A T4 is not a bill. It is a receipt for your year.
Tap each box on this simulated slip and see what it is actually telling you.
Box 14 — Employment income. Everything your employer paid you during that tax year, before deductions.
One slip per employer, per tax year
Most common slips, including T4s, are generally provided by the end of February following the tax year. Each slip names the year it covers — check that label, because you file one return per tax year. Several employers means several T4s, and all of them go on the same return.
- A T4 reports employment income and certain payroll deductions.
- Receiving one does not automatically mean more tax is owed.
- Missing slips: contact the employer first; they may also appear later through CRA online services.
Quick check
Answering every check in this lesson completes it automatically.
Box 22 versus what you actually owe
Box 22 is what was withheld during the year. The calculation is what you owe. Filing settles the difference.
A refund is not a bonus. It is your own money being returned because more was withheld during the year than you turned out to owe — and filing a return is the only way to get it back.
Federal amounts only, 2025 rates and basic personal amount. Credits, provincial tax and your own circumstances change the real result. Educational example only.
What to gather before your first return
Tap each one.
Zara worked two jobs and only got one T4
Zara worked at a café until June and a bookstore from July. In March, only the café T4 has arrived. Filing is due in a few weeks.
Check your understanding
Answering every check in this lesson completes it automatically.
Check the stub against the slip
Use the Paycheque Decoder on a real stub, then compare the yearly totals to what a T4 would report.
One more
Answering every check in this lesson completes it automatically.
One slip per employer, one return per tax year — and filing is how the withheld money gets settled.
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