T4E slip: box 14 goes on line 11900, box 7 flags the 30% clawback

What does each T4E box mean, and which T1 line does it feed?

Box 14 is the total, and most other boxes are pieces of it. Report box 14 minus any tax exempt amount in box 18 on line 11900 canada.ca, then pick up the boxes that have their own lines canada.ca.

Line 11905 is a memo line. Boxes 36 and 37 are already inside line 11900, so they aren't added again when you total income on line 15000 canada.ca. Box 14 can also include benefits for a period in the prior year that were paid this year, because EI is taxable in the year it's paid canada.ca.

When does box 7 trigger an EI benefits repayment?

Three conditions all have to hold: there's an amount in box 15, box 7 shows 30%, and net income for the test (line 23400, less lines 11700 and 12500, plus line 21300 or an RDSP repayment on line 23200) is above $82,125 for 2025 canada.ca. The threshold is 1.25 times the year's maximum insurable earnings, and the repayment is 30% of the lesser of the benefits and the income above that line, under section 145 of the Employment Insurance Act laws-lois.justice.gc.ca.

The maximum insurable earnings come from the CRA rate table canada.ca, and ESDC confirms the $86,125 threshold for 2026 income canada.ca. The same $68,900 ceiling sets the 2026 premiums covered in EI max 2026.

Two exemptions take most clients out. A client paid less than one week of regular or fishing benefits in the 10 preceding tax years repays nothing, and special benefits (maternity, parental, sickness, compassionate care, family caregiver) are never repaid. A client with both regular and special benefits in the same year can still repay part of the regular benefits canada.ca.

Worked example: what two clients repay on 2025 benefits

Both clients have box 7 at 30% and $8,000 of regular benefits in box 15 for 2025. Only net income differs.

Enter the repayment on line 23500 as a deduction and again on line 42200, where it adds to the tax payable canada.ca. The deduction keeps the clawed back dollars from also being taxed as income. Client A never repays more than 30% of the $8,000 of benefits, however high income goes.

Tax withheld in box 22 doesn't cover this. Service Canada deducts federal and provincial or territorial tax as benefits are paid canada.ca, but nothing is held back for the repayment, so a client with high income later in the year should ask Service Canada for more tax deducted canada.ca. A client who also gets OAS runs both repayments through the same line 23500 chart, as covered in OAS clawback 2026.

Why box 30 goes on line 23200, not line 23500

Box 30 is money your client paid back because they were overpaid, either directly or by having it recovered from later benefits (box 26), plus any reversal of tax deducted (box 27). It's a deduction on line 23200 canada.ca. The CRA says repaying excess benefits isn't the same as the social benefits repayment on line 23500 canada.ca.

If Service Canada cut a payment before it went out, the slip shows only the net amount and there's nothing to deduct canada.ca. A client who repays an overpayment from a prior year still gets a T4E, with the repayment in box 26 for the year it was repaid canada.ca. Box 30 is also the figure you enter on line 0 of the repayment chart on the slip canada.ca.

Which boxes trip up Quebec, First Nations and training clients?

Box 23 follows residence on December 31, not where the benefits were paid. A Quebec resident claims it on the Quebec return, and a client living anywhere else on December 31 claims it on line 43700 of the federal return canada.ca. Quebec residents receive a T4E(Q) with an extra copy for the provincial return canada.ca.

Box 18 holds benefits that are exempt because the client is registered, or eligible to be registered, under the Indian Act. Subtract it from box 14 and file Form T90 canada.ca. The exemption rules are on Indian Act tax exemption.

A client in an approved training program can get a second T4E from the program or provincial government, with amounts in boxes 20 and 21; check the payer's name to tell the slips apart canada.ca. Box 20 is taxable and can support a tuition claim on Form T2202, while box 21 goes on line 25600 and earns no tuition credit canada.ca.

When does the T4E arrive, and what if it's wrong?

The T4E is in My Service Canada Account as early as February 1, and the mailed copy should arrive before mid March canada.ca. The Itemized Statement of Benefits Paid in the same account lists each payment, which is how you check box 14.

An amended T4E has no set issue date. Service Canada sends it to the CRA, but the return is not reassessed automatically, so if your client already filed you have to request a change to the return canada.ca. If gross payments in the account don't match the slip and no review message shows, your client contacts Service Canada.