If you pay employees in Ontario, or pay yourself a salary from your corporation, the payroll year does not end on December 31. The last remittance, the T4 and T4A slips, any records of employment, and the WSIB year-end all follow in the next few months. This guide lists what I check with payroll clients in Toronto, ON, with links to the CRA, Service Canada, and WSIB pages so you can confirm each point. It is general information, not advice for your situation.
Key dates for the 2026 payroll year
- January 15, 2027: remittance of December 2026 source deductions for regular (monthly) remitters, and the October to December 2026 remittance for quarterly remitters. Accelerated remitters have earlier dates. (CRA: when to remit)
- Last day of February 2027: T4 and T4A slips to employees and recipients, and the T4 and T4A returns to the CRA. February 28, 2027 is a Sunday. When the due date falls on a weekend, the CRA treats the return as on time if it receives it, or it is postmarked, on or before the next business day, so 2026 T4 and T4A returns are on time by Monday, March 1, 2027. (CRA: when to file information returns)
- March 31, 2027: WSIB annual reconciliation, if you report and pay WSIB premiums monthly. (WSIB: completing the reconciliation form)
1. The last remittances of the year
- Your remitter type sets your due dates. A regular remitter pays the source deductions for a month by the 15th of the next month. A quarterly remitter pays October to December by January 15. (CRA: when to remit)
- The CRA states that a remittance due in January for December deductions is late if you pay it with the T4 or T4A return and file that return after the remittance due date. Pay December on its own due date.
- Late remittance penalties are 3% if the amount is 1 to 3 days late, 5% for 4 or 5 days, 7% for 6 or 7 days, and 10% after that, with 20% for a repeat failure made knowingly or through gross negligence. Interest is compounded daily. (CRA: when to remit; Income Tax Act, s. 227(9))
- Final remittance. If your business stops operating, changes legal status, is restructured or amalgamated, or goes bankrupt, the final remittance is due within 7 calendar days. (CRA: when to remit)
2. Reconcile before you prepare slips
Before the slips go out, I compare the year's payroll register with the amounts remitted to the CRA and with the general ledger. Differences are easier to fix before filing than after. Points I check:
- Bonuses, retroactive pay, and vacation pay are reported in the year they were paid, not the year the work was done. Pay for work done in December 2026 that you pay in January 2027 goes on the 2027 slip. (CRA guide RC4120)
- Taxable benefits, such as personal use of a company car or employer-paid premiums, are included in employment income and in the right "Other information" code.
- Boxes 24 (EI insurable earnings) and 26 (CPP pensionable earnings) are filled in for every employee. The CRA uses them in its pensionable and insurable earnings review (PIER) to find CPP and EI shortfalls. (CRA guide RC4120)
- Box 45 (employer-offered dental benefits) is mandatory on every T4 slip for 2023 and later years. (CRA guide RC4120)
- Employees who worked in more than one province get a separate T4 slip for each province.
3. T4 slips and the T4 return
- You prepare a T4 slip for salary, wages, bonuses, vacation pay, taxable benefits, and other employment income. CRA guide RC4120, Employers' Guide: Filing the T4 Slip and Summary, explains each box. (CRA guide RC4120)
- Slips go to employees and the return goes to the CRA by the last day of February. If the date falls on a weekend or a public holiday, the next business day counts.
- If you file more than 5 slips of one type, you must file electronically, for example with the CRA's Web Forms (up to 100 slips) or payroll software. Paper filing above that number can bring a penalty starting at $125. (CRA guide RC4120)
- The late filing penalty is at least $100. Under the CRA's administrative policy for T4 and T4A slips, it is a flat $100 for 1 to 5 late slips, $5 per day up to $500 for 6 to 10 slips, and $10 per day up to $1,000 for 11 to 50 slips. (CRA: when to file information returns) Not giving an employee their slip can cost $25 per day per slip, from $100 up to $2,500. (CRA guide RC4120)
- You need written consent from an employee before you send their T4 slip by email.
4. T4A slips
- T4A slips report other amounts, such as fees for services, self-employed commissions, pensions, lump-sum payments, and certain benefits. Under the CRA's administrative policy, you issue one when you deducted tax or when payments to a person in the year total more than $500. (CRA: T4A slip, information for payers)
- T4A slips have the same deadline as T4 slips. CRA guide RC4157 covers them in detail. (CRA guide RC4157)
- Construction businesses that pay subcontractors file T5018 slips instead, on a different deadline. (CRA: when to file information returns)
5. Records of employment (ROEs)
- Year-end itself does not call for an ROE. You issue one when an employee has an interruption of earnings, such as a layoff, a quit, or a leave, or when Service Canada asks for one. (Service Canada: how to complete the ROE)
- An electronic ROE for a weekly, bi-weekly, or semi-monthly payroll is due within 5 calendar days after the end of the pay period in which the interruption happened. For a monthly payroll it is the earlier of that date or 15 calendar days after the interruption. A paper ROE is due within 5 calendar days.
- If your business is changing its pay period type, Service Canada asks for ROEs for all employees, even though they keep working.
- Service Canada notes that employment is not insurable when the employee controls more than 40% of the corporation's voting shares, so an owner-manager in that position usually has no EI and no ROE. The CRA makes insurability rulings when it is unclear.
- Keep payroll records behind each ROE for 6 years after the year they relate to.
6. WSIB year-end
- Businesses that report and pay WSIB premiums monthly complete an annual reconciliation by March 31. Quarterly and annual reporters do not reconcile, unless they close the account or WSIB asks. (WSIB: completing the reconciliation form)
- Insurable earnings start from gross earnings, including taxable benefits in box 14 of the T4, less items WSIB excludes and earnings above the annual maximum. WSIB lists the 2026 maximum as $121,700 per person. (WSIB: how to calculate your premium)
7. If you are closing the payroll account
- Remit everything withheld, plus your share of CPP and EI, within 7 days after the business stops.
- File T4 and T4A slips within 30 days after the business stops (90 days after the death of a sole proprietor or partner), and issue ROEs to former employees. (CRA guide T4001)
- Ask the CRA to close the payroll account only after the final returns and payments are processed. WSIB also requires a reconciliation when you close an account.
Year-end checklist
- December remittance paid by its own due date
- Payroll register agrees with remittances and the general ledger
- Employee names, addresses, and SINs up to date
- Taxable benefits and bonuses in the right year and box
- Box 45 dental code on every T4
- T4 and T4A slips filed and distributed by the last day of February (Monday, March 1, 2027 for the 2026 slips)
- ROEs issued for every interruption of earnings
- WSIB reconciliation by March 31, if you report monthly
Next step
If you would like me to prepare your T4 and T4A slips or take over payroll for 2027, book a call. My payroll services page lists what is included and my fees, in Canadian dollars plus HST.
This guide is general information based on CRA, Service Canada, and WSIB pages available in October 2026. It does not replace advice for your situation. Deadlines, rates, and maximums change each year; check the linked pages or ask me before you act.