T4A Slip Explained for Canadian Contractors (2026)

A T4A slip is the information slip a Canadian business files with the CRA, and sends to you, to report certain payments, most often fees for services in box 048 when a payer paid you more than $500 in the calendar year. For a contractor, the T4A is a cross-check, not a bill: you report all of your self-employment income on Form T2125 whether or not a slip arrives. For a payer, it is a February filing deadline with real admin behind it.

This guide explains the T4A from both sides: which boxes matter for contractors, when a business has to issue one, the e-filing rule that now applies to small payers, how to reconcile a slip against your invoices, and what to do when the figure looks wrong. It is general information, not tax advice; a Canadian accountant can confirm how it applies to your business.

What is a T4A slip?

T4A stands for Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income. Despite the name, it covers a wide range of payments, including pensions, scholarships, commissions to independent agents and fees for services. Each slip has a payer section, a recipient section and numbered boxes. The payer files a T4A Summary with all slips issued for the year.

For freelancers and contractors, three boxes matter most:

Box	What it reports	What the contractor does with it
048 Fees for services	Fees paid for services, excluding GST/HST and PST	Include in gross business income on T2125
020 Self-employed commissions	Commissions paid to independent agents, excluding sales tax	Include in business income on T2125
022 Income tax deducted	Tax the payer withheld, if any	Claim as tax deducted on your return
012 / 013	Recipient's SIN / business number	Check it matches your records
028 Other income (code)	Amounts not covered by other boxes	Depends on the payment type

The box definitions are in the CRA's page on filling out the T4A slip.

When does a business have to issue a T4A?

Under the CRA's administrative policy, a payer must prepare a T4A for a recipient if income tax was deducted from any payment, or if the total of payments reported on the slip for the calendar year was more than $500. For box 048, the $500 test is applied to fees for services paid during the year, excluding sales tax.

Two points cause confusion:

• Paid, not invoiced. The slip covers payments made in the calendar year. An invoice dated December 15, 2026 and paid January 10, 2027 belongs on the 2027 slip.
• The box 048 moratorium. The CRA currently says it is not assessing penalties for failures related to box 048, except in trucking, where penalties apply for 2025 and later years on fees over $500 paid to Canadian-controlled private corporations in that industry. Many payers still file box 048 slips as good practice; some do not.

Payments to non-residents for services rendered in Canada use a different slip, the T4A-NR, with its own withholding rules.

T4A deadline and e-filing rules

Slips go to recipients and the CRA by the last day of February. For 2026 payments, that is Sunday, February 28, 2027, so returns received or postmarked by Monday, March 1, 2027 are on time.

The e-filing threshold catches many small businesses. For information returns filed on or after January 1, 2024, a payer with more than 5 slips of the same type for a year must file electronically, through Web Forms or Internet file transfer, rather than on paper. The CRA's penalty for paper filing when e-filing was required starts at $125 for 6 to 50 slips and rises with volume. The details are in the CRA's guide on how to file information returns. Web Forms handles up to 100 slips per submission and is free.

How to issue a T4A: step by step for payers

1. Collect contractor details at onboarding: legal name, address and either SIN or business number. A short contractor form saves chasing in February.
2. Track payments by recipient through the year, separating the fee from GST/HST on each invoice.
3. Identify recipients over $500 in fees for the calendar year, plus anyone you withheld tax from.
4. Prepare slips using CRA Web Forms or payroll software, entering fees in box 048 and identifiers in box 012 or 013.
5. Prepare the T4A Summary totalling all slips.
6. File electronically if you have more than 5 slips, and send each recipient their copy by the deadline.
7. Keep records of the invoices and payments behind each slip.

Your account must have a business number with an information returns (RZ) or payroll (RP) program account to file. If you do not have one yet, our guide to the CRA business number explains how to register.

Worked example: reconciling a T4A with your invoices

Leah is a freelance UX designer in Ontario, registered for GST/HST. In 2026 she invoiced one agency client as follows (illustrative figures):

Invoice	Date issued	Fee	HST 13%	Date paid
#2026-014	Feb 3, 2026	$6,000	$780	Mar 4, 2026
#2026-031	Jun 10, 2026	$8,500	$1,105	Jul 9, 2026
#2026-052	Oct 20, 2026	$7,200	$936	Nov 18, 2026
#2026-067	Dec 16, 2026	$4,000	$520	Jan 14, 2027

The agency's T4A box 048 should show $21,700: the three fees paid in 2026, without HST. The December invoice falls into 2027 for the agency's slip. Leah, if she reports on the accrual basis as most businesses must for income tax, includes all $25,700 of fees invoiced in 2026 on her T2125. Her income will be higher than the T4A, and that is correct. Keeping the invoice number, fee and tax in separate columns is what makes this check take two minutes. For how GST/HST should appear on each invoice, see Canada GST/HST invoice requirements.

How contractors report T4A income

Self-employed individuals report business income on Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities, attached to their T1 return. Enter your total gross business income from your own records, including amounts on T4A slips. Do not add the T4A on top of your invoice total, or you will double count. If tax was withheld (box 022), claim it as a credit. Self-employed people also pay both portions of CPP on net earnings; our guide to self-employed tax in Canada walks through the T2125, CPP and instalments.

Incorporated contractors receive slips in the corporation's name, with its BN in box 013. The corporation reports the income on its T2 return, not you personally.

Common T4A mistakes

• Including GST/HST in box 048. The slip should show the fee only.
• Using invoice dates instead of payment dates. T4As are on a paid basis for the calendar year.
• Filing on paper with 6 or more slips. That alone can trigger a penalty.
• Contractors ignoring income with no slip. The CRA expects all income reported. Clients that skip box 048 do not change your obligation.
• Treating a worker as a contractor to avoid payroll. If the relationship looks like employment, a T4 with source deductions may be required instead. When unsure, the CRA can rule on worker status.

T4A edge cases contractors ask about

Platforms and marketplaces

Freelance platforms and app-based services may or may not issue T4As, and some report income under other CRA reporting regimes, such as the rules for digital platform operators. Whatever slips you receive, your income figure comes from your own records of what each platform paid you, net of nothing: platform fees are a deductible expense, not a reduction in gross income.

Reimbursed expenses

If a client reimburses travel or materials that you billed on your invoice, the payer may include the reimbursement in box 048. Report the full amount as income and claim the costs as expenses on your T2125. Itemizing reimbursements as separate invoice lines helps you see exactly what the client included.

Several slips from one client

A client with more than one division, or one that changed payroll systems mid-year, may send two slips. Add them together and compare to your invoices for that client as a whole.

Non-resident contractors

If you live outside Canada and performed services in Canada, the payer may have withheld 15% under Regulation 105 and will issue a T4A-NR instead. That withholding is a payment on account, not necessarily your final tax, and treaty relief may be available.

What to do if you did not receive a T4A

Nothing is lost. Report the income from your invoices and bank deposits. If you expected a slip because a client paid you more than $500, you can ask them for it, but you do not need it to file. Keep your invoice copies for at least six years from the end of the tax year they relate to, which is the general CRA record retention period; see our guide on how long to keep invoices. For billing format, our independent contractor invoice guide shows the fields clients expect, and our guide to paying contractors covers the payer side.

The fastest way to make T4A season painless is to invoice consistently: a unique number, the fee and GST/HST shown separately, and your BN on every invoice. Build those invoices with our free invoice generator, with no sign-up, and download each one as a PDF.