COVID-19 Benefits

As found on CRA Website

T4A slips for 2020 tax year

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is committed to putting people first and providing the income support that Canadians need during the COVID-19 pandemic.

You will get a T4A slip from the CRA, if you received any of the COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits from the CRA before December 31, 2020:

  • Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) with the CRA
  • Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB)
  • Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
  • Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)
  • Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)

Quebec residents will get both a T4A and RL-1 slip.

The CRA will provide T4A slips starting in January 2021. You should receive your T4A slip before March 10, 2021.

The COVID-19 benefit payment amounts on your T4A slip are taxable and must be reported as income on line 13000 of your 2020 income tax and benefit return.

You did not receive a T4A slip

If you received COVID-19 benefit payments in 2020, you should receive your T4A slip before March 10, 2021. You may also get your T4A information from CRA My Account.

After March 10, 2021, if you still do not have your T4A slip information, contact the CRA.

Situations where you would not get a T4A slip:

  • If you applied for the CERB with Service Canada or any Employment Insurance (EI) benefit payments, you will receive a T4E slip.
  • If your employer received the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) to cover part of your wages, the income you earned will appear on your regular T4 slip.

Issues with your T4A slip

Each COVID-19 benefit will have its own box number (Box 197 to 204) on your T4A slip. If you received more than one benefit with the CRA in 2020, check that each amount you received or repaid is correct.

To confirm the COVID-19 benefit amounts you received, you can review “COVID-19 Support Payment Application Details” in CRA My Account.

Call the CRA right away if:

  • Your T4A slip shows incorrect amounts
  • You repaid benefit amounts before December 31, 2020, but the repayments are not reflected
  • Your T4A slip shows incorrect personal information
  • You did not apply for a COVID-19 benefit, but received a T4A slip

Telephone number: 1-800-959-8281

How to report T4A amounts on your tax return

You will need to enter all COVID-19 benefit amounts you received (Box 197 to 204) from your T4A slip and provide the total amount on line 13000 – Other income of your 2020 income tax and benefit return.

If you received a CRB, CRCB or CRSB, the CRA withheld a 10% tax at source on each payment. In addition to reporting the amounts on line 13000, you need to report the income tax deducted.

You can find the income tax deducted at source in Box 022 of your T4A slip. Enter this amount on line 43700 – Total income tax deducted on your 2020 income tax and benefit return.