When is the T5018 return due for payments to construction subcontractors?
The T5018 deadline is six months after the end of the reporting period you chose. For calendar 2025 payments it was June 30, 2026, and for calendar 2026 it is June 30, 2027. Fiscal period payers count from their year end. You file only if construction is over 50% of the business and a subcontractor got more than $500.
T5018 due dates by reporting period end
Section 238(4) of the Income Tax Regulations sets one rule: the return is filed within six months after the end of the reporting period it covers laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. The CRA repeats it on its filing dates page and adds that the payer picks the calendar year or a fiscal period
canada.ca. Here are the dates that matter as of October 2026.
| Reporting period ends | Six months later | File by |
|---|---|---|
| December 31, 2025 (calendar 2025) | June 30, 2026 | June 30, 2026 (passed) |
| April 30, 2026 | October 30, 2026 | October 30, 2026 |
| May 31, 2026 | November 30, 2026 | November 30, 2026 |
| June 30, 2026 | December 30, 2026 | December 30, 2026 |
| July 31, 2026 | January 31, 2027 (Sunday) | February 1, 2027 |
| September 30, 2026 | March 30, 2027 | March 30, 2027 |
| October 31, 2026 | April 30, 2027 | April 30, 2027 |
| December 31, 2026 (calendar 2026) | June 30, 2027 | June 30, 2027 |
Watch the year ends that fall on the 30th. Section 28 of the Interpretation Act counts months to the day with the same number, so a strict count puts six months after June 30 at December 30 laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. The CRA hasn't published a T5018 example, and for the T2, whose six month rule uses the same words, it says a year ending on the last day of a month is due on the last day of the sixth month, which would give December 31
canada.ca. Filing by December 30 is on time under either reading, which is why the table uses it. A year end on the 31st has no such gap: six months after March 31 lands on September 30 because September has no 31st.
When the date falls on a Saturday, a Sunday or a public holiday the CRA recognizes, the return is on time if the CRA receives it or it is postmarked by the next business day canada.ca. That's why the July 31 row moves to Monday, February 1, 2027.
Calendar year or fiscal period: your client picks once
The reporting period can follow the calendar year or the business's fiscal period. Once it's chosen, it can't be changed for later years unless the Minister authorizes it, under section 238(3) laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. So a contractor that started on a fiscal period stays on it, and its deadline moves with its year end.
Payments go on the slip for the period in which they were paid, not the period the work was done canada.ca. An invoice for December work paid in January belongs to the next period. On the T5018 Summary, you enter the calendar or fiscal year end of the period your client chose
canada.ca.
Who has to file a T5018
The CRA requires a T5018 slip, or a listing with the same information, when all three of these are true: more than 50% of the business's income earning activities are construction, the payment went to a subcontractor resident in Canada for construction services, and that subcontractor was paid more than $500 in the period, not counting GST/HST canada.ca. Individuals, partnerships, trusts and corporations are all caught.
Construction activities in section 238(1) include the erection, excavation, installation, alteration, repair, improvement, demolition or removal of all or part of a building, structure or similar property laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. The CRA points to NAICS code 23 for the sector.
| Payment | Where it goes |
|---|---|
| Resident subcontractor, construction services in or outside Canada | T5018, box 22 |
| Subcontractor who is not a resident of Canada | T4A-NR, not T5018 |
| Goods only, such as lumber or fixtures | Not reported |
| Services, but construction isn't your client's main business | T4A, not T5018 |
| Same person is both an employee and a subcontractor | Wages on the T4, subcontract work on the T5018 |
The 50% test is about the payer's business, not the project. The CRA's own example is a natural gas company that builds pipelines: its main business is gas transmission, so it doesn't file T5018 returns canada.ca.
The $500 threshold, worked through with HST
The threshold and the slip amount treat sales tax differently, and this is where returns go wrong. Under CRA administrative policy, the $500 test excludes GST/HST, but box 22 includes GST/HST and PST canada.ca. For an invoice that mixes goods and services, only the service portion counts toward the $500
canada.ca.
Take a framing company on a calendar reporting period with four payees in 2026:
| Payee | Paid in 2026 | Test amount | Slip? | Box 22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drywall sub: $450 plus $58.50 HST | $508.50 | $450 | No | None |
| Electrical sub: $12,000 plus $1,560 HST | $13,560 | $12,000 | Yes | $13,560 |
| Lumber yard: goods only | $40,000 | Not a service | No | None |
| Mixed invoice: $3,000 materials, $400 labour, no GST/HST charged | $3,400 | $400 | No | None |
The drywall sub crosses $500 only because of the HST, so no slip is needed. The electrical sub gets one slip showing the full $13,560, tax included. That single slip is the whole return, due June 30, 2027.
Late filing and paper filing penalties
Each slip counts as a separate information return under ITA section 162(7.01). T5018 is one of six returns that get the CRA's reduced administrative penalty for small filers canada.ca.
| Slips filed late | Penalty under CRA policy |
|---|---|
| 1 to 5 | $100 flat |
| 6 to 10 | $5 a day, maximum $500 |
| 11 to 50 | $10 a day, maximum $1,000 |
| 51 to 500 | $15 a day, maximum $1,500 |
| 501 to 2,500 | $25 a day, maximum $2,500 |
| 2,501 to 10,000 | $50 a day, maximum $5,000 |
| 10,001 or more | $75 a day, maximum $7,500 |
There's a second, separate penalty for the filing method. For returns filed on or after January 1, 2024, more than 5 T5018 slips in a calendar year must be filed electronically. Filing 6 to 50 slips on paper costs $125, and the penalty climbs to $2,500 for 2,501 slips or more canada.ca.
Sources
Do I have to give my client's subcontractors a copy of their T5018?
No. The CRA says you aren't required to distribute T5018 slips, though you may still send the recipient a copy canada.ca. The February deadline for handing out slips applies to T4 and T4A slips, not to T5018.
Can a contractor switch from its fiscal period to the calendar year for T5018?
Only with the Minister's authorization. Section 238(3) locks in the reporting period once it's chosen laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Without that approval, keep filing on the original period and count six months from its end.
Does a business that builds only now and then file a T5018?
Not if construction is 50% or less of its income earning activities. Its payments to subcontractors for services may belong on a T4A instead, which has its own deadline: the last day of February after the calendar year.
Are payments to a subcontractor for work outside Canada reported?
Yes, if the subcontractor is a resident of Canada. The CRA lists construction services provided inside or outside Canada by a resident subcontractor as reportable, while a subcontractor who isn't resident goes on a T4A-NR canada.ca.
General information for the tax year shown, not advice for a specific client. Confirm the facts before you file or remit.