The T4A — Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income is a Canadian information return prescribed by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) under Regulation 200(2) of the Income Tax Regulations, made pursuant to the Income Tax Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. 1, 5th Supp.). While the T4 slip reports employment income from an employer-employee relationship, the T4A serves as a catch-all slip for reporting various types of non-employment income including pension and superannuation payments, retirement allowances, annuities, self-employed commissions, fees for services, RESP accumulated income payments, lump-sum payments, patronage allocations, and retirement compensation arrangement (RCA) payments.

The T4A is one of the most versatile information returns in the Canadian tax system because it covers a broad range of income types that do not fit neatly into other specific slips. Pension plan administrators use it to report pension income to retirees, corporations use it to report fees paid to independent professionals and consultants, educational institutions use it for scholarship income, and RESP promoters use it for accumulated income payments. The CRA’s guide RC4157 (Deducting Income Tax on Pension and Other Income, and Filing the T4A Information Return) provides detailed instructions on completing and filing T4A slips.

Under the Income Tax Act, payers who fail to file T4A slips or file them late are subject to penalties under s. 162(7), which imposes a penalty of $25 per day for each failure to file, with a minimum of $100 and a maximum of $2,500 per return. Additionally, payers who fail to provide SIN information on slips may face penalties under s. 237(2).

A T4A slip must be issued whenever a payer makes any of the following types of payments to a Canadian resident during the calendar year. Pension and superannuation payments (Box 016) must be reported when a registered pension plan, deferred profit sharing plan, or superannuation fund makes periodic or lump-sum payments to a retired employee or their beneficiary. Lump-sum payments (Box 018) include death benefits, retirement allowances, and other non-periodic amounts that are not regular pension payments.

Self-employed commissions (Box 020) must be reported when a business pays commissions to an independent contractor or agent who is not an employee. Fees for services (Box 048) are reported when a corporation, trust, or other entity pays professional fees, consulting fees, management fees, or other service charges to an individual or unincorporated business — although reporting fees for services is technically voluntary for most payers, the CRA strongly encourages it and requires it for certain regulated industries.

RESP accumulated income payments (Box 040) are reported when a subscriber withdraws investment earnings from a Registered Education Savings Plan because the beneficiary did not enrol in qualifying post-secondary education. Annuity payments (Box 024) are reported by insurance companies and pension funds that make periodic annuity payments to policyholders or retirees. The filing deadline is the same as for T4 slips: the last day of February following the calendar year. Electronic filing is mandatory for payers issuing more than 50 T4A slips.

A properly completed T4A slip must identify the payer by full legal name and CRA Business Number (BN) in 15-character format (e.g. 987654321RZ0001). The recipient’s full legal name and Social Insurance Number (SIN) in XXX-XXX-XXX format are required for CRA matching and assessment purposes. The payer’s and recipient’s complete mailing addresses, including province and postal code, must be included.

The income boxes on the T4A slip follow a specific numbering system prescribed by the CRA. Box 016 reports pension or superannuation income, which is eligible for the pension income tax credit under Income Tax Act s. 118(3) if the recipient is 65 or older. Box 018 reports lump-sum payments including death benefits (first $10,000 is non-taxable under s. 248(1)) and retiring allowances. Box 020 reports commissions to self-employed individuals, who may deduct related business expenses against this income. Box 022 reports the total income tax deducted from all payments.

Box 024 reports annuity payments, Box 048 reports fees for services, and Box 040 reports RESP accumulated income payments subject to the additional 20% penalty tax under s. 204.94. Box 028 is a general catch-all for other income not reportable in specific boxes. The slip may also include footnotes that reference specific Income Tax Act provisions applicable to the reported income, such as the pension income splitting election under s. 60.03 or the eligible pension income designation for the pension income tax credit. All amounts must be reported in Canadian dollars (CAD).