T4A or T5018: reporting subcontractor payments in Canada
Do Canadian service businesses file a T4A or a T5018 for subcontractor payments?
Most service businesses (lawn care, cleaning, pest control and similar trades) file a T4A slip with box 048 (fees for services) when the total paid to a subcontractor exceeds $500 in a calendar year. The T5018 applies only to payers whose primary source of business income is more than 50% from construction activities, for payments to subcontractors for construction services. The T4A is due on or before the last day of February.
Who is telling you this, and why: Fieldwynn is a field-service app for small crews, we are building it, and it has not launched. The next step at the foot of this page is an early-access email ask, not a live product. Read the page as a funnel rather than a disinterested verdict. Every figure below is quoted from a CRA page and linked back to it, which is the part that holds regardless of what software you use.
Which slip do you file?
If your business paid a subcontractor more than $500 for services in a calendar year and construction is not your main business activity, you report that payment on a T4A slip in box 048 (fees for services). The CRA’s T4A slip page is direct: “Report any fees or other amounts paid for services.”
If construction is your main business activity and the payments were to subcontractors for construction services, you file a T5018, Statement of Contract Payments instead. RC4157 says not to fill out a T4A for “payments made by individuals, partnerships, trusts, or corporations with construction as their main business activity to subcontractors for construction services.”
For most field-service operators (lawn care, cleaning, pest control, snow removal, pool service), the slip is the T4A.
The more-than-$500 test
The CRA’s T4A slip page says a T4A is required when “the payment is not included on the exceptions list” and “the total of all payments in the calendar year was more than $500” under the CRA’s administrative policy, or when you deducted income tax from any payment. That $500 is the aggregate across all payments to one recipient in the year, not a per-payment threshold.
The construction-main-activity test
The T5018 applies when two conditions are met together: (1) construction is the payer’s main business activity, and (2) the payment was to a subcontractor for construction services. A lawn care company that subcontracts a fence installation is not mainly in construction, so it reports that payment on a T4A, not a T5018. A roofing or general contracting firm whose primary revenue comes from construction work would use the T5018 for its construction subcontractors.
The CRA’s T5018 slip page prints the threshold: “Your primary source of business income is more than 50% from construction activities.” The CRA’s RC4157 states the same rule from the T4A side: do not fill out a T4A for “payments made by individuals, partnerships, trusts, or corporations with construction as their main business activity to subcontractors for construction services.” If you are unsure whether construction is your main business activity, confirm with the CRA or a tax professional.
GST/HST exclusion
The CRA’s instruction is explicit: “Do not include GST/HST or PST in the amount reported in box 048.” The amount you report is the payment for the service itself, not the tax collected on top of it.
Filing deadlines
T4A: T4A slips and the T4A summary must be filed “on or before the last day of February following the calendar year to which the slips apply” (RC4157). For 2026 payments, the last day of February 2027 is Sunday, 28 February. RC4157 states: “If the last day of February falls on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a holiday recognized by the CRA, your information return is due on the next business day.” That makes the 2026 T4A deadline Monday, 1 March 2027.
T5018: The CRA’s When to file information returns page sets the T5018 due date at “6 months after the end of the reporting period (calendar year or fiscal period) chosen by the payer.” For a payer on a calendar-year reporting period ending 31 December 2026, that is 30 June 2027.
Where this fits for Canadian operators
If you run a lawn care or snow removal business in Canada and pay subcontractors for mowing, ploughing or seasonal labour, box 048 on the T4A is where that payment goes. The provincial licence rules for lawn care and the insurance requirements for snow removal cover the registration and coverage side; this page covers the information-return side.
This guide quotes CRA primaries only (the T4A slip page, RC4157, the T5018 slip page and the When to file page). It is not tax advice, does not cover deductibility, GST/HST registration or penalty calculations, and does not replace the CRA’s own instructions or a conversation with a tax professional.