The Canada Revenue Agency is set to mail out its first tax slips to those who, in 2020, received government benefits like the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or enhanced Employment Insurance (EI) benefits, according to a draft press release provided to Global News.
Those tax slips, known as T4As, are key documents needed for those filing a tax return for 2020. T4A forms are like T4 forms, which are generally provided to employees by an employer but with a key difference: Instead of the amount of wages and benefits provided by an employer, the T4A will list the amount of any benefits provided by the federal government.
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COVID-19 emergency benefits such as the CERB, which was a financial lifeline for many Canadians who lost income during the start of the coronavirus pandemic, are considered taxable. Some Canadians who received emergency benefits may find they owe tax for 2020, depending on their overall income.
Last month, some self-employed Canadians were called to repay money they received through the CERB due to miscommunication over how those recipients would be taxed.
T4A information will need to be entered on line 13000 of the 2020 income tax and benefit return.
The CRA believes there could be a large number of Canadians — perhaps hundreds of thousands — who will be receiving a T4 or T4A slip for the first time.
The mailings also mark the beginning of a campaign to remind Canadians who received these T4A slips — or any other T4 slips — to file a tax return. The deadline to file a tax return for 2020 and make arrangements to pay any outstanding tax owing is April 30.
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The CRA will be sending the T4As by mail beginning this week and those mailings will continue until March 10.
Emergency benefit recipients who do not receive a mailed copy of their T4as by this date may be able to get a copy by using the My Account for individuals service or contacting the CRA directly.
—With files from Nicole Gibillini