What Is a T5 Slip in Canada? A Complete Guide
A T5 slip, officially called the Statement of Investment Income, is a tax slip that reports the interest, dividends, royalties, and other investment income a Canadian payer gave you during the year. Banks, credit unions, brokerages, and corporations issue it to anyone they paid $50 or more in investment income. The payer sends one copy to you and another to the CRA.
You use the amounts on your T5 slip to report investment income on your T1 personal tax return. Payers have to send T5 slips by the last day of February. For the 2026 tax year, the deadline is March 1, 2027, because February 28 falls on a Sunday.
What Is a T5 Slip and Why It Matters?
A T5 slip is the CRA’s official record of the investment income paid to you in a calendar year. The CRA calls the T5 slip the Statement of Investment Income. It covers income from non registered sources, like interest from a high interest savings account, a GIC, or a government bond. It also reports dividends from Canadian shares and royalties from Canadian sources. Each slip covers one calendar year, from January 1 to December 31, and shows the payer’s name, your name, and your social insurance number.
The T5 slip matters because the CRA gets the same information you do. When you file your return, the CRA’s system matches the income you report against every slip filed under your social insurance number. If you leave out the interest on a $20,000 GIC, the CRA will almost always find it. You then get a reassessment with interest charged on the extra tax owing.
Some income never shows up on a T5 slip. Interest and dividends earned inside a TFSA or RRSP are sheltered from tax, so no slip is issued for them. Income from mutual fund trusts and ETFs usually comes on a T3 slip instead. Non residents of Canada get an NR4 slip for their Canadian investment income, not a T5.
Who Receives a T5 Slip in Canada?
Two main groups get T5 slips each year: personal investors and shareholders of Canadian corporations.
1. Investors and Savers
If you have a savings account, a GIC, or a non registered brokerage account that earned $50 or more, expect a T5 slip in February or early March. Many banks now post slips online instead of mailing them. Check the tax documents section of your online banking before you start your return. If you earned under $50, you may not get a slip, but you still have to report the income.
Joint account holders get one slip with both names on it. Each person reports their share based on how much money they each put into the account, not simply half each. If only one spouse contributed the savings, that spouse reports all the income under the CRA attribution rules. Keep deposit records in case the CRA asks who funded the account.
2. Shareholders of Canadian Corporations
Many incorporated business owners pay themselves through dividends instead of salary. Every dividend a corporation pays has to go on a T5 slip, even when the owner is the only shareholder. A contractor in Airdrie or a consultant in the Beltline who takes $40,000 in dividends from their company gets a T5 for that amount. The dividend then goes on their personal return like any other investment income.
People who own public company shares through a broker also get T5 slips for the dividends they receive. The slip separates eligible dividends from other than eligible dividends. Eligible dividends usually come from large public companies, while other than eligible dividends usually come from small private corporations. The two types get different tax treatment, so each box on the slip has to be read carefully.
Key Boxes on a T5 Slip Explained
Each box on a T5 slip reports a different type of income, and each one goes on a specific line of your return.
1. Interest and Foreign Income Boxes
Box 13 reports interest from Canadian sources, like savings accounts, GICs, and bonds. Interest is fully taxable at your marginal rate, with no gross up and no tax credit. That makes interest the most heavily taxed type of investment income in Canada. Box 14 reports other income from Canadian sources, and Box 17 reports royalties from Canadian sources.
Box 15 reports foreign income, and Box 16 shows any foreign tax withheld on it. You can claim a foreign tax credit for the Box 16 amount so the same income isn’t taxed twice. Box 18 reports capital gains dividends, which you report on Schedule 3 as capital gains. Only 50 percent of a capital gain is taxable, so this income is taxed lightly.
2. Dividend Boxes and Gross Up
Box 24 shows the actual eligible dividends you received, and Box 25 shows the taxable amount after a 38 percent gross up. Box 26 gives the federal dividend tax credit at 15.0198 percent of the taxable amount. For example, a $10,000 eligible dividend becomes $13,800 of taxable income. You then get a federal credit of $2,072.73 against your tax.
Box 10 shows other than eligible dividends, and Box 11 grosses them up by 15 percent. Box 12 gives a federal dividend tax credit of 9.0301 percent of the taxable amount. On a $10,000 dividend, you report $11,500 of taxable income and claim a $1,038.46 federal credit. Alberta adds its own dividend tax credit on top of the federal credit, which lowers the tax further.
How to Report a T5 Slip on Your Tax Return?
Each amount on your T5 slip goes on a specific line of your T1 return, and missing slips still have to be reported.
1. Where Each Amount Goes on Your T1
Report the interest from Box 13 on line 12100 of your return. Report the taxable dividend amounts from Boxes 11 and 25 on line 12000, and also enter the eligible amount from Box 25 on line 12010. Your federal dividend tax credits from Boxes 12 and 26 go on line 40425. Foreign income from Box 15 goes on line 12100 as well, with the tax paid claimed on Form T2209.
Most tax software, like Wealthsimple Tax and TurboTax, lets you type in each box directly from the slip. If you use Auto fill my return through CRA My Account, your T5 amounts come in automatically. Always compare those numbers against the paper or PDF slip before you file. Slips issued late, or amended after February, don’t always show up in Auto fill right away.
2. Missing or Wrong T5 Slips
If your slip never arrives, you still have to report the income. Use your year end bank or brokerage statement to work out the interest or dividends, and keep that statement with your records. The CRA charges a penalty of 10 percent of the income if you leave out the same type of income twice within four years. It’s always better to report the income, even from your own records.
If a slip shows the wrong amount, ask the issuer for an amended T5 slip marked “Amended.” If you have already filed, use ReFILE or Form T1 ADJ to change your return once the corrected slip arrives. Don’t just change the amount on your own return, because the CRA matches your return against the original slip. That mismatch leads to a review letter and delays your refund.
T5 Slip vs Other Canadian Tax Slips
The T5 is one of several CRA information slips, and mixing them up leads to mistakes on your return.
| Slip | What It Reports | Who Issues It | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| T5 | Interest, dividends, royalties | Banks, brokers, corporations | Last day of February |
| T3 | Trust, mutual fund, and ETF income | Trusts and fund companies | 90 days after trust year end |
| T4 | Employment income and deductions | Employers | Last day of February |
| T4A | Pension, fees, and other income | Payers and pension plans | Last day of February |
| T5008 | Proceeds from selling securities | Brokers and dealers | Last day of February |
A T5 slip reports income you earned by holding an investment, while a T5008 reports what you received when you sold one. You use the T5008 amount to work out your capital gain or loss on Schedule 3. Your adjusted cost base has to come from your own records, because the slip often leaves it blank. Our guide on Capital Gains Tax on Real Estate in Alberta explains how the inclusion rate works.
T3 slips often arrive in late March, well after T5 slips, because trusts get 90 days after their year end. If you hold both bank investments and ETFs, wait until all your slips arrive before you file. Filing early and then correcting your return later means extra paperwork and a slower refund. A simple list of every account you own helps you track which slips are still missing.
Owners who pay themselves a salary and dividends need to issue a T4 and a T5 every year. Those slips have to match the corporation’s payroll records and financial statements. We have a team in Calgary that can help you with Personal Tax Returns in Calgary, Calgary Financial Statements, Bookkeeping in Calgary, and Calgary Accounting Services so every slip is accurate and filed on time.
T5 Slip Deadlines and Penalties for Business Owners
Corporations that pay dividends have to prepare T5 slips and a T5 Summary for the CRA every year. Your corporation has to send each T5 slip to the shareholder and file it with the CRA by the last day of February after the year the dividend was paid. For 2026 dividends, the deadline is March 1, 2027. You file under an RZ program account on your business number, and more than 5 slips have to be filed online. Our Business Owners Guide to Prepare T5 Slip walks through each step and each box.
Late filing penalties are $100 for up to 5 slips and go higher as the number of slips grows. The CRA can also charge $25 a day for each slip not given to the recipient, from a minimum of $100 up to a maximum of $2,500. These penalties apply even when your corporation owes no tax at all. A calendar reminder for mid February gives you time to file without rushing.
The dividends on your T5 slips also have to match your corporation’s T2 return and financial statements. Read How to File Corporate Taxes in Alberta and Alberta Corporate Tax Rate to see how dividends connect to the 2 percent small business rate. If you’re still a sole proprietor, our detailed resource on How to Incorporate a Business in Alberta explains when paying yourself dividends starts to save you tax. Clean records all year make T5 season quick, and our Bookkeeping Checklist for Small Businesses in Calgary shows how.
FAQs
Q. What is a T5 slip used for?
A T5 slip reports the interest, dividends, and other investment income a Canadian payer paid you during the year. You use it to report that income on your T1 tax return, and the CRA uses its copy to check your return.
Q. When will I receive my T5 slip?
Payers have to send T5 slips by the last day of February. For the 2026 tax year, the deadline is March 1, 2027, since February 28 falls on a Sunday.
Q. Do I get a T5 slip if I earned less than $50 in interest?
Usually not, because payers only have to issue a T5 when the income is $50 or more. You still have to report all your interest income on your return, even without a slip.
Q. Is a T5 slip issued for TFSA or RRSP income?
No. Income earned inside a TFSA or RRSP is sheltered from tax, so it never appears on a T5 slip.
Q. What is the difference between a T5 and a T3 slip?
A T5 reports interest and dividends paid directly by banks, brokers, and corporations. A T3 reports income from trusts, mutual funds, and ETFs, and it usually arrives in late March.