T4 vs T4A vs T5 in Canada: What Each Tax Slip Means and When You Get It

The easiest way to remember the three slips is T4 for employment, T4A for several types of other income, and T5 for investment income. A T4 usually comes from an employer. A T4A can come from a pension provider, school, company, or payer. A T5 usually comes from a bank, investment platform, or corporation that paid interest or dividends.

You can receive several slips in one year. Two jobs can produce two T4s. A job plus a pension can produce a T4 and a T4A. A bank account and investment account can produce one or more T5s. Save every slip and report the income it contains.

Quick answer: A T4 reports employment income, a T4A covers several other-income categories, and a T5 reports common investment income. Official source: CRA tax-slip overview Read next: Canadian pay-stub guide.

What a T4 slip reports

A T4, Statement of Remuneration Paid, reports employment income and deductions for a calendar tax year. Common boxes include employment income, income tax deducted, CPP contributions, EI premiums, and pension adjustments. The slip can also show tips, commissions, taxable benefits, and other employment amounts.

Your employer usually provides the T4 by the end of February for the previous year. It may be available in a payroll portal, mailed to you, or both. If you changed jobs, check the former employer's portal and the contact details you had at the time.

Compare the T4 with your final pay stub for the year. The totals may differ because payroll corrections, taxable benefits, or the definition of the year-to-date columns can affect the comparison. If the difference is large or a box looks wrong, ask payroll for an explanation.

What a T4A slip reports

A T4A, Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income, covers many payments that are not regular employment wages. It can report pension or retirement income, annuities, scholarships, research grants, commissions for self-employed work, RESP educational assistance payments, and other amounts.

The box that matters depends on the payment. Read the box number and description, not just the T4A title. A T4A can contain tax withheld, pension income, self-employment commission, or another category with different tax treatment.

The payer may be a former employer, pension administrator, school, company, or financial institution. If you expected a T4A and do not receive one, contact the payer first. CRA My Account can help you find slips that have been submitted, but the issuer is the place to correct an amount.

What a T5 slip reports

A T5, Statement of Investment Income, reports certain investment income such as interest, dividends, and other amounts paid by a Canadian payer. Banks and investment firms may issue T5s for eligible accounts or investments. A T5 is not a statement of your account balance.

The slip can show several boxes, including interest, eligible dividends, ordinary dividends, and foreign income in situations where a different slip or statement may also apply. Follow the box description and CRA filing software label.

Not every small amount of interest produces a T5, and some account statements show income that is not reported on the same slip. Keep the annual account statement and ask the financial institution what it has reported.

Quick comparison

• T4: employment income, payroll deductions, and taxable employment benefits.
• T4A: pension, retirement, scholarship, self-employed commission, and other income categories.
• T5: investment income such as interest and dividends from a Canadian payer.
• T3: trust income or mutual-fund distributions in circumstances covered by a T3 slip.
• T5007: certain social assistance or workers' compensation benefits.

The list is not every tax slip in Canada. Use the CRA tax-slip list and the instructions for your tax situation when another payer gives you a different form.

When the slips arrive

Most T4, T4A, and T5 slips for the previous year are generally available by the end of February. Some slips have later deadlines because the payer or account type uses a different reporting timeline. T3 and partnership slips can arrive later than employment slips.

CRA My Account may show slips that a payer has submitted electronically. A missing online slip does not always mean the payer has failed to issue it, so check the employer or bank portal and ask the issuer.

Do not file too quickly because one familiar slip arrived. Wait until the slips you expect are available, especially if you changed jobs, moved, opened investments, or received a pension or scholarship.

How to find a missing T4

Contact your current or former employer's payroll or HR team. Give your name, employee number, tax year, former address if relevant, and updated contact details. Ask whether the slip is in the payroll portal or can be reissued.

If the employer closed or you cannot reach it, keep your pay stubs, final payroll record, and copies of your request. CRA can explain its process for a missing slip, but it may still need details from you.

Use the same approach after a move. Mail Forwarding can catch a paper T4, but the employer should have your new address for future tax documents.

How to find a missing T4A

Identify the payer from the payment record. A T4A can come from a pension provider, school, contract client, or benefits administrator. Search the account where the payment arrived and the document centre attached to it.

Ask for the slip by naming the payment and tax year. If a school paid a scholarship and a company paid contract income, they may issue separate T4As. Keep the payment agreement or annual statement beside the slip.

Do not create a T4A yourself. Report the income according to CRA instructions and ask the payer or CRA how to correct the missing slip.

How to check a T5 from your bank

Open each bank and investment account's tax-document area. Check savings accounts, term deposits, non-registered investments, and joint accounts. The institution may issue a T5 under one account or group several accounts into a consolidated tax package.

Read the account-holder name and tax year. Joint-account income may be allocated between owners under the applicable rules. If the amount looks wrong, ask the institution for a transaction-level explanation rather than entering a guess.

A TFSA generally has different tax treatment from a non-registered account, but the account label is not a substitute for CRA instructions. Confirm why a slip was issued before assuming it is an error.

What to do when a slip is wrong

Contact the issuer and ask for an amended slip. State the box, amount, tax year, and reason. Keep the original, the corrected document, and the issuer's message.

If you already filed, follow CRA instructions for changing the return. Do not file a second return as a substitute for an adjustment. Your tax software or CRA account may show the corrected slip after the issuer submits it.

If the issuer will not respond, keep a timeline and ask CRA what evidence it needs. A pay stub, bank statement, contract, or payment record can support the explanation, but the correction route depends on the slip.

Newcomer tax-slip checklist

1. List every employer, bank, investment account, school, pension, and payer from the year.
2. Search each portal, mailbox, and CRA My Account.
3. Match every slip to the tax year and payer.
4. Compare T4 totals with your final pay stub and T5 amounts with annual statements.
5. Ask the issuer for a missing or amended slip.
6. Keep the PDFs, requests, and confirmations with your return.

Questions readers ask

Is a T4A the same as a T4?

No. A T4 reports employment remuneration. A T4A reports several types of pension, retirement, scholarship, self-employed, and other income.

Is interest on a savings account a T5?

It may be reported on a T5 when the payer issues one for the amount and account. Check the bank's tax documents and annual statement for the exact reporting.

Can I file without a T4?

Wait for expected slips when possible. If a slip is missing near the filing deadline, contact the issuer, keep evidence, and follow CRA guidance rather than guessing.

Do employers email T4s?

They may provide them through a payroll portal or mail them. Search the employer's official portal and contact payroll if you cannot find the document.

Keep a payer list all year

At the end of each year, write down every employer, contract client, bank, broker, pension provider, school, and benefit payer. This takes less time than searching for a missing slip in February. Add the account or relationship, not a full account number, so the list remains useful without becoming a sensitive data file.

The payer list also helps when you move. A former employer may still hold a T4 in an old portal, and a bank may have a tax-document centre separate from its everyday account screen. Start with the list, then work through each official source.

Joint accounts and shared payments

If a T5 comes from a joint account, check the account ownership and the tax instructions before deciding how to report the income. A joint statement can show one amount while the tax treatment depends on who contributed funds and the facts of the account.

For a family with several employers and accounts, make one folder per person and one subfolder per tax year. Do not mix a spouse's T4 with your own just because the slips arrived in the same envelope.