. Box 024 annuity and RRIF-purchased annuity amounts also qualify, but only if you’re 65 or older at year-end or received them because your spouse or common-law partner died. You both complete Form T1032 and file it with your returns.¹⁵

Old Age Security payments, Canada Pension Plan benefits, and foreign pension income exempt under a tax treaty do not qualify for splitting.¹⁵

What to Do If Your T4A Is Missing, Late, or Wrong

If the slip hasn’t arrived by early March, contact the payer. Pension administrators and business clients can issue a duplicate or confirm what they reported to the CRA.

If April is approaching and the slip still hasn’t come, file on time using your best estimate from bank statements, payment records, or contract terms. A late return with perfect numbers costs more than an on-time return with a reasonable estimate. Add a note explaining that the figures come from available records because the slip was not received.

When you spot an error on a slip you did receive, ask the payer to issue an amended T4A. They send the corrected version to you and to the CRA. If you already filed with the wrong figure, submit a T1 Adjustment Request (Form T1-ADJ) once you have the amended slip.¹⁶ Online adjustments through My Account typically process in about two weeks; mail requests take several weeks longer.

The reporting obligation sits with you, not the payer. If they never correct their mistake, you still need the right number on your return. Waiting indefinitely for a corrected slip doesn’t shield you from penalties on unreported income.

Penalties for Not Reporting

Filing late when you owe tax triggers a penalty of 5% of the balance owing, plus 1% for each full month the return is late, up to 12 months.¹⁷ That 5% applies immediately, so a single day late is expensive.

Repeated failure to report is treated more harshly. If you omit $500 or more on your 2025 return and also failed to report income in any of the three preceding years, the penalty is the lesser of 10% of the unreported amount (federal and provincial combined) or 50% of the difference between the understated tax and any tax already withheld on that income.¹⁸ Because payers send their T4A copies to the CRA, the matching system usually catches unreported amounts within a year or two.

1
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). T4A Slip – Information for Payers
2
Canada.ca. NR4 – Non-Resident Tax Withholding, Remitting, and Reporting
3
Canada.ca. Rates for Part XIII Tax
4
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Due Dates and Payment Dates – Personal Income Tax
5
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Line 11500 – Other Pensions and Superannuation
6
Canada Revenue Agency. T4A Slip – Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income
7
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Completing Form T2125
8
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Lines 13499 to 14300 – Self-Employment Income
9
Canada Revenue Agency. Line 43700 – Total Income Tax Deducted
10
Government of Canada. Line 13010 – Taxable Scholarships, Fellowships, Bursaries, and Artists’ Project Grants
11
Government of Canada. Death Benefits – Prepare Tax Returns for Someone Who Died
12
Government of Canada. Registered Education Savings Plans Payments, Transferring and Rolling Over
13
Canada.ca. CPP Contribution Rates, Maximums and Exemptions
14
Canada.ca. Second Additional CPP (CPP2) Contribution Rates and Maximums
15
Canada.ca. Pension Income Splitting
16
Government of Canada. Changing a Tax Return – Personal Income Tax
17
Government of Canada. Interest and Penalties on Late Taxes – Personal Income Tax
18
Canada.ca. False Reporting or Repeated Failure to Report Income