The T1 checklist: a Canadian tax document checklist for every slip
A tax document checklist for a Canadian T1 is mostly a list of slips. The work is in naming each one, so the client sends the T5008 and the FHSA slip as well as the T4 they remember.
This is the list a firm sends its personal tax clients in January, and the list a client can work through at the kitchen table. Every line is a slip, a receipt or a figure the T1 needs, grouped the way a client's paperwork actually arrives: from the employer, from the bank, from the government, and from the shoebox. Firms call it the T1 checklist, or the T1 intake checklist when it opens the engagement.
Last reviewed against 20 primary sources.
Free download
Canadian tax document checklist
The full list as a printable PDF for clients, as an Excel workbook, and as a CSV you can load into your own tools. Written for T1 returns filed in 2027.
Download the PDF Download for Excel Download the CSVNo email required.
Next step: send this list to the client as a request list in FirmHello. They upload against each line, and reminders chase whatever is still open.
Get startedThe CRA's own advice is to wait until every slip, document and receipt is in before filing, because a return filed on a partial set is how reassessments start. A named list is what tells you, and the client, that the set is complete. Most slips should be out by the end of February; a few are not, and the notes say which.
The list covers the federal return. It is not tax advice for any one client, and you should cut the groups that do not apply before you send it. The T1 engagement letter sets the date you need the documents by.
The list
Send the groups that fit the client. Every line is one thing to upload; the note under it says why it matters, or where clients usually go wrong.
You and last year
- Your notice of assessment for last year's return It carries the RRSP deduction limit statement, the figure that decides how much of this year's contributions you can deduct.
- Any Form T1028 the CRA sent you since that notice The CRA may send it when your RRSP deduction limit changed after the notice, and sends it to Home Buyers' Plan and Lifelong Learning Plan participants.
- Last year's full return, if our firm did not prepare it
- Any letter from the CRA received during the year
- The date of any change in marital status, and your spouse's net income
- Direct deposit details, if they have changed
Employment and benefits
- A T4 from every employer you worked for during the year Most are sent by the end of February.
- T4A slips for pension, commission, fees or other income
- T4E for Employment Insurance benefits It is online in My Service Canada Account from about February 1; by mail it should arrive by mid-March.
- Form T2200, signed by your employer, if you are claiming employment expenses The employer completes and signs it; you keep it for six years rather than filing it.
- Receipts for any employment or home office expenses you are claiming
Pensions, retirement and government payments
- T4A(P) for Canada Pension Plan benefits
- T4A(OAS) for Old Age Security
- T4RSP for any RRSP withdrawal
- T4RIF for RRIF income
- T4FHSA from each First Home Savings Account
- T5007 Statement of Benefits, if you received one
Investments
- T5 slips for interest and dividends from each bank or broker Usually sent by the end of February.
- T3 slips for mutual fund and other trust income These usually arrive by the end of March, so a client who holds funds is rarely complete in February.
- T5013 slips for any partnership you invest in Like the T3, these can arrive at the end of March.
- T5008 slips for securities you sold or redeemed Box 20 may not be your adjusted cost base. You are expected to adjust it, so send your own cost records too.
- Your purchase records for anything sold where the cost is missing or unclear
- Foreign property records, if its total cost was over $100,000 at any time That brings in Form T1135, filed with the return.
RRSP and FHSA
- RRSP contribution receipts for March to December of the year
- RRSP receipts for contributions in the first 60 days of this year The CRA warns these receipts can arrive later than other slips. Tell us the amounts if the receipt is not yet in.
- A record of each FHSA contribution, and the date you opened the account Schedule 15 is required in the year you open your first FHSA, even if you put nothing in.
- Any transfer between an RRSP and an FHSA
- Home Buyers' Plan or Lifelong Learning Plan repayments due this year
Children, education and care
- T2202 for each student in the family For a university outside Canada, the TL11 certificate takes its place.
- Child care receipts for the year Where an individual provided the care, the receipt must show their social insurance number.
- Which spouse has the lower net income, if you both paid for child care That spouse generally claims the deduction, on Form T778.
- Disability Tax Credit Certificate (Form T2201) details, if anyone in the family has one
Medical costs and donations
- Medical receipts for any 12-month period ending in the year Only the amount above 3% of net income, or a fixed dollar figure if lower, counts. The lower-income spouse usually claims, because the 3% is worked out on their income.
- Prescriptions or certificates that support any unusual medical claim
- Official donation receipts, including any from the last five years not yet claimed Donations can be claimed in the year or carried forward up to five years, and a spouse can claim them.
- Details of any shares or other property you donated, not only cash A gift of property with a capital gain brings in Form T1170.
Home and provincial credits
- Rent receipts, or your property tax bill, for the year Provincial credits use them. In Ontario, the Ontario Trillium Benefit is claimed on Form ON-BEN, filed with the return.
- Long-term care or designated student residence costs, if you paid them
- The sale price, date and costs of any home you sold during the year A sale of your principal residence must be reported on Schedule 3 and Form T2091(IND), or the exemption can be refused.
- Purchase documents for a home bought during the year
Self-employed and rental income
- Income and expenses for your business, for the T2125
- Income and expenses for each rental property, for the T776
- Capital purchases for the business or rental, with invoices
- Vehicle log of business kilometres, if you claim vehicle costs
Tax already paid
- Instalments paid during the year, with dates and amounts The CRA's February and August reminders show the amounts it suggested. What you actually paid is what counts.
- The instalment reminders the CRA sent in February and August
- Any balance you paid toward last year's return after filing
- Tax paid to another country on income from outside Canada
Before you use this
Supplied as-is, with no guarantee. These templates are general information, not legal advice, and not a substitute for it. Have your own legal adviser review and adapt one to your practice and your jurisdiction before you put it in front of a client. FirmHello accepts no responsibility or liability for any use made of them.
The thresholds behind the T1 list
The figures that add a line to a Canadian client's list, or a date to their year, for T1 returns for 2026 filed in 2027.
| Figure | Amount | Applies to | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Instalment payments | Net tax owing over $3,000 ($1,800 in Quebec) in 2026, and in 2025 or 2024 | 2026 instalments | CRA, Who has to pay instalments |
| Form T1135 | Specified foreign property costing over $100,000 at any time in the year | 2026 tax year | CRA, Questions and answers about Form T1135 |
| FHSA participation room | $8,000 in the first year | The year the client opens a first FHSA | CRA, First Home Savings Account |
| Filing deadline | April 30; June 15 if self-employed, with any balance still due April 30 | T1 returns for 2026 | CRA, Important dates for individuals |
Checked against the CRA's pages on October 17, 2026. Check them again before the season starts.
How to send it
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1
Cut it to the client
Delete the groups that do not apply. A retired couple with a RRIF and a T5 should not scroll past T2125 and child care lines.
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2
Send it in January
Clients start receiving slips in February. A list that arrives first means each slip has somewhere to go the day it comes in. Sent from a client portal for accounting firms, each slip line stays open until the client uploads it.
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3
Hold the list open for the late slips
Mark the T3, T5013 and first-60-days RRSP receipts as expected later, and chase them in March rather than in February.
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4
Check the NOA before you start
Compare the notice of assessment with the RRSP receipts before you prepare anything. Over-contributions and missed carryforwards show up there first.
What only a Canadian tax season asks of this list
The CRA expects most slips and receipts to be out by the end of February. T3 and T5013 slips can take until the end of March, and receipts for RRSP contributions made in the first 60 days of the year can come later still. So the list goes out in January, and it stays open into March for any client who holds mutual funds.
Most individuals file by April 30. A self-employed client, and their spouse or common-law partner, have until June 15 to file, but any balance is still due on April 30. Send the self-employed their list first: their records take longest, and the payment date does not move.
The notice of assessment is a document to ask for
Last year's notice of assessment carries the RRSP deduction limit statement, and the CRA may send Form T1028 if the limit changes after it or the statement was left off. A list without the notice leaves you working out contribution room from memory.
A first-year FHSA needs a schedule
Schedule 15 is required in the year a client opens their first FHSA, even with no contribution. Contributions not deducted generally carry forward, so ask for every contribution, not only the ones the client wants to claim this year.
A home sale is reported even when it is exempt
Since 2016 the CRA allows the principal residence exemption only if the sale and the designation are reported, on Schedule 3 and Form T2091(IND). A late designation can carry a penalty. The list asks the question so the client does not decide for you that a tax-free sale needs no mention.
Instalments, and Quebec
Instalments are required when net tax owing is over $3,000 this year and in either of the two years before, or $1,800 in Quebec. A Quebec resident may also file a separate provincial return with Revenu Québec, which this list does not cover.
Where Canadian tax document lists go wrong
Filed before the T3 arrived
The client sends everything in early March, the return goes in, and a T3 arrives three weeks later. The CRA's advice is to wait for every slip. A named T3 line makes the wait visible.
The T5008 cost taken as the cost base
Box 20 is the broker's cost or book value, which may not be the adjusted cost base. Ask for the client's own records wherever the gain looks wrong.
The home sale nobody mentioned
The client assumed a tax-free sale did not need reporting. The exemption depends on the designation being filed, so the list asks directly.
Send this as a request list in FirmHello
Save the list once as a template, trim it for each client, and send one link. Each line becomes an item the client uploads against, so a missing T3 shows as an open line rather than a gap you notice in April. Reminders go out on the schedule you set until every line is in or you close it, and what arrives stays in the client's vault. FirmHello does not read the slips or pass them to your tax software; your team still reviews what comes in. See the client portal for accounting firms.
Related templates and guides
Questions about tax document checklists
When should clients expect their tax slips?
Most slips and receipts should arrive by the end of February. T3 and T5013 slips may not arrive until the end of March, and receipts for RRSP contributions made in the first 60 days of the year can come later. Slips issued to the CRA also appear in the client's CRA account.
Where does a client find their RRSP deduction limit?
On the RRSP deduction limit statement in last year's notice of assessment or reassessment, on a Form T1028 if the CRA sent one, or in their CRA account. That is why the notice is the first line on the list.
What should a self-employed client send?
Everything an employee sends, plus a year of business income and expenses for the T2125, capital purchases and a vehicle log if they claim vehicle costs. They have until June 15 to file, but a balance is due on April 30.
Does the list cover Quebec?
It covers the federal return. A Quebec resident may also need to file a separate provincial return with Revenu Québec, and the documents for it are not listed here.
Is this list complete for every client?
No list is. It covers the documents most T1 returns draw on. Cut what does not apply, add what your practice needs, and have it reviewed against your own procedures before you send it.
Sources
The primary sources this page is written against, last read against it on . Check them before relying on a detail; rules and thresholds change.
- Government of Canada Slip list and titles
- Government of Canada T4/T4A and T5 mostly sent by end of February, T3 by end of March
- Government of Canada T4E available online in My Service Canada Account as early as February 1
- Government of Canada T2200 signed by the employer
- Government of Canada RRSP deduction limit shown on the RRSP deduction limit statement in the latest notice of…
- Government of Canada T5008 reports amounts paid for securities disposed of or redeemed
- Government of Canada T1135 required when specified foreign property cost exceeds $100,000 at any time in the…
- Government of Canada FHSA contributions generally deductible
- Government of Canada Schedule 15 required in the year the first FHSA is opened even with no contribution or…
- Government of Canada Tuition claims supported by T2202 from Canadian institutions, TL11A/TL11C/TL11D outside…
- Government of Canada Child care expenses claimed on Form T778
- Government of Canada Receipt must show the social insurance number where an individual provided the child care
- Government of Canada Medical expenses
- Government of Canada Donations need official receipts
- Government of Canada Ontario Trillium Benefit (OEPTC, NOEC, OSTC) applied for with Form ON-BEN on the return
- Government of Canada Sale of a principal residence must be reported on Schedule 3 and Form T2091(IND)
- Government of Canada Form titles T2125 and T776
- Government of Canada Instalments required when net tax owing exceeds $3,000 ($1,800 Quebec) this year and in…
- Government of Canada T1 filing April 30
- Government of Canada Quebec residents may need to file a separate provincial return with Revenu Québec
What changed
- Added an Excel (.xlsx) copy of the checklist beside the PDF and CSV.
- Retitled as the T1 checklist for Canadian tax intake.
Send the list once, and let it chase
Each line becomes something the client uploads against. Reminders go out on your schedule until the list is complete, and every file lands in the client's vault.
No card and no sales call. If you would rather tell us about your firm first, use the longer form.