Its not just you we also just shuddered at the thought of another year having flown by, and year-end tax season being upon us again.
Its part of an employers legal requirements to calculate, withhold, and remit income taxes from their employees pay to the Canadian government throughout the year, and give employees their year-end payroll tax form (also known as a T4) by the end of February so they can file their personal income tax.
From reviewing taxable benefits, to balancing and reconciling records, to creating and filing T4s, there are a number of critical steps payroll administrators need to take to stay in compliance with the CRA and provide a smooth tax experience for their employees.
We get ittax season can be pretty overwhelming, even for seasoned payroll professionals. Luckily for 91做厙 Payroll users, you have a team of payroll product experts and a payroll software to help you confidently navigate tax season!
Our payroll team received some great questions from last years tax season. To help make this years filing a stress-free process, here are your top five questions during tax season, answered.
- What does it mean when I have a +/- on 91做厙s PIER Analysis Report, and what should I do now?
91做厙s Pensionable and Insurable Earnings (PIER) Analysis Report is designed to help streamline T4 preparation and quickly identify potential discrepancies in Employee CPP, Employer CPP, Employee EI, and Employer EI.
You can easily see a discrepancy if theres an amount other than zero in any of the variance fields.
A positive (+) discrepancy means theres an over-remitted amount, or an overage.
A negative (-) discrepancy means theres an under-remitted amount, or a deficiency.
If you see a discrepancy, determine if it is valid, by:
- Totalling the CPP and Employer CPP
- Totalling the EI and Employer EI
- Taking those amounts and cross referencing them with the Remittance Report to determine if you need to remit more
If you have over-remitted, the CRA will issue a credit for the over remittances. If youve determined that you need to make additional payments, you can view the process in our .
- Why is there a PIER deficiency on 91做厙s PIER Analysis Report?
91做厙s PIER Report helps bring to your attention any variances that may be flagged by the CRA, although it doesnt mean that youve definitely over or under remitted.
These variances need to be explained to the CRA if they question it. Reasons for variances could include, but are not limited to:
- If an employee was on payroll, with 0 pay in a pay period
- If an employee turned 18 or 70 and started/stopped contributions
- If an employee was on leave but remained on as an active employee and active on payroll
- If you were granted an EI premium reduction, using a rate that is lower than the standard employer rate of 1.4 times the employees' EI premium
- If your company was implemented mid year.
Smaller variances aren't looked at closely by the CRA, so in the cases where you are seeing pennies, it's likely a rounding error and that isn't something youll be required to explain.
91做厙s PIER Report is designed to give you the tools you need to flag and determine the cause of the variance so you can decide on the best course of action to take. Due to compliance and liability reasons, were not able to advise on specific reasons for employee variances, but we highly recommend speaking to an accountant if you are new to reconciling a PIER Report.
- How do I send my terminated employees T4s?
Once youve edited, reviewed, and finalized your T4 package in 91做厙, youll be able to send T4s to all employees via the email associated with their 91做厙 profile. Terminated employees cannot log into their 91做厙 profile anymore to edit their email, so its good practice to check the email on their 91做厙 account is a personal email.
To update a terminated employees email address:
- Go to the People module on the left navigation pane.
- Under the "Directory" tab, click on the filter icon next to the "Status" column and select the "Terminated" checkbox.
- Follow the steps in to update an employees email.
- What do I need to consider if I joined 91做厙 part way through a calendar year?
We recommend that you follow up with your previous payroll provider to confirm they do not file T4s, as this will overstate actual earnings and will require reconciliation.
You should also check the companys YTD import to ensure that it includes all payroll details from 2022 pay cycles processed prior to when the company onboarded with 91做厙. If not, use 91做厙s T4 Adjuster Tool to add the YTD information.
Note: Your 91做厙 PIER Report may flag your CPP and Employer CPP as a discrepancy since youve joined mid year, due to the CPP per pay period exemption which would not be captured when importing YTDs.
- An employee has informed me that there is an error on their T4. How do I revise a T4 thats been filed already?
If you've submitted your T619 file to the CRA and discovered an error on a T4, the CRA requires that you create and submit an Amended T4, and upload a new, updated T619 on the CRA's website.
Thankfully, you can create T4 amendments in 91做厙 Payroll! Follow for creating T4 amendments.
Have more questions? Weve got you covered.
On January 17th, were hosting a live event with our payroll product expert, Greg Caskie, to help you confidently navigate tax season with 91做厙. Well take you through your role as a payroll admin during tax season, show you how to use and comprehend 91做厙s PIER Analysis & T4 Preview Reports, do a walkthrough of how to enter year-end adjustments, and showcase how 91做厙s T4 generation tools help make tax season a more streamlined experience.
For all things 91做厙 payroll during year-end tax season, refer to our , which includes a year-end checklist to help you stay on top of critical tax season tasks, and detailed instructions for:
- how to review and adjust records
- how to issue, edit, and file your T4s
- how to set-up for the next payroll year
If you have specific questions regarding the T4 module, our payroll support team will be happy to help! Simply .
