Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
A Canada T4A slip reports money you were paid that isn’t ordinary salary: pension and annuity income, self-employed commissions, fees for services, scholarships and a few other items. A payer has to issue one if it held back tax, or if it paid you more than $500 in the calendar year, and slips usually arrive by the end of February.
What does a Canada T4A slip show?
Think of it as the “everything else” slip. Your employer’s T4 covers a job. The T4A covers the rest, and each type of income sits in its own box. The CRA’s T4A form page describes it as a slip that identifies amounts paid during the calendar year for certain types of income. Here are the boxes people meet most often and where the amount goes on the return.
| Box | What it reports | Return line |
|---|---|---|
| 016 | Pension or superannuation | 11500 |
| 020 | Self-employed commissions | 13899 (gross), 13900 (net) |
| 022 | Income tax already deducted | 43700 |
| 024 | Annuities | 11500 |
| 028 | Other income | 13000 or 10400 |
| 048 | Fees for services | 13499 to 14300 |
| 105 | Scholarships and bursaries | 13010 |
Does the difference between box 020 and box 048 matter?
Yes, a little. Box 020 is for commissions a business paid to an independent agent. Box 048 is the catch-all for fees paid for services. Both mean you’re treated as working for yourself on that money, not as an employee, so nobody has taken off CPP for you.
That’s the surprise for most first-timers. You get a slip for $30,000, the payer never touched your pay, and the bill arrives in April. Box 022 is the only place where tax has already been paid, and it’s often empty on fee income.
What does $30,000 of T4A fees cost you in Ontario?
Take a freelancer with $30,000 in box 048 and no expenses. We ran it through the self-employed tax calculator with no other income. It shows $2,455.03 of income tax (federal $1,455.23, Ontario $999.80) and $3,153.50 of CPP, which is both the employee and employer halves. You’re left with $24,391.47.
The tool treats the $30,000 as profit after expenses, and it leaves out EI and GST/HST. If you had $8,000 of real business costs, you’d enter $22,000 instead. When the amount is large enough that April becomes painful, the tax instalments calculator shows what you might pay during the year instead.
Think of Jess in Hamilton, who did a few months of contract design work and got a T4A for the fees. She put away nothing, because her client’s cheques looked like pure take-home. Come filing day she owed both income tax and both halves of CPP, which is exactly the bill in the example above. Setting aside a share of every payment, even a few hundred bucks at a time, spares you that shock.
What if your T4A hasn’t arrived?
Don’t call the CRA first. It doesn’t issue slips. It only receives copies from the payer, so a slip can’t appear in your My Account until the payer sends it. Contact the payer instead: an employer, a pension administrator, a school or whoever paid you.
The CRA also says you can no longer ask for a paper copy of a T4A by phone. You either ask the issuer or find it online in My Account.
If the deadline is close, the CRA’s own advice is to wait for your slips where you can, since that avoids reassessments and delays. If you’ve already filed and a slip turns up later, ask for a change through your CRA account. Don’t file a second return. The CRA says online changes usually process within two weeks.
Do you have to report income if you never got a slip?
Yes. The $500 rule is about when a payer must issue a slip, not about whether the money counts. A client who paid you $400 for a weekend job owes you no slip, but the $400 is still income. Keep a simple list of what you were paid and by whom, and you’ll never be caught out by a slip that didn’t show up.
Where do T4A mistakes come from?
Three come up over and over.
First, treating box 022 as your total tax. It’s only what the payer held back, so it goes on line 43700 as a credit against the tax you owe. Second, entering fee income as employment income. It belongs in the business lines, with your expenses, which is where you might claim a home office or a phone. Third, leaving a slip out because the amount looks small. The CRA has a copy too.
Scholarships are the odd one. Box 105 goes on line 13010, and the taxable part depends on your situation, so read the CRA page for that line before you assume anything.
Once every slip is in, you can check the result with the income tax calculator and see the refund or balance with the tax refund calculator.
Where the numbers come from
Box numbers and return lines come from the Canada Revenue Agency’s T4A slip page for individuals, and the $500 rule from its page for payers. The delivery timing comes from the CRA’s 2026 tax tips on slips. Tax and CPP in the example come from our 2026 data, which we rechecked on 29 September 2026. We couldn’t confirm the taxable portion of every T4A item, so check the line on the CRA page before you rely on it. We’re an independent site, and no government body is behind it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a T4A slip used for?
It reports pension, annuity, self-employed commission, fee, scholarship and other income that isn't ordinary employment pay. You enter each box on the return line the CRA lists for it.
When do I get my T4A?
Payers usually send T4A slips by the end of February. A payer must issue one if it deducted tax or paid you more than $500 in the year.
What if my T4A is missing?
Ask the payer, because the CRA only receives copies. You can also look in My Account, and you can enter the amounts yourself if you have your records.
Is T4A income taxed before I get it?
Only if the payer deducted tax, which shows in box 022. Fee and commission income usually has no CPP deducted, so you may owe it when you file.
Where does T4A box 048 go on my return?
Fees for services are reported on the business income lines, from 13499 to 14300 depending on the type of income. Claim your business expenses there too.
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