Your CERB tax form is either a T4A or a T4E, and which one you got depends entirely on where you applied. People who applied through the CRA’s online portal received a T4A (Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income).1Canada Revenue Agency. T4A Slip: Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income People who applied through Service Canada’s Employment Insurance system received a T4E (Statement of Employment Insurance and Other Benefits).2Canada Revenue Agency. T4E Slip: Statement of Employment Insurance and Other Benefits The two slips report to different lines on your T1, so getting this right matters.
T4A or T4E: How to Tell Which One Is Yours
You don’t choose the slip. It follows the portal you used. If you can’t remember, sign in to My Account (CRA) or My Service Canada Account and check your records there.
On a T4A, your CERB amount sits in Box 197. Other COVID-19 benefits you may have received appear in nearby boxes, 198 through 204, so scan all of them before you file.3Canada.ca. Report Amounts on Your Tax Return – T4A COVID-19 On a T4E, your CERB amount is folded into Box 14 along with any regular EI benefits paid to you in the same period.2Canada Revenue Agency. T4E Slip: Statement of Employment Insurance and Other Benefits Your Social Insurance Number is on both slips, and it’s what the CRA uses to match the payments to your account.4Canada Revenue Agency. Social Insurance Number (SIN)
Before you enter anything on your return, put the slip beside your bank records and compare the totals. Discrepancies are rare. When they happen, catching them before you file is much easier than fixing a reassessment later.
How to Get a Copy of Your Slip
If you’re missing the paper copy, you can pull a digital one. T4A slips are available in My Account for Individuals on the CRA site.5Canada Revenue Agency. Individuals Can Now Receive T4A and T5 Slips More Conveniently and Efficiently T4E slips are in My Service Canada Account, along with an itemized statement that breaks out CERB from regular EI.2Canada Revenue Agency. T4E Slip: Statement of Employment Insurance and Other Benefits T4E slips are generally posted online as early as February 1.6Canada.ca. Employment Insurance Tax Information Paper copies are typically mailed by the end of February.7Canada Revenue Agency. Tax Slips
Confirm your mailing address in both accounts while you’re in there. The CRA is still sending CERB-related correspondence, and you want it to reach you.
Where CERB Goes on Your T1
The line on your return depends on the slip:
- If you received a T4A, report Box 197 (and Boxes 198 through 204 for other COVID-19 benefits) on line 13000, “Other income.”3Canada.ca. Report Amounts on Your Tax Return – T4A COVID-19
- If you received a T4E, report Box 14 on line 11900, “Employment insurance and other benefits.” The back of the T4E has line-by-line instructions for each box.
NETFILE-certified tax software does this mapping for you. Enter the slip, and each box drops onto the correct line. If you’re filing on paper, be careful: T4E income placed on line 13000 (or the reverse) can bounce back as a processing delay or reassessment.
Why You May Owe: No Tax Was Withheld
CERB payments arrived with zero tax deducted. Every dollar the CRA or Service Canada deposited was the gross amount, and the full tax bill came due when you filed.3Canada.ca. Report Amounts on Your Tax Return – T4A COVID-19 A recipient who took the maximum $14,000 across seven eligibility periods paid tax at whatever combined federal and provincial rate applied to their total income for the year. Many people saw refunds shrink or owed a balance for the first time.
Later pandemic benefits worked differently. The Canada Recovery Benefit, Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit, Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit, and Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit had 10% withheld at source, and that credit shows up on the T4A.3Canada.ca. Report Amounts on Your Tax Return – T4A COVID-19 CERB itself had none.
If You Repaid Some or All of Your CERB
The CRA is still verifying CERB eligibility and issuing repayment notices into 2026. If you’ve paid back CERB, whether because you were asked to or because you chose to, the deduction rules turn on when the repayment happened.
For repayments made after December 31, 2022, claim the deduction on line 23200, “Other deductions,” on the return for the year you actually made the repayment. A repayment made in 2025 goes on your 2025 return. For repayments made in 2022 or earlier, you had a choice: claim the deduction in the repayment year, in the year you originally received the benefit, or split it between the two.8Canada.ca. Line 23210 – Federal COVID-19 Benefits Repayment
Your T4A or T4E will still show the full amount originally paid to you, even after a repayment. That’s normal. The slip records what was disbursed; the deduction on your return separately offsets the income. Keep your repayment receipts. The CRA’s records should reflect the payment back, but your own proof is the fastest way out of a mismatch.
What Happens If You Leave CERB Off Your Return
CERB shows up plainly in the CRA’s systems, so leaving it off is one of the easier omissions for the agency to catch. When it does, two things follow. The CRA reassesses the return and adds the missing income, and penalties and interest attach to the resulting balance.
The late-filing penalty is 5% of the balance owing plus 1% for each full month the return is late, up to 12 months. If you were charged a late-filing penalty in any of the previous three years and received a formal demand to file, the rate rises to 10% plus 2% per month for up to 20 months. Compound daily interest runs on the unpaid balance starting the day after the filing deadline.9Canada.ca. Interest and Penalties on Late Taxes – Personal Income Tax
A separate penalty applies for repeated failures to report income: if you omit an amount and you also failed to report income in any of the three preceding years, the CRA can add an additional penalty on top of the reassessment.
If You’re a US Citizen or Green Card Holder in Canada
CERB is Canadian income, but the United States taxes its citizens and green card holders on worldwide income no matter where they live, so the same dollars have to appear on your US return as well.10Internal Revenue Service. US Citizens and Residents Abroad Filing Requirements CERB isn’t earned income, so it doesn’t qualify for the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion; it’s a government transfer, not pay for services.11Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Earned Income Exclusion It generally goes on Schedule 1 of Form 1040 as other income, converted to US dollars. The Canadian tax you paid on it can usually be claimed as a Foreign Tax Credit on Form 1116, which offsets the US tax on the same income.12Internal Revenue Service. Foreign Taxes That Qualify for the Foreign Tax Credit
If your Canadian accounts held more than $10,000 combined at any point during the year, you also have to file an FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) separately from your tax return.13Internal Revenue Service. Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR)