T4 boxes explained, in plain English. Box 14 is employment income. Box 22 is income tax deducted. Boxes 16, 18, 24 and 26 are where payroll mistakes love to hide. Here is what the CRA says goes in each one.
Last updated November 7, 2026. Reviewed by Aryan Patel, founder of Senvora Group, a bookkeeping firm that supports CPA firms and business owners in the US and Canada. Our team uses this box by box guide when we review T4 slips with Canadian clients. Everything about the boxes below comes from the CRA page on filling out the T4 slip, the CRA T4 Summary page, the CRA page on amending, cancelling, adding or replacing T4 slips, the CRA page on correcting deduction errors and the CRA Employers Guide for filing the T4 slip and summary (RC4120). We do not repeat the due dates here. Those are in our T4 and T4A filing deadline post.
Key takeaways
- Box 14 is total employment income before deductions. It is the box most people look at first.
- Some boxes come in pairs. Box 16 needs box 26. Box 18 needs box 24. Box 17 also needs box 26.
- Box 22 is the income tax you deducted. It is not the CPP or EI you deducted.
- Many taxable benefits go in a coded “Other information” slot and also in box 14. A few do not go in box 14 at all.
- If a filed slip is wrong, you send an amended slip. You do not fix it by showing a negative number.
- Your payroll reports are the source. The slip is just the summary of them.
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Who needs a T4 in the first place
The Employers Guide says you file a T4 for amounts like salary, wages, bonuses, vacation pay, tips, employment commissions and taxable benefits. You also file one if you had to deduct CPP or QPP, EI, PPIP or income tax. The guide also says you file one when the pay was more than $500.
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For every Canada rule and deadline in one place, see our Canada bookkeeping guide.
Taxable group term life insurance for current employees needs a T4 even under $500. Income goes on the slip for the year it was paid, not the year it was earned. That last one trips up December and January paydays.
The top of the slip: who, where and which year
These boxes are not exciting. They are still the ones that cause rejected filings and angry phone calls from staff.
| Box | What the CRA page says it holds | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Year | The four digit calendar year the payment was made | Use the pay date year |
| Box 10 | Province or territory of employment | It can differ from where your business is located. The CRA gives code ZZ for work outside Canada and the US, or beyond provincial limits |
| Box 12 | Employee social insurance number | The page says to enter nine zeros if you do not have it |
| Box 54 | Your 15 character payroll account number | Put it on your copy and the CRA copy only. Leave it off the employee copies |
The money boxes: 14, 16, 17, 18, 22, 24 and 26
This is the core of the slip. If these are right, most of the rest follows.
| Box | What goes in it | Tie it to |
|---|---|---|
| 14 Employment income | Total income before deductions | Gross pay on your payroll reports, plus taxable benefits |
| 16 Employee CPP contributions | Employee CPP deducted, for a province other than Quebec. Do not put the employer share here | Needs box 26 to be filled in |
| 16A Employee CPP2 contributions | For 2024 and later, the CPP2 deducted, for a province other than Quebec | Check the CRA page for the current rules |
| 17 Employee QPP contributions | Employee QPP deducted, for Quebec | Needs box 26 |
| 17A Employee QPP2 contributions | For 2024 and later, the QPP2 deducted, for Quebec | Check the CRA page for the current rules |
| 18 Employee EI premiums | Employee EI deducted | Needs box 24 |
| 22 Income tax deducted | Federal, provincial (except Quebec) and territorial income tax deducted | Income tax withheld on your payroll reports |
| 24 EI insurable earnings | Total insurable earnings used for EI, up to the year maximum | Can be lower than box 14 when pay goes over the maximum |
| 26 CPP/QPP pensionable earnings | For 2024 and later, pensionable earnings including the CPP2 or QPP2 base, up to the additional maximum. For 2023 and earlier, up to the regular maximum | Can be lower than box 14 when pay goes over the maximum |
We are not printing contribution rates or yearly maximums here. They change, and the CRA page for the year you are filing is the place to read them. Do not copy a number from a blog, including ours.
Here is the part that surprises people. Box 14 can be much bigger than box 24 or box 26 for a well paid employee. That is normal. The earnings boxes stop at the year maximum. Box 14 does not.
Pension, union dues and donations: 20, 44, 46, 50 and 52
| Box | What goes in it | Note from the CRA page |
|---|---|---|
| 20 RPP contributions | Employee registered pension plan contributions, including instalment interest | |
| 50 RPP or DPSP registration number | The seven digit CRA registration number | Required when box 52 is used |
| 52 Pension adjustment | The pension adjustment, in whole dollars | Needs box 50 |
| 44 Union dues | Tax deductible union dues | Only when you and the union agreed that the union will not issue receipts |
| 46 Charitable donations | Amounts deducted from earnings for donations to registered Canadian charities |
Box 52 is the only amount on the slip reported in whole dollars. Everything else is dollars and cents.
The small boxes that still matter
- Box 28 Exempt. You mark it for CPP or QPP, EI or PPIP when no amount had to be deducted for that plan for the whole reporting period.
- Box 29 Employment code. The page says to use codes 11 to 17 where they apply. Otherwise leave it blank.
- Box 45 Employer offered dental benefits. This has been mandatory since 2023. You enter a code from 1 to 5 for the dental access the employee had on December 31.
- Box 55 and box 56. These are the PPIP premium and PPIP insurable earnings boxes for Quebec employees. Box 55 needs box 56.
Taxable benefits: the Other information codes
A slip has room for several coded items. If you have more than six, the page says to use an additional slip that carries only the identifying details and the extra codes. The most important thing to learn is which codes also go in box 14.
| Code | What it reports | In box 14 too? |
|---|---|---|
| 30 Board and lodging | Total value of board and lodging | Yes |
| 32 Travel in a prescribed zone | Total travel benefit | Yes |
| 34 Personal use of employer automobile | Value of the personal use benefit | Yes |
| 36 Interest free and low interest loans | The taxable benefit from the loan | Yes |
| 40 Other taxable allowances and benefits | Taxable allowances and benefits not covered by another code | Yes |
| 42 Commissions | Commissions paid to an employee who sold property or negotiated contracts | Yes |
| 66 Eligible retiring allowances | Eligible retiring allowances | No |
| 67 Non eligible retiring allowances | Retiring allowances not eligible for transfer | No |
| 77 Workers compensation benefits repaid to employer | The amount repaid | No |
The page lists more codes than this, including security options and amounts for employees registered under the Indian Act. Read the full list before you pick one. Do not guess a code because it looks close.
A vehicle benefit is the classic miss. If an owner or staff member drives the company car home, ask your payroll provider or CPA how it is being reported. Code 34 should not be a surprise in February.
Format rules that save you a correction
- Report dollars and cents. The only exception is the pension adjustment.
- Do not type dollar signs. Do not type “nil” or “N/A” in a box.
- Convert foreign currency to Canadian dollars. The page generally points to the Bank of Canada rate on the day the amount arose.
- Do not show a negative amount on a slip to fix a past year. Use the correction process instead.
- Box 14 allows a maximum of 10 digits, including cents.
What the slip has to match
The T4 Summary page says the totals on your summary must agree with the totals of the amounts on your slips. That is the CRA rule on what we read.
The summary then compares your deductions to your remittances. The page says line 80 adds up the deduction lines it names. Line 82 is what you remitted for the payroll account, and the page says you can get that number from your latest PD7A. Subtract line 82 from line 80. A negative result is an overpayment. A positive result is a balance due. The page says the CRA generally does not charge or refund a difference of $2 or less.
The page does not say line 80 must equal line 82. So we will not say that either. It does tell you what a gap looks like, which is exactly why you want to find one before you file.
A simple way to check your own file is below. This is our process suggestion, not a CRA instruction. Our Canada payroll remittance deadlines post covers how remittances work during the year.
- Run the payroll register for the full calendar year.
- Add up gross pay and taxable benefits. Compare to the sum of box 14 on your draft slips.
- Add up income tax, CPP and EI withheld. Compare to the matching boxes.
- Compare total remittances to your PD7A and to your payroll liability accounts in the books.
- Write down every gap and its reason before anything gets filed.
Fixing a wrong T4 after it is filed
It happens to careful people. Here is what the CRA pages say.
- You must send amended or cancelled slips if you already filed them and any box or code is wrong.
- You do not send an amended slip only to change an employee address.
- On paper, write AMENDED or CANCELLED at the top. Fill in every needed box, including the ones that were correct the first time.
- The page says to send two copies to the employee and one copy to your National Verification and Collection Centre with a letter explaining why. Electronic filers use Web forms or internet file transfer instead.
- Do not amend the T4 Summary for amended, cancelled or additional slips. The page says the adjustment is made once the slip is processed.
- If an employee loses a slip, you give a replacement marked DUPLICATE. You keep a copy and you do not send it to the CRA.
Salary overpayments have their own rules on the correction page. If the employee repays the net amount, boxes 14, 16, 18, 22, 24 and 26 go down by the overpayment amounts. If the employee repays the gross amount, only boxes 14, 24 and 26 go down. If the employee does not repay, you increase the boxes to report it. The page also says there is no time limit to amend T4 slips.
Under deducted CPP or EI is its own headache. The page says you owe the full balance, both shares. It also says you cannot recover an employee contribution that has been outstanding for more than 12 months. Ask your CPA how to handle your case.
Where the books usually break
A wrong box 14 almost never starts on the slip. It starts in the books. A bonus gets coded as a contractor payment. A benefit never gets recorded. A remittance sits in the wrong account. In the QuickBooks files we review, setup problems showed up in most of them. The full 5 QuickBooks setup errors we see most shows the kinds of errors to look for.
If your records are months behind, start with our retroactive bookkeeping guide. Slips cannot be better than the data feeding them.
Wondering about the other fall deadline on your list? See our Canada GST/HST deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
What is box 14 on a T4?
Box 14 is employment income. The CRA page describes it as total income before deductions.
What is the difference between box 14 and box 24?
Box 14 is total income before deductions. Box 24 is EI insurable earnings, which the CRA page says go up to the maximum for the year. A higher paid employee can have a box 14 well above box 24.
What does box 22 on a T4 show?
Box 22 is the federal, provincial (except Quebec) and territorial income tax you deducted. It does not include CPP or EI.
Where does the employer share of CPP go on a T4?
Not in box 16. The CRA page says box 16 is the employee contribution and tells you not to report the employer share there.
How do I fix a T4 I already filed?
Send an amended slip. On paper, write AMENDED or CANCELLED at the top, fill in all needed boxes and follow the CRA steps for copies. Electronic filers use Web forms or internet file transfer. Do not use negative amounts.
Sources
- CRA page on filling out the T4 slip (canada.ca)
- CRA T4 Summary page (canada.ca)
- CRA page on amending, cancelling, adding or replacing T4 slips (canada.ca)
- CRA page on correcting deduction errors (canada.ca)
- CRA Employers Guide for filing the T4 slip and summary (RC4120) (canada.ca)
Want your payroll books clean before slips go out?
Senvora Group provides monthly outsourced bookkeeping for Canadian business owners and CPA firms. That includes keeping payroll in your books reconciled to your payroll reports and remittances, so the numbers your payroll provider or CPA builds slips from are solid. We do not issue the slips. See the outsourced bookkeeping pricing breakdown or DM Aryan. Which T4 box makes you the most nervous?
