The Canadian government has implemented the Dental Care Measures Act which will provide dental benefits to all eligible Canadians. The eligibility is based on residency in Canada, income reported on tax filing (family income $90,000 or less), and uninsured status.
To support the implementation of the Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP), the legislation requires employers to report on a tax slip whether an employee, former employee, or a spouse of a deceased employee was eligible on December 31 of the reporting tax year, to access dental insurance or dental coverage of any kind, due to current or former employment.
- This includes access to ongoing (not one-time occurrence/exceptional) dental care coverage, reimbursement, or insurance as an employee or retiree benefit. Whether or not an individual made use of, or accepted coverage/insurance is not reported. Reporting covers only whether or not it was available to them.
- Employers may include Pension Plan Administrators and other organizations that complete T4As and T4s annually.
- This reporting requirement will be mandatory beginning with the 2023 tax year reporting cycle and will continue to be required on an annual basis.
As a result, the following new boxes will be added to the T4 and T4A slips for the 2023 tax year along with specific codes:
- T4 Box 45: Employer-Offered Dental Benefits Mandatory for employees.
- T4A Box 015: Payer-Offered Dental Benefits Mandatory for retirees.
- Code 1 – No access to any dental care insurance or coverage of dental services of any kind.
- Code 2 – Access to any dental care insurance or coverage of dental services of any kind for only the payee.
- Code 3 – Access to any dental care insurance or coverage of dental services of any kind for payee, spouse and dependents.
- Code 4 – Access to any dental care insurance or coverage of dental services of any kind for only the payee and their spouse.
- Code 5 – Access to any dental care insurance or coverage of dental services of any kind for only the payee and dependents.
The CRA has updated its webpage on the 2023 T4 Statement of Remuneration Paid
The changes include new boxes added for:
- Employer-offered dental benefits
- Employee’s second Pension Plan (CPP) contributions
- Employee’s second Pension Plan (QPP) contributions
- Total employer’s second Pension Plan contributions
To reduce the burden on employers, for the calendar year 2023 only, it is not mandatory to fill out box 45 when and only when code 1 is applicable. The administrative policy applies only if all reasonable efforts have been made to comply with the reporting requirements.
It is important to be proactive in these situations. Rather than waiting until year end, we recommend gathering the necessary information now in order to update your employee’s code.
