Employer-side year-end summary that totals T4 slips for one payroll account and compares reported deductions with remittances.
A T4 summary is the employer-side year-end summary that goes with T4 filing.
The important idea is that year-end reporting is not only about giving employees their slips. Employers also prepare a summary that ties the T4 information together from the payroll side.
T4 summary matters because it affects:
It is useful because it reminds readers that payroll reporting is both employee-facing and employer-facing.
After payroll records have been reviewed for the year, the employer prepares T4 slips for employees and the T4 summary for the filing package. Payroll teams may use payroll registers, year-to-date records, and remittance history to make sure the summary aligns with the underlying payroll data.
That makes the T4 summary a reporting summary, not an ordinary payroll-period record.
| T4 Summary function | What payroll uses | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Totals the T4 slips | Slip totals for employment income and deduction boxes | Confirms the employer-side filing matches the employee slips |
| Ties filing to one payroll account | The specific RP payroll account used for that return | Keeps separate payroll accounts from being mixed together |
| Compares deductions reported with remittances | Reported totals and amounts already remitted | Helps identify a balance due or overpayment at year end |
The CRA expects a separate T4 Summary for each payroll account. If a business has more than one RP payroll account, it does not file one combined summary for the whole business.
An employer finishes year-end payroll review for payroll account 123456789RP0001. Payroll prepares the employee T4 slips for that account and then completes the T4 Summary using the totals from those slips and the remittance history for that same account.
Filing details can change over time, but the concept remains stable: the T4 summary is the employer-side reporting document that supports the T4 filing set.