Employment Insurance tax slips

Definition of a T4E

You’ll get a T4E slip if you:

• received Employment Insurance (EI) benefits
• repaid an overpayment from a previous year 

T4Es are for 1 calendar year, from January 1 to December 31. You must file this slip with your income tax return for that tax year.

The T4E indicates:

• the gross amount of benefits paid
• the income tax deducted
• the amount paid towards an overpayment (if applicable)

If you're a Quebec resident as of December 31, you'll get a T4E(Q). The T4E(Q) is the same as a T4E but it has an additional copy to attach to your provincial tax return.

EI benefits are taxable income in the taxation year in which they're paid. For example, if your EI claim began on December 18, 2022, but you received your payment on or after January 1, 2023, it is income for 2023 and is included in your T4E for the 2023 tax year.

Getting your T4E

Your T4E is available as early as February 1 through My Service Canada Account (MSCA). You can view, print and submit a copy of it with your Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax return. To access your T4E online, you need to log in or register for MSCA.

You can also get your T4E by mail. If you choose to receive your T4E by mail, or if you didn’t select a delivery option on your EI application, your T4E will be mailed by February 28. If you don’t receive your T4E by mid-March, contact us. Visit MSCA if you want to change how you get your T4E.

Identifying your T4Es

If you received EI benefits and you’re in a training program approved by the Employment Programs Branch, you’ll receive a second T4E. Boxes 20 and 21 of this T4E indicate monies paid to you by the Employment Programs Branch or your provincial government while you were participating in their approved employment initiative.

To distinguish the T4Es from each other, look at the bottom right-hand corner under Payer’s name. You'll find 1 of the following:

• Service Canada – ESDC – Employment Insurance benefits
• Service Canada – ESDC – Employment Activity
• provincial government’s name

Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) payments and repayments

CERB payments or repayments are included on the T4E in the year the benefits are paid or repaid.

Example:

• For a payment:
  • You received CERB in 2020.
  • The amount paid was included on your 2020 T4E.
• For a repayment:
  • You repaid a CERB overpayment in 2023.
  • The amount you repaid will be included on your 2023 T4E.

For more information on the CRA’s treatment of CERB payments and repayments, visit T4E: Service Canada CERB amounts.

Amended T4Es

If a change was made to the amount of benefits paid to you in a previous tax year, you’ll receive an amended T4E for that tax year. Changes may occur because of a:

• returned payment
• duplicate payment
• change in the benefit type you were paid (for example, regular benefits may have been changed to sickness benefits or vice versa)
• change in the amount you repaid on the principal amount of an EI debt

There is no timeframe to issue an amended T4E. Amended T4Es are sent directly to the CRA, but your income tax return won’t automatically be reassessed. If you get an amended T4E after filing your income tax return, you’ll have to request a change to your tax return.

For more information about changing your tax return, visit How to change a return.

If the amount you repaid isn't included on your original T4E and you haven't yet received an amended T4E, add the amount you repaid:

• in boxes 26 and 30 of your T4E using your tax software, or
• on line 23200 on your paper tax return

If you already filed your 2022 income tax return without including the repayment amount, you'll need to request a change to your return once you receive your amended T4E. You'll also need to request a change to your return if the repayment amount you included doesn't match what is reported on your amended T4E.

T4E isn't correct

Verify the information on your T4E using MSCA. Compare the gross payments issued to the amount indicated on your T4E. If there is a difference, check if there is a message in MSCA stating that your claim is being reviewed. Once the review is complete, an amended T4E will be issued if it's determined that your T4E wasn't correct. If there is no message, contact us.

If you receive a T4E from Service Canada, but didn't receive any EI benefits or CERB payments, contact us.

Itemized Statement of Benefits Paid

The Itemized Statement of Benefits Paid provides a breakdown of all EI benefits paid to you in the tax year. You can view and print this slip through MSCA.

To access your Itemized Statement online, you need to sign in or register for MSCA. You can also contact us or visit a Service Canada Centre.

Statement of Interest Paid

Interest payments on an EI debt are non-taxable and not deductible. Because of this, only clients who have paid interest on a Canada Student Loan overpayment will receive a Statement of Interest Paid. If you paid interest on an EI overpayment, you won't receive this statement.

If you repaid an amount towards a Canada Student Loan overpayment, you'll receive a statement showing the amount of the repayment that was applied against the debt interest. You'll need this slip to complete your tax return.

Statement of Crown Debts Repaid

The Statement of Crown Debts Repaid reports any payments that were made or reversals that were applied against the taxable portion of one of the following debts:

• grants and contributions
• training allowance payment

If one of these situations applies to you, you'll need this slip to complete your tax return.

Penalty payments

Penalties on EI debt are non-deductible and don't appear on the T4E. Only repaid taxable benefit amounts are deductible from income.

If you repaid an amount against an EI debt, only the amount of the repayment that was applied against the debt principal will be reported on the T4E. The amount that was applied against the penalty won't be on the T4E. If you made a payment towards a penalty, but didn't receive or repay any EI benefits during the year, you won't receive a T4E.

Interest on debt

Interest on EI debt is non-deductible and doesn't appear on the T4E. Only repaid taxable benefit amounts are deductible from income.

If you repaid an amount against an EI debt, only the amount of the repayment that was applied against the debt principal will be reported on the T4E. The amount that was applied against debt interest won't be on the T4E. If you made a payment towards interest owing, but didn't receive or repay any EI benefits during the year, you won't receive a T4E.

Tax exemptions

Tax exemptions are determined by the CRA, not by Service Canada.

If you're exempt from paying income tax but your T4E shows that tax was deducted from your benefits, amended T4Es won't be issued.

When you use the information on your T4E to complete and submit your income tax return, the CRA will confirm if you're exempt and determine what you owe. If taxes were deducted incorrectly, the CRA will process a reimbursement.

Increasing the amount of tax taken off your payments

You can choose to have more tax deducted from each EI payment to avoid owing a larger amount of tax when you file your income tax return. To have more tax deducted, contact us or visit a Service Canada Centre.

Change of social insurance number (SIN)

If your SIN changes, you'll no longer be able to access the MSCA account you created with your former SIN. You'll need to create a new account using your new SIN to access your T4Es and other information in MSCA.

With your new MSCA account, you'll be able to view only T4Es issued for your new SIN. To view the T4Es issued for your former SIN, use CRA's My Account for Individuals.

Change of address

If you've chosen to receive your T4E by mail, we will mail your original T4E to the address we have on file. For the 2023 tax year, the last day to change your address is January 11, 2024.

Visit MSCA if you want to change how you get your T4E. If you need to update your address, please contact us.