On August 25, 2020 CRA updated their T4 requirements in respect of COVID-Related T4 reporting requirements:
How to report employment income during COVID-19 pay periods
Additional reporting requirements will apply to all employers, and will help the CRA validate payments under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), and the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB).
For the tax year 2020, in addition to reporting employment income in Box 14 or Code 71, use new other information codes when reporting employment income and retroactive payments in* the following periods:
Code 57: Employment income – March 15 to May 9
Code 58: Employment income – May 10 to July 4
Code 59: Employment income – July 5 to August 29
Code 60: Employment income – August 30 to September 26
Eligibility criteria for the CERB, CEWS, and CESB is based on employment income for a defined period. The new requirement means employers should report income and any retroactive payments made during these periods.
Example
If you are reporting employment income for the period of April 25 to May 8, payable on May 14, use code 58.
* Originally the word “for” was used. It was updated to “in” on August 26, 2020.