T4 summary

What the summary totals

Most lines are simple additions of the matching boxes on your slips: employment income on line 14, employee CPP on line 16, second CPP on line 16A, employee EI on line 18 and income tax on line 22. Registered pension plan contributions and pension adjustments are totalled on lines 20 and 52, and line 88 counts the slips filed.

The employer’s shares are not on any slip. You report your CPP on lines 27 and 27A, and your EI on line 19, worked out by multiplying employees’ total premiums by the employer rate, generally 1.4 unless you have a reduced rate. Totals must agree with the slips for that payroll account, and each payroll account needs its own summary.

The reconciliation line

Line 80 adds the deductions and contributions you owed, and line 82 is what you actually remitted, which you can take from your most recent PD7A. The difference is reported as an overpayment on line 84 or a balance due on line 86. The CRA generally does not charge or refund a difference of $2 or less.

This is why the summary is more than a cover sheet. It shows, in one place, whether year-end payroll records and remittances tell the same story.

An illustrative example

Suppose a small employer’s slips total $6,000 of employee CPP, $1,800 of employee EI and $12,000 of income tax. The employer CPP share matches at $6,000, and the employer EI share is $1,800 times 1.4, or $2,520. Line 80 is $28,320. If $28,000 was remitted during the year, the $320 difference is a balance due on line 86. These round figures are illustrative and ignore CPP2.

Common mistakes

Typical problems are forgetting the employer’s shares, correcting a slip without updating the summary, and combining slips from different payroll accounts. If there are no amounts to report, there is no need to send a slip or summary. Filing follows the T4 slip rules, including the end-of-February due date and electronic filing for more than five slips.

What to discuss with your accountant

Bring your payroll register, remittance records and any taxable benefit records. Ask who certifies the summary, whether the totals reconcile before filing, and how a balance due will be paid. See PIER report for what happens if the CRA finds a CPP or EI mismatch after filing.