T4A Compliance for Canadian Contractors: The CRA's $77M Enforcement Push

In 2025, the Canada Revenue Agency made a watershed decision: after a 14-year moratorium on T4A Box 048 penalties, the CRA is now actively enforcing. Budget 2025 allocated $77 million over four years specifically for T4A enforcement. If you pay subcontractors in Canada, this affects you directly.

What Is a T4A Slip?

A T4A slip reports payments made to individuals and sole proprietors for services. If you pay a subcontractor more than $500 for services in a calendar year, you must issue a T4A slip. To do this, you need to collect:

Legal name
Social Insurance Number (SIN) or Business Number
Address

This is the Canadian equivalent of the US W-9 and 1099 system.

T4A Penalties

Violation	Penalty
Failure to file T4A	$100 to $7,500 per infraction
Failure to obtain SIN/BN	$100 per instance
Late filing	$10/day per T4A, minimum $100, maximum $2,500

Provincial Workers’ Compensation

Beyond T4A, every province requires workers’ compensation compliance:

Ontario WSIB: Must obtain clearance certificate before construction work begins. Maximum fine $100,000 per conviction. Clearances valid approximately 90 days.
BC WorkSafeBC: If a subcontractor has delinquent status, you become liable for their premiums.
Alberta WCB: Clearance letter system. COR (Certificate of Recognition) required for many projects.

Ontario Construction Act (Bill 60)

Effective January 2026, Ontario’s Construction Act introduces new annual holdback release provisions, decoupled from lien expiry. This creates additional documentation requirements for every subcontractor payment.

Documents to Collect from Every Subcontractor

T4A information (legal name, SIN or Business Number, address)
WCB/WSIB clearance certificate (quarterly/semi-annual renewal)
Commercial general liability insurance certificate
COR certificate (if applicable)
Business registration or licence
Statutory declaration or lien waiver (per payment)

How VendorProof Helps

VendorProof tracks all of these documents for every subcontractor, with automated reminders when WCB clearances (which expire every 90 days), insurance certificates, and COR certifications are approaching expiry. The compliance dashboard shows you exactly which subs are compliant and which need attention.

With the CRA’s $77M enforcement push, now is the time to get your subcontractor documentation in order. VendorProof is free for up to 10 subcontractors, no credit card required.