Pre-Tax RRSP contributions

[BlueMatia]

Hi, I had received a bonus at work mid-2023 and I had asked my employer to direct that bonus directly to my RRSP (ie: the contribution is pre-tax since they did not need to take any withholdings on it in this case).

Q#1 - Should I still be receiving some sort of tax slip for this contribution to enter onto my tax return?  Or do they not provide one since the contribution was made pre-tax?

I also made another lumpsum contribution for another bonus early this year in Jan 2024. 

Q#2 - Should I be getting a tax slip for this one too for my 2023 taxes since it was done in first 60 days?

Thanks

[TurboTaxSusan]

Yes, you should receive an RRSP contribution receipt for both contributions.

[BlueMatia]

Thank you Susan,

And would be that tax slip number?

[TurboTaxSusan]

It's just called a RRSP contribution receipt.

[FrederikF]

Hi,

When i add the pre tax RRSP contribution in my tax form, I get an additional tax deduction ($ return). Is this normal? Logically, if i contributed to an rrsp with pre-tax dollars, I shouldn't be receiving a return, no?

Thank you, 

[BlueMatia]

That's exactly my confusion...I was under the impression that we don't get additional deduction when using pre-tax dollars .but I'm no expert ..hope we get a definitive answer

[TurboTaxGinette]

@FrederikF  @BlueMatia If a deposit was made in your RRSP you should get an RRSP information slip and therefore be able to have a deduction. If you did not, the money may have been transferred to a mutual fun. This needs to be clarified with the financial institution that did the transfer for the company. You may also wish to verify the information slips in your Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) MyAccount or call them at 

1-800-959-8281.

Thank you for choosing TurboTax.

[Jity22]

This issue has caused a lot of confusion before i explain i will define some important tax return terms and box Numbers on your T4;

Group RRSP = Employee contributed RRSP (pre tax) + Employer Matched RRSP (pre tax)

Box 14: Total pre tax Income (Income before tax = Sum of pre tax income on all your pay slip for the year + Bonus pay + employer matched RRSP). Note that employer matched RRSP is considered as an income to an employee.

Taxable Income: This is the amount of income subject to tax, after deductions (such as RRSP). Note that there is no line number  on T4 slip for taxable income, the taxable income can only be determined at tax return stage.

Pay slip taxable income: Pre tax income on your pay slip  - Employee contributed RRSP pre tax

Pay slip paid tax= Tax paid on Pay slip taxable income

Box 22: Income tax paid on all pay slip taxable income for the year (Sum of pre tax income on all your pay slip for the year - sum of Employee contributed RRSP for the year)

Box 22: Income tax paid = sum of Pay slip paid tax for the year

Tax deductions: are amounts you subtract from your total income, making your taxable income lower. This means you’d be charged taxes on a smaller amount of income (https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/popular-canadian-tax-benefits-deductions-and-credits-in-2023-14180). Note that RRSP are tax deductible

When you upload a T4 to turbo tax it will read box 14 and box 22, if you have contributed to group RRSP it will appear that you have underpaid your taxes as turbo tax does not have information on your Pay slip taxable income, therefore you have to input your group RRSP contribution (Employee contributed RRSP + Employer Matched RRSP ) as a deduction on turbo tax. Remember that your employer have included Employer Matched RRSP as an income on box 14. You can always try a dry run or simulation by uploading only T4 without any deduction or credit and you will see that it appears that you have heavily underpaid your taxes. (you can use this turbo tax quick calculator   https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tax-resources/canada-rrsp-calculator.jsp)