Your CERB tax slip is either a T4A or a T4E, depending on where your payments came from. If you applied through the Canada Revenue Agency, your $2,000 payments appear on a T4A (Statement of Pension, Retirement, Annuity, and Other Income). If your CERB came through Employment Insurance, it appears on a T4E (Statement of Employment Insurance and Other Benefits) issued by Service Canada.1Canada.ca. T4A COVID-19 Amounts2Canada.ca. T4E Service Canada CERB Amounts The two slips report to different lines on your tax return, so getting the distinction right is the first step.
CERB was paid without any tax withheld. Every dollar is taxable, and you owe the income tax when you file.
T4A or T4E: Which One You Have
Think back to how you applied. If you went through the CRA (through CRA My Account or the CRA’s dedicated CERB application), your slip is a T4A. If you applied through Service Canada as part of the EI system, your slip is a T4E, and it will show CERB combined with any regular EI benefits paid in the same year.
The reason this matters: each slip feeds a different line on your T1 return. Filing CERB on the wrong line can trigger a reassessment.
Where to Find Your Slip
Both agencies mailed physical copies to the address on file, with a delivery deadline at the end of February following the tax year the benefits were paid. Digital copies are available online.
For a T4A, log into CRA My Account, where archived slips can be viewed, downloaded, and printed.3Canada Revenue Agency. Get a Copy of Your Slips For a T4E, use My Service Canada Account. If you can’t find yours anywhere, the online portals are the fastest route; paper copies can also be requested by calling the CRA, but processing takes longer.
The Boxes That Matter
On the T4A, your total CERB paid by the CRA sits in Box 197. Other COVID-19 emergency benefits (CRB, CRSB, CRCB, CWLB, and so on) use their own boxes in the 197–204 and 211 range, so if you received more than one program, each has its own line on the slip.4Canada Revenue Agency. Report Amounts on Your Tax Return
On the T4E, CERB is folded into Box 14, the total-benefits box, alongside any regular EI. There’s no separate CERB line on the slip itself. To confirm the exact CERB portion, pull your itemized benefit statement from My Service Canada Account.2Canada.ca. T4E Service Canada CERB Amounts
Compare every figure against your bank statements before you file. Discrepancies are easier to fix beforehand than after a reassessment.
Reporting CERB on Your Tax Return
This is where people trip up. The line depends on which slip you have.
- T4A (CERB from the CRA): report the Box 197 amount on Line 13000, the “other income” line on your T1.5Canada.ca. Verify Your Benefit Amounts – T4A COVID-19 Amounts
- T4E (CERB through EI): report the Box 14 amount on Line 11900, where all EI benefits go.2Canada.ca. T4E Service Canada CERB Amounts
Most tax software handles this automatically when you import slips from the CRA portal, which is the safest way to avoid a keying mistake. On a paper return, write the figure on the correct line and double-check it against the slip.
After the CRA processes the return, you’ll receive a Notice of Assessment confirming any balance owing or refund.6Canada Revenue Agency. Notices of Assessment – NOA or NOR – Personal Income Tax Keep it with your original slips. The CRA can ask for supporting documents years later.
If You Repaid Some or All of Your CERB
Repayments get their own tax treatment, and the rules depend on when you paid the money back.7Canada Revenue Agency. Impact on Your Taxes – Repay COVID-19 Benefits
- Repaid before December 31, 2020: the amount was already netted out of your 2020 T4A or T4E before it was issued. Nothing more to do.
- Repaid between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2022: you can claim the deduction in the year you repaid, in the year you originally received CERB, or split it between the two. Use Line 23210 on the applicable return.
- Repaid after December 31, 2022: claim the deduction in the year you actually repaid the money, on Line 23200.
On the T4A, a repayment amount from the CRA shows up in Box 201. On the T4E, a repayment to Service Canada is included with other EI repayments, and Service Canada sends a separate letter confirming the CERB portion.8Canada Revenue Agency. Line 23210 – Federal COVID-19 Benefits Repayment
The flexibility on 2021–2022 repayments is worth checking. If your 2020 tax bracket was higher than the bracket in the year you repaid, claiming the deduction against 2020 income produces a larger refund. Many people defaulted to the repayment year without comparing.
If Your Slip Is Wrong
Contact the issuing agency first. For a T4A, that’s the CRA (by phone or through the online portal). For a T4E, it’s Service Canada. Give them a couple of weeks to issue an amended slip.
Do not file using amounts you know are wrong. The CRA has an electronic copy of every T4A and T4E, so any mismatch will surface eventually. If you can’t get a corrected slip in time, file with the correct figures backed by supporting records (bank statements, Records of Employment, screenshots from CRA My Account) and attach an explanation.
Penalties and Interest If You Still Owe
Because nothing was withheld at source, many CERB recipients ended up with a balance owing. If you haven’t filed and you owe tax, the late-filing penalty is 5% of the unpaid balance 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 three previous tax years and received a formal demand to file, the penalty jumps to 10% plus 2% per month, up to 20 months.9Canada.ca. Interest and Penalties on Late Taxes – Personal Income Tax
Compound daily interest runs on top of the penalty. The prescribed rate on overdue taxes for the second quarter of 2026 is 7%.10Canada.ca. Interest Rates for the Second Calendar Quarter Interest runs from the filing deadline, so an unpaid CERB tax debt from the 2020 tax year has been accumulating for years.