Missing tax slip: T4 slip download and what to do if it never comes

T4 slip download: check My Account first

A T4 slip download from CRA My Account is the fastest fix when a paper slip never reaches you. Your employer files its copy of each slip with the CRA, and from that point you can open, save and print it yourself. The same applies to T4A, T5, T4E, T2202 and most other slips.

1. Sign in to CRA My Account. If you are locked out or not registered, see our My Account guide.
2. Go to the tax slips section and select the tax year.
3. Download each slip you are missing and compare it with your pay records.
4. If you file with certified software, Auto-fill my return imports the same slips directly.

One limit matters here: the CRA can only show a slip after the issuer sends it. An employer that files late, or files under a wrong SIN, leaves a gap in My Account that the CRA cannot fill. Since the 2026 filing season the CRA also no longer takes phone requests for paper copies of T4, T4A or T5 slips.

Where can I find tax slips the CRA does not have yet?

When My Account comes up empty, go to whoever paid you. Each type of slip has a usual source, and many issuers post slips online before the CRA has them.

• T4: your employer's payroll portal or HR office. Former employers must send the slip to you rather than relying on a portal you can no longer reach.
• T4A slip, where to find it: the payer's portal, a pension administrator's member site or, for scholarships, your student account.
• T4E, where to get it: My Service Canada Account, which also holds T4A(P) for CPP and T4A(OAS) for Old Age Security.
• T5 and T3: the tax documents area of your online banking or brokerage account.
• T5007: the provincial or municipal office or compensation board that paid you.

Timing explains many missing slips. T4, T4A, T5 and T2202 slips for 2026 are due by the last day of February 2027, but T3, T5013 and NR4 slips can arrive as late as the end of March. Because February 28, 2027 is a Sunday, the CRA's weekend rule moves the T4 filing due date to Monday, March 1, 2027. If you hold mutual funds outside an RRSP or TFSA, a missing slip in early March may simply not be due yet.

Tax slip not received by the deadline: estimate it

Do not let one missing slip make you file late. Late-filing penalties start at 5% of any balance owing plus 1% for each full month, so waiting costs more than estimating. The CRA's instructions are to estimate the income and deductions from pay stubs or statements and to add a note.

1. Find your last pay stub of the year, or the final statement from the payer or bank.
2. Use the year-to-date figures: gross pay goes to line 10100 as employment income, and income tax withheld goes to line 43700. Enter CPP and EI withheld in the same way your software asks for T4 amounts.
3. Write a note giving the payer's name and address, the type of income, and what you did to get the slip.
4. If you file on paper, attach a copy of the pay stubs or statements and the note, and keep the originals. If you file online, keep them in case the CRA asks.
5. Keep asking for the slip. When it arrives, compare it with your estimate.

Worked example

Take a hypothetical worker, Sam, who left a warehouse job at the end of June 2026 and never received a T4. Sam's last stub shows year-to-date gross pay of $21,380, CPP of $1,167.99 (5.95% of pay above half of the $3,500 exemption), EI of $348.49 and income tax of $2,410. Sam enters those figures as a T4 from that employer, adds the note, and files by April 30, 2027.

Slips that show up after you file

A slip that arrives in May, or an amended slip with different numbers, is a routine fix. Wait until you have your notice of assessment, then change the return. The CRA will send a notice of reassessment with the new result.

• Online through Change my return in My Account. Our change my return guide covers the steps.
• Through ReFILE in the certified software you used to file.
• On paper or by webform with Form T1-ADJ.

If the late slip matches the estimate you used, you do not need to do anything. If it differs, change the return even when the difference is small: the CRA matches slips to returns and will reassess on its own if you do not, often with interest on any extra tax.

Slips you should not ignore

Some slips are easy to forget because the amounts are small or the income felt temporary. Leaving them out can cost more than the tax itself.

The CRA can charge a repeated failure to report income penalty. It applies when you leave out $500 or more of income in one year and also left out $500 or more in any of the three previous years, and it does not need to be intentional. The penalty is the lesser of 10% of the unreported amount and 50% of the extra tax that should have been paid, after tax withheld on that income.

Small T5 slips are the classic trap. A savings account that paid interest can generate a slip you never opened. Our T5 slip page and the T4 guide explain what each slip holds, and the tax slips overview lists every common slip.