Payroll Year-End Checklist Canada 2026

Payroll year-end is the busiest season for Canadian employers. Between verifying employee data, reviewing taxable benefits and filing T4 slips on time, missing a single step can mean CRA penalties. This checklist walks through everything employers need to close out 2026 payroll cleanly. If you are an employee wondering what all those boxes on your slip mean, our T4 slip guide decodes every one.

Key 2026 Payroll Year-End Deadlines

Deadline	Requirement
Last pay of 2026	Final payroll run; confirm all earnings, bonuses and taxable benefits are recorded
January 2027	Last CRA remittance for 2026 (due the 15th of the month following the pay period, depending on your remitter type)
February 2027 (last day)	T4, T4A and T5 slips due to employees and filed with the CRA
March 2027	Review and amend any slips with errors; issue amended slips promptly

1. Verify Employee Information

Before generating slips, confirm every employee’s legal name, Social Insurance Number and current address. SIN errors are one of the most common reasons the CRA rejects electronic T4 filings. Cross-check against TD1 forms collected at hiring and any updates employees submitted during the year.

2. Review Taxable Benefits

Many employers forget to add taxable benefits to T4s. Common ones include employer-paid group life insurance premiums, personal use of a company vehicle (standby charge and operating benefit), gift cards and non-cash awards over $500 per year, and subsidized meals or housing. Each benefit has specific CRA reporting rules, so review the CRA’s taxable benefits guide for the ones you offer. Missing benefits understate income and trigger reassessments.

3. Reconcile Payroll Against Remittances

Total the income tax, CPP and EI withheld on every 2026 pay run and compare it against what you actually remitted to the CRA. The two must agree. Discrepancies usually come from missed bonus runs, manual cheques or mid-year pay frequency changes. Fix them before filing, not after the CRA notices.

4. Check CPP and EI Maximums

Confirm no employee had CPP or EI withheld beyond the 2026 maximums, and that employees who hit the maximum stopped contributing at the right pay period. Over-contributions happen when someone changes jobs mid-year, since the new employer cannot see prior contributions. Employees recover overpayments on their tax return, but catching them early avoids amended slips.

5. File T4s on Time

T4 slips must reach employees and be filed with the CRA by the last day of February 2027. Late filing penalties start at $100 and scale with the number of slips. File electronically if you have more than five slips. Keep copies for six years.

6. Issue ROEs Where Required

Records of Employment must be issued within five days of an employee’s last pay when there is an interruption of earnings, including resignations, layoffs and parental leave. Year-end is a good moment to confirm no outstanding ROEs slipped through.

Common Year-End Mistakes

The errors we see most often: reporting bonuses in the wrong box, forgetting standby charges on company cars, using nicknames instead of legal names on T4s, and missing the February filing deadline because payroll was “almost done.” Build a buffer week into your January schedule.

T4, T4A, and RL-1 Filing Deadlines

Slip	Who Gets It	Deadline
T4	Employees	Last day of February
T4A	Contractors, pension and other income recipients	Last day of February
RL-1	Quebec employees (in addition to T4)	Last day of February
T5	Investment income recipients	Last day of February

The deadline is the same across the main slip types, which is convenient and dangerous in equal measure: one missed February deadline can mean several late slips at once. File electronically through CRA web access codes or Internet file transfer, and keep your confirmation numbers. Our T4 slip guide covers what goes on each slip.

Common Year-End Errors and Penalties

The same mistakes appear every January. Taxable benefits left off the T4, such as employer-paid parking or group life insurance premiums. CPP and EI miscalculated on bonuses because someone applied the regular pay-period formula to a lump sum. And the classic: discovering in February that an employee’s address or SIN was wrong all year, which delays their filing and yours.

Penalties for late slips start at $100 and scale with the number of slips and the number of days late, reaching thousands of dollars for larger payrolls. Interest compounds daily on any balance owing. The CRA also charges for failure to file electronically when you were required to, so paper filing a 50-slip payroll is a penalty on top of a penalty. A January review of employee data catches most of these before they cost money.

Year-End Payroll Calendar: November to February

November is for cleanup: confirm every employee’s name, address, and SIN, and review taxable benefits for completeness. December is for final numbers: process the last regular payroll, decide on any bonuses, and make sure December deductions are correct before the year closes. January is for reconciliation: balance your payroll register against your PDOC remittances and prepare slip data. February is for filing: issue slips to recipients and file with the CRA by the last day of the month. Work the calendar in order and February becomes a filing exercise instead of a fire drill. Our Canadian payroll guide covers the monthly routines that make year-end smooth.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the penalty for filing T4s late?

Late-filing penalties start at $100 and increase based on the number of slips and how late the filing is.

Do I need to report taxable benefits on T4s?

Yes. Taxable benefits such as group life insurance premiums, personal use of company vehicles and gift cards over the annual threshold must be included in the employee’s employment income.

What is a payroll year-end?

Payroll year-end is the annual process of closing out payroll records, reconciling remittances, reviewing taxable benefits and filing information slips like T4s with the CRA.

When are T4 slips due?

T4 slips must be issued to employees and filed with the CRA by the last day of February following the tax year. The same deadline applies to T4A slips and Quebec RL-1 slips.