A T5018 slip, Statement of Contract Payments, reports the total a construction business paid each subcontractor in its calendar year or fiscal period. As of October 2026, you must issue one if more than 50% of your business income comes from construction, you paid Canadian resident subcontractors for construction services, and the year's payments to that subcontractor were more than $500, not counting GST/HST.
The CRA's stated reason is compliance in the construction industry and reducing the underground economy. If you're a general contractor, trades business or builder that hires subcontractors, this is part of your year end. If construction isn't your main business, you usually don't file it at all.
Who has to issue a T5018
Individuals, partnerships, trusts and corporations involved in construction must issue a T5018 slip, or send the CRA a listing, if all three tests are met:
| Test | What the CRA says |
|---|---|
| Primary source of income | More than 50% of your business income comes from construction activities |
| Who you paid | Canadian resident subcontractors, for construction services inside or outside Canada |
| How much | More than $500 to that subcontractor in the period, not including GST/HST |
The CRA's example is a natural gas company that builds pipelines: its principal business is gas transmission, not construction, so it doesn't have to report, although the CRA will accept a T5018 if it sends one. If someone works for you as an employee and also as a subcontractor, the wages go on a T4 slip and only the subcontract work goes on the T5018.
What counts as construction
The CRA lists dozens of activities, including electrical work, plumbing, drywalling, roofing, painting and decorating, demolition, excavating and grading, fencing, hardwood flooring, air conditioning and heating work, insulation, masonry, asphalt paving and swimming pool installation. Heavy equipment rental counts only if it comes with an operator. Structures include homes, apartment and commercial buildings, highways, bridges, pipelines and power lines. Planes, satellites and ships don't count.
What to report on the T5018, and what not to
- Report payments to Canadian resident subcontractors for construction services, whether paid by cheque, cash, barter or offset against a debt they owe you.
- Don't report payments to non-resident subcontractors: those go on a T4A-NR slip.
- If construction isn't your primary source of income, use a T4A slip instead.
- Don't report payments for goods only.
Joint cheques have their own rule. You report only the subcontractor you contracted with. In the CRA's example, ABC General Contractor writes a $1,000 cheque to XYZ Drywallers and their sub-trade MNOP Plasters together: ABC reports $1,000 to XYZ, and XYZ reports $1,000 to MNOP.
How to fill in the T5018 slip
- Box 20: the last day of your reporting period in which the payment was made.
- Box 22: the total paid to the subcontractor in the period, including GST/HST and PST where they apply. Bartered goods or services count at fair market value.
- Box 24: the subcontractor's 15-character program account number (for example 123456789RT0001) or their SIN.
- Recipient's business name and address, and your own name as payer.
- Your own program account number goes on your copy and the CRA copy only, never on the copies you give subcontractors.
Note the split: the $500 threshold is tested without GST/HST, but Box 22 includes GST/HST and PST. So the test is whether the pre-tax total is more than $500, and if so, the slip shows the tax-inclusive total. You can check a subcontractor's GST/HST number using the CRA's confirmation service before you file; our GST/HST registration guide covers how those numbers work.
Formatting rules
- Report amounts for the year they were paid, in dollars and cents, in Canadian dollars even if you paid in another currency.
- File a separate T5018 return for each payroll account the payments came from.
- No negative amounts to fix earlier years, no nil or N/A in empty boxes, no hyphens between numbers and no dollar signs.
- Don't change box headings.
A worked example
Say you run a renovation company and all your income comes from construction. During the year you pay a resident electrician several invoices for wiring work, a non-resident specialist for one job, and a supplier for timber. Only the electrician goes on a T5018, and only if the pre-tax total is more than $500. The non-resident goes on a T4A-NR slip, and the timber isn't reported because it's goods only. If you paid the electrician partly by doing work on their own property in exchange, that bartered work counts at fair market value in Box 22.
If you don't use the T5018 slip
You can send a listing or printout of all payments to subcontractors instead, line by line in columns with everything the slip would show, plus the summary information, the total paid to each subcontractor, the number of subcontractors and the signature of an authorized person.
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The verdict
If construction is more than half your business, set up your books to tag every subcontractor payment with their business number from day one, and keep the GST/HST separate. At year end the slips then come straight out of your records. If construction is a side activity, check the 50% test before you file anything, because the CRA's own example says you don't have to report.
Frequently asked questions
Who needs to file a T5018?
Individuals, partnerships, trusts and corporations whose primary source of business income, more than 50%, is construction, and who paid Canadian resident subcontractors more than $500 in the period for construction services.
Does the $500 T5018 threshold include GST/HST?
No. The threshold is more than $500 not including GST/HST, but the amount reported in Box 22 includes GST/HST and PST where applicable.
Do I issue a T5018 to a non-resident subcontractor?
No. Payments to non-resident subcontractors are reported on a T4A-NR slip.
Do payments for materials go on a T5018?
Payments for goods only aren't reported. The slip covers construction services.
What goes in Box 22 of the T5018?
The total amount you paid the subcontractor during the period, including GST/HST and PST where they apply, plus the fair market value of any bartered goods or services.
Can I send a list instead of T5018 slips?
Yes. You can send the CRA a listing or printout of all subcontractor payments in column format with all the slip information, the totals, the number of subcontractors and an authorized signature.
