A slip is a document a payer fills out to report an amount paid. They give you a copy and also send it to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). So the T4A is a federal slip: the tax authorities receive the same information you do.
Is this your first year working for yourself? Start with the overview of a self-employed person's obligations in Quebec, then come back here when you prepare your returns.
Why does a client send you a T4A?
A client who pays you for services, without being your employer, has to report those fees to the CRA. In 2026, they must file a T4A if their payments were over $500 during the calendar year, or if they withheld tax.
Three useful details:
- The slip covers services, not sales of goods.
- It counts what was actually paid during the year, not what was invoiced.
- Each client files its own slip. So you may receive several, or none.
What do the boxes on your T4A mean?
For a self-employed person, four areas of the slip matter. "Self-employment income" means income from your own business, as opposed to a salary.
Box | What it contains | Where to report it (federal return) |
|---|---|---|
048 | Fees for services you provided as a self-employed person | On the self-employment income line that matches your activity (lines 13499 to 14300) |
020 | Commissions earned as a self-employed person | Gross commissions on line 13899, net commissions on line 13900 |
022 | Income tax withheld by the client | Line 43700, with the tax withheld on all your other slips |
012 and 013 | Your social insurance number and, if you run a business, your business number | Nothing to report: check that they're correct |
These line numbers are the ones on the federal return in use in 2026.
The amount in box 048 doesn't include taxes: your clients must not include GST or provincial sales tax in it.
How do you report this income, federally and in Quebec?
The rule: you report the income your books show, not the total of your slips. Your books are the record of your business income and expenses.
- Federally, business income goes on the self-employment income line that matches your activity.
- In Quebec, you attach to your income tax return form TP-80, Business or Professional Income and Expenses, or your financial statements. You need a separate TP-80 form for each business.
Three rules guide the calculation:
- You report income in the year you earned it, even if the client pays later. That's accrual accounting, the method required for business income. Some self-employed people who earn commissions can, under certain conditions, report on a cash basis instead.
- Your income is counted before taxes. The GST and QST you collected aren't part of it.
- Your fiscal period normally ends on December 31. The fiscal period is the time covered by your accounts. So it follows the same calendar year as the T4A, which makes the comparison possible.
This income is also used to calculate the income tax you'll have to pay. To plan for it, see how to estimate the income tax on your self-employment income.
Why doesn't your T4A match your books?
A difference isn't necessarily a mistake. Here are the causes to check, in order:
- Timing. The T4A counts what the client paid during the calendar year. Your books count what you earned. A December invoice paid in January counts in your income for the year the work was done, but in the following year's T4A.
- Taxes. Your invoices include GST and QST. Box 048 shouldn't include them. Compare amounts before taxes.
- Small clients. A client who paid you less than $500 in the year generally doesn't have to send you a slip.
- Sales of goods. They don't appear on a T4A.
- A client error. Wrong amount, wrong year, wrong box, or taxes added by mistake.
What to do: reconcile your T4As with your books
Reconciling means comparing two sources and explaining every difference.
- Gather all the T4As you received for the year.
- In your books, pull your income for the year, client by client, before taxes.
- For each client that issued a T4A, compare the two amounts.
- Explain each difference: invoices from the year still unpaid at December 31, payments received for invoices from the previous year, clients with no slip.
- If a difference remains unexplained, contact the client that issued the slip. Ask them to correct it.
- Report the income from your books. Keep your reconciliation table with your supporting documents: records and supporting documents must be kept for six years after the last year they relate to.
Reconciliation example (fictional)
Julien, a fictional writer, works for himself. His 2026 fiscal period ends on December 31. He has three clients.
Client | 2026 income in his books (before taxes) | 2026 T4A | Difference | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A | $14,000 | $13,500 | $500 | December 2026 invoice ($2,000) paid in January 2027; 2025 invoice ($1,500) paid in January 2026 |
B | $6,000 | $6,000 | $0 | No difference |
C | $450 | None | $450 | Less than $500 paid in the year: no slip |
Total | $20,450 | $19,500 | $950 | Difference fully explained |
Julien reports $20,450, the income from his books. The slips cover only part of it, and every dollar of difference has an explanation.
And what if client B's T4A showed $6,898.50? That would be $6,000, plus $300 of GST and $598.50 of QST. Taxes don't belong in that box: Julien asks the client to correct the slip.
Frequently asked questions
Does getting a T4A mean I'm an employee?
No. Box 048 is meant precisely for fees paid for services provided as a self-employed person. The slip doesn't change your status. If you work mostly for a single client, in conditions close to an employee's, the question can still come up. To see it clearly, check Revenu Québec's guide Self-Employed or Salaried?.
Why was no tax withheld on my T4A?
That's the general rule. A client who pays fees to a self-employed person living in Canada doesn't withhold income tax or contributions from those amounts. So box 022 is often empty. The tax on this income is entirely yours to pay. Set money aside throughout the year rather than paying it all in the spring.
A client paid me more than $500 but didn't send me a T4A: what should I do?
Nothing changes for your return. You report the income from your books, with or without a slip. Filing the T4A is the client's obligation, not yours. You can point out the oversight, especially if you want their filings to match yours. Don't hold off on your return waiting for the slip.
My T4A shows my social insurance number: is that normal?
Business income you can explain
With Alta Conseils' Bookkeeping, your income is tracked client by client all year, before taxes. At year-end, we compare your T4As with your books and explain every difference. You get business income backed by your supporting documents, ready to carry over to your returns. Write to us to talk it over.
Keep reading
- The topic guide: what a self-employed person needs to set up in Quebec, to see where the T4A fits among all your obligations.
- The related article: estimating the income tax on your self-employment income, since no tax is withheld on your fees.
- The service: Alta Conseils' Bookkeeping, for income tracked client by client and reconciled at year-end.
