Generating the T4 Report with Box 45

The T4 return is required to be filed with CRA by February 28th of the year following your payroll year.  If you have been entering your payroll through the payroll section of AgExpert Analyst, then the official T4s can be generated and sent to CRA.

New T4 Reporting for employers.  Box 45 – Employer-offered dental benefits 

On November 16, 2023 the Government of Canada announced there will be changes with the reporting of T4 slips for employers in Canada. With the introduction of the new Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) for uninsured Canadians with adjusted family net incomes under $90,000, this reporting will be required to ensure only eligible Canadian are applying to this program. Employers who fail to be compliant and report the required information may result in financial penalties.

What needs to be reported?  Employers will be required to report if an employee had access to dental insurance or dental benefits of any kind during the 2023 tax year and future tax years. Employers will need to identify who the coverage was available to and complete box 45 with the appropriate code description.

 Note: To reduce the burden on employers, for calendar year 2023 only, it is not mandatory to fill out box 45 when and only when code 1 is applicable.

Also, do not use box 45 before January 2024 if you are filing electronically.

The Access Code (descriptions) options are:

Source: T4 slip - Canada.ca 

Got to Payroll > Setup > Employee/ROE

Select an employee at a time and Edit

At the bottom of the Payroll Information tab, choose the appropriate code for your employee. Options are:

1. 1.       Not eligible
2. 2.       Payee only
3. 3.       Payee, spouse and dependent children
4. 4.       Payee and spouse
5. 5.       Payee and dependent children

To access your T4 return, go to Payroll > Reports > T4.

Most of the time, you will leave the Type as T4 – Original.  You will use T4 – Amended if you are fixing a previously filed T4, and T4 – Cancelled if you need to delete the return with CRA to start over.

There are several options you can select, depending on what you are doing.  Start by checking Print the T4 Slips and Print the T4 Summary.

Check all the employees you need to include on the T4 return.  If you click Page View, you will get copies of the T4 slips for your employees, and the T4 Summary for your records.

You will only check Print box 54 if you are filing your T4 return by paper.  Do not include this information on the T4 for your employees.  This will print your payroll number on the T4 slips so CRA can trace them back to the T4 Summary.

You also do not need to print the back pages unless requested by your employees.  This will print the instructions and information for the T4 forms.

Note: As of January 2024, Issuers who file 6 or more T4 slips of the same type must use the Online filing method. 

Note: When you try to run the T4 for an employee that doesn't have one of the access codes selected, a new screen will pop up requiring you to select a code. If all employees need to be set to the same code, select the code in the box that says ‘Set all Employees to’.

Once you are ready to file, you will want to click the Other Info tab.

You will need to fill out this information before creating your submission file.  If the Submission reference identification number is blank, enter 00000001.  If the Transmitter number is blank, enter MM000000.  If either of these fields apply to you, enter your own information

Enter the contact information for whomever will answer questions if CRA has any.

If you are a sole proprietor, enter your SIN into the proper field.  If you are a partnership, both Proprietor 1 and 2 must be filled out.  If you are a corporation, enter 000000000 for the SIN.

If all the steps above are followed correctly, the code selected will show in Box 45

Once this information is filled out, uncheck all the options you have currently selected, and put a check in Create CRA XML file.

Click Page View.  This time, you will be asked to save a file.

Give your file a name and click Save.  It is easiest to save your file to the Desktop for quick access.  Once the file is saved, you can click the link to access the CRA file transfer site.

This will open the CRA portal where you can upload the XML file for your T4 return.

Last updated on December 20, 2023 by FCC AgExpert