Pay tax trader, T3 T5 T4

what is crs tax form T3 for? and why it comes out end of march why not early

A 

T3 tax form (Statement of Trust Income Allocations and Designations) is used in Canada to report income you earned as a beneficiary of a trust. This most commonly applies to: 

• Mutual funds and ETFs held in non-registered (taxable) accounts.
• Estate income from a deceased person's estate.
• Income trusts, such as Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). 

Why it comes out in late March

While standard slips like T4s or T5s are usually issued by the end of February, T3 slips are typically not available until the end of March due to the following reasons: 

1. Legal Deadline: The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) gives trusts 90 days after their tax year-end to issue these slips. For most trusts ending on December 31, this makes the deadline March 31.
2. The "Trickle Down" Effect: Trusts (like mutual funds) are often "conduits" that pass through income they receive from other sources. They must wait for their own tax slips (like T5s from corporations) to arrive in late February before they can calculate the exact nature of the income (interest vs. dividends vs. capital gains) to report to you.
3. Complex Allocations: Trust income is not always straightforward cash. It often includes reinvested distributions and adjustments like Return of Capital (Box 42), which take more time to calculate accurately than standard employment or interest income. 

Key Filing Tip

Do not file your personal income tax return until you have received all expected T3 slips. Filing too early may lead to a reassessment by the CRA if you miss reporting trust income, which can result in interest charges or penalties

other slips mostly bef ends

T5 (Statement of Investment Income)

T5008 (Statement of Securities Transactions)

Crypto related Form T2125

T4RSP / T4RIF  / T4FHSA

T5013 (Statement of Partnership Income)

Foreign Property (T1135)

Pro-tips: Many of these slips are automatically uploaded to your CRA My Account, where you can use the Auto-fill My Return feature in tax software to pull the data directly

If Box 20 (Cost or Book Value) is blank on your T5008 slip, you are responsible for calculating and entering your Adjusted Cost Base (ACB) manually. Leaving it blank often causes tax software to assume your cost was $0, resulting in you paying tax on the entire sale amount as a gain

1. Calculate Your Adjusted Cost Base (ACB) 

Your ACB is not just the purchase price; it is the total cost of acquiring the security. 

• Formula: (Purchase Price × Number of Shares) + Trading Commissions.
• Averages: If you bought shares of the same company at different times, you must use the weighted average cost per share.
• Adjustments: You must also account for events like Return of Capital (Box 42 on T3 slips) or reinvested dividends, which can lower or raise your ACB. 

2. Locate Your Records

Since your broker did not provide the cost on the slip, you can find the necessary data in:

• Monthly Account Statements: These show the historical "Book Value" or "Average Cost".
• Trade Confirmations: These provide the exact purchase price and commissions for every individual buy order.
• Realized Gain/Loss Report: Most brokers (like TD or CIBC) offer a specific year-end report that calculates these figures for you, even if they aren't on the official T5008. 

3. Report on Your Tax Return

You have two main ways to enter this info into your tax software:

• Directly on the T5008: Enter your calculated ACB into Box 20 and the sale price into Box 21.
• On Schedule 3: Some users prefer to skip the T5008 section and enter the transactions directly onto Schedule 3 (Capital Gains and Losses). This is often cleaner if you have many small trades. 

Why is it blank? Brokers often leave Box 20 empty if you transferred the shares from another institution, as they may not have a verified record of your original purchase price