Business owners, take note: the next upcoming deadline to mark on your calendar is February 28th when you’ll need to distribute your employees’ T4 slips by. Unsure of how the process works? Here’s everything you’ll need to know. What is a T4? Officially named “T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid,” you might recall receiving a T4 slip in the mail from your days as an employee before starting your business. In Canada, a T4 is the key document required to file income taxes. This slip provides most of the information required to file a tax return, including employment income and deductions. Do I need to send T4 slips? If you’re an employer – resident or non-resident – who paid your employees employment income, commissions, taxable allowances or benefits, you’ll need to send T4 slips. You must do so for all employees who received remuneration from you during the previous calendar year, as long as: • CPP/QPP contributions, EI premiums, PPIP premiums, or income tax was deducted, or; • the remuneration was more than $500. How do I complete T4 slips? You can download blank T4 PDF forms from the Canada Revenue Agency website here and complete one for each of your employees. Why do I need to send them? Plain and simple: distributing T4 slips to your employees is required so that they can file their tax returns and your company can remain in good standing. When do I need to distribute them? This year the deadline for distributing your T4 slips to your employees is February 28th, 2015. This date varies from year-to-year given the leap year, but always remains the last day of February after every calendar year the slip applies to. Is there a late penalty? If you are running behind on distributing your T4 slips this year, you may encounter a penalty. There is a $25 daily penalty for failing to distribute T4 slips to your employees on time, with a minimum penalty of $100 and a maximum penalty of $2,500. How do I do it? Distributing your T4 slips is just about as simple as handing them out by hand, but different methods can be taken depending on the current relationship with your employee. In order to successfully distribute your T4 slips to your past and present employees, you can opt for one of the following methods: • Send two copies of the T4 slip in the mail to your employee’s last known address • Give two copies of the T4 slip to your employee in person • If you’ve received the employee’s consent, email one copy of the T4 slip to your employee Note: If you have made adequate efforts to deliver the T4 slip to your employee but were unsuccessful, keep notes of attempts of contact and any slips returned as undeliverable in the employee’s file. Do not send T4 slips to a mailing address you know is no longer correct.
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