T4/T4A Dental Codes, Canadian Dental Care Plan (CDCP) - FAQ
My employees have a Health Spending Account (HSA). What do I select for dental?
CRA has confirmed that if the HSA covers dental claims, code 2-5 should be selected based on the type of claims employees are eligible to submit (i.e., if they can only submit claims for themselves, select code 2; if they can submit claims for spouse and dependents, select code 3, etc.)
My employee has opted out of the benefits plan as they have coverage through their spouse’s plan with another organization, what code do I select for them?
It does not matter if an employee has opted out of benefits, if dental benefits coverage is available to them through your organization, select the applicable code for the type of coverage that is available to them.
My employee has opted for single coverage, what code do I select for them?
It does not matter what option an employee has selected for their dental benefit, select the applicable code for the type of coverage that is available.
My employee becomes eligible for benefits in December, but I am assigning dental code values in November, what code do I select for them?
The dental code value is based on whether dental coverage is offered/available to employees as of December 31, select the applicable code for the type of coverage that will be available to them as of that date.
Can I get a report of the dental selections for each employee?
There is currently no report. We have asked for this for future years. For now:
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Go to the T4/T4A Dental Benefits page.
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Make the yes/no selection.
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Click Next.
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Preview and view the employees and their current values.
Dental is covered by the union. What dental option do we choose for the staff?
December 14, 2023: We can confirm that the original guidance was for the dental code entry in T4 Box 45 to be 1 if the dental benefit is offered by the union rather that the employer. This week Health Canada advised the National Payroll Institute (NPI) that, if the employer pays 100% of the premium on dental benefits offered by a union, the entry should be a 2-5, as applicable. Since the understanding has always been that premium payment is irrelevant—it is uncertain at this time what the appropriate Box 45 entry should be for union-provided dental benefits, when premiums are entirely paid by the employer.
NPI is expecting written confirmation on what is required and will share that once it is available. It is expected that the Canada.ca site will be updated with an official answer to this question. At this time, there are no employer-facing Q&As posted.
I already filed my tax forms. Do I need to rerun them to add the dental?
CRA has stated ‘To reduce the burden on employers, if you filed your T4 slips for calendar year 2023 before January 2024, you do not have to file amended T4 slips to report this code’.
I have retired employees that I do not create T4 or T4As for normally. Do I need to create one now with the dental information?
If you wouldn't otherwise produce a form for these employees to report income, there is no need to do so for the sole purpose of dental code reporting.
If my weekly payroll pay period runs from Dec 24-30 and is paid on Jan 5, and an employe terminates, do I have to rerun my tax form to change their dental coverage option from 2 - 5 to option 1- no coverage?
Yes, you should be doing a year end run to change the employee to 1 no coverage if they have lost coverage
I am a dental office. I do not have a dental plan but I will do dental work for the staff. How do I fill out the dental page?
You would select option 2-4 based on who you do work for. Just the employee or the employee and children etc.
If dental coverage is offered but not active until after a designated 'wait period', what code do I select?
If the employee is not eligible for coverage on December 31, select code 1.
What code do I select if an employee with dental coverage terminates on or before December 31?
Select code 1.