MEMO
From: Flourish Management Consulting - Chaos Academy
To: All Our Beloved Chaos Academy Members
Subject: Handling the New Canada Dental Program T4 Requirements
Wondering about how you need to report Box 45 on your T4s with Canada’s new Canada Dental Program? Fear not! We have been researching this topic on behalf of our customers.
The information we provide here is not consulting nor accounting advice. Information provided in our public posts are general in nature and your situation may require specific advice. As always, check with your own Advisory sources if you have questions. If you do not have an advisor to assist you, contact us at Help Me Flourish!
CRA says:
For calendar year 2023 and after, it is mandatory to indicate whether the employee or any of their family members were eligible, on December 31 of that year, to access any dental care insurance, or coverage of dental services of any kind, that you offered.
There are five codes that correspond to each of the defined categories of access to dental coverage:
| Code | Access |
|---|---|
| 1 | Not eligible to access any dental care insurance, or coverage of dental services of any kind |
| 2 | Payee only |
| 3 | Payee, spouse and dependent children |
| 4 | Payee and their spouse |
| 5 | Payee and their dependent children |
Notice this important distinction about Canada Dental Plan eligibility. Our research and understanding is that the question is not asking whether the employee is currently RECEIVING benefits, the question is asking whether the employee was ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE in a dental insurance plan at December 31, 2023.
Eligibility Scenarios:
1) Employer does not offer Dental Insurance as part of any benefits or group plan coverage to any employee. Employer does not reimburse or give allowances of any kind for dental services to any employee. Everyone is set to not eligible.
2) Employer offers dental insurance or reimbursements as part of an employee benefits package. Whether the employee signs up for the plan or not, and regardless of the share paid by employer/employee, some employees ARE ELIGIBLE TO ACCESS Dental Insurance.
2.1) Employee is a regular employee and was eligible on December 31, 2023 to be covered by a dental insurance plan. Employer indicates the employee was eligible, and selects which coverage is AVAILABLE to be purchased by the employee (payee only, payee + spouse + dependent children, payee + spouse, payee + dependent children).
2.2) Employee was not eligible to participate in a plan because they had not worked long enough to qualify for benefits by December 31, 2023 (eg. plans with 3 month waiting periods or hours bank folks in the trades). Employee is set to not eligible.
2.3) Employee is a part-time or casual employee and was not eligible to participate in a plan because the company does not offer the plan to Part-time or Casual staff. Employee is set to not eligible.
2.4) Employee is part of Foreign Worker Program and not eligible for benefits under the company plan. Employee is set to not eligible.
2.5) The employee works most of the year but gets laid off before Christmas each year. Employee will return to work in 2024. So, at December 31, 2023, the employee was not eligible for benefits. Employee is set to not eligible.
Setups Required to Get T4s Reporting Box 45:
Depending on your system, this could vary, but the setting for the eligibility will normally be on the employee profile.
In Spire, go to the Payroll >> Employee >> Amounts tab, and there is a drop-down box in the bottom left hand corner. {Note: information shown is demo data not related to any real person}.
In version 3.11, you can also import eligibility via the Tools >> Import >> Employees option.
Remember to add the dental program eligibility information for anyone who worked at all during 2023 as you will need to create a T4 for them. If you generate your T4s and forget to set someone’s Box 45 on the employee profile, you can also set the box 45 on the T4 level in Spire.
If you try to import your T4s to CRA without the Box 45 information, your T4s will be rejected.
As always, if you need help, contact us at support@flourishconsulting.ca
Have fun Crushing the Chaos in your business,
Nona & The Flourish Team