Below, you can find the answers to all your questions during the Canadian Dental Plan Workshop. Here’s the video if you’d like to watch the webinar again.
Don’t miss out on the insights shared in the presentation; the slides from the Skill-up are attached at the bottom of this article.
Q: Is there any way to get the dental benefit codes into tax slip boxes other than selecting them on Pay Groups?
A: Absolutely, you can also import them. Go to Importing Your Employee Tax Slip Information to learn more.
Q: Will Avanti automatically fill in the dental boxes for me?
A: No, Avanti cannot automatically fill in the dental boxes on your behalf. Since each organization has different benefit plan structures and company setups for managing their benefits, Avanti cannot determine the correct dental benefit code for each of your slips.
Q: Why is the setting for the dental benefit not within the Employee Profile or Benefits?
A: There are several reasons why we opted not to implement the solution in this manner for the current year:
Reporting on Employee Profile wouldn’t support accurate reporting for employees receiving multiple T4s due to working under multiple business numbers. Implementing this approach would have required extensive discovery and development time, which unfortunately, we did not have before the year-end release.
Not all of our clients use benefits within. For those who do, one of Avanti’s strengths is its high configurability, allowing each organization to set up benefits uniquely to suit its specific needs.
Due to the limited time window for implementing changes this year, we prioritized developing the broadest yet simplest solution. We want your feedback and value your input so we can improve dental benefit reporting for next year.
In March, we’re sending a survey to our Regular Class A to gather feedback on the dental benefit reporting. Please keep an eye on your inboxes for the survey. Additionally, you can submit feedback through the Avanti Feedback Forum or contact your Account Manager anytime.
Q: When extracting employee tax slip data, how does Avanti determine if an employee is terminated?
A: It checks the termination date on the Employee Profile for a date within the tax year. For this year, it includes anyone with a termination date between January 1 and December 31, 2023.
Q: Why can I not see the dental reporting boxes in the T4 Review Listings when I do a Print Preview?
A: Due to the complexities of development and the limited time available to implement the required changes this year, we couldn’t re-develop the PDF reports for Review Listings.
However, you can review the dental benefit reported on each tax slip by saving the Review Listing reports as an Excel file instead. Don’t worry if you prefer the PDF reports; we’re updating the PDF review listings for next year to include the dental and eCPP2/eQPP2 boxes.
Q: CRA’s website says employers don’t have to fill out Box 45 on the T4s if the employee’s dental benefit code is 1 - no access to dental benefits. Why can’t I leave that box blank?
A: This is a temporary administrative policy from Health Canada, not CRA, just for the 2023 tax year. They decided to implement this policy to reduce the administrative burden on small employers.
However, Health Canada is randomly auditing employers who leave the dental box blank on T4s and employers who misreport the dental benefit code could be fined $100 per slip. Since this policy is only in place for the current year, with the given risk of financial penalty, and to avoid any confusion with educating our users on all the new changes, we made the decision not to support this.
Q: Is it necessary to fill in the T4A if we are not using it for anything else?
A: If you are not otherwise generating T4As for payees, you don’t need to create a T4A for reporting dental benefit codes.
Q: Does the "eligible for" rather than "actual" mean we should fill in dental benefit code 3 for everyone, even single employees without children?
A: Yes, dental benefit code 3 (Payee, spouse, and dependent children) would be correct in that case. The dental benefit code reported should reflect what your organization’s dental plan offers, not the plan the employee is utilizing.
Q: During the enhanced CPP webinar, you stated the eCPP2 deduction/benefit code should be Calc. step 6, but it defaulted to 5 within Avanti. Which should it be?
A: The eCPP2/eQPP2 code should have the same Calc. step as your original CPP/QPP code. Due to Avanti’s ability to be highly customizable, your company’s original CPP/QPP code may have a different Calc. step than what was displayed in the presentation.
For example, if your original CPP/QPP code is Calc. step 6, then the eCPP2/eQPP2 code should also be set up with Calc. step 6. If you are unsure, please contact the Care Team for assistance.
Q: Should we modify the dental option on the Pay Groups if our employer covers 100% of dental expenses?
A: The dental benefit code isn’t based on who pays the plan premiums. You must report the dental benefit code that applies to the type of dental benefits that you offer your employees, regardless of whether the employer or employee pays the premium costs.
You can set the dental coverage the employees are eligible for on the Pay Group, which updates the tax slip box for all employees in the Pay Group during the Extract Tax Slip Data.
If employees within the same Pay Group have different dental benefit eligibility, you can also import the dental benefit code.
Q: Can we update the dental benefit code for individual employees? For instance, those in a Pay Group might be in their three-month probationary period and not yet eligible.
A: After extracting or importing the tax slip data, you can change the dental benefit code on individual slips in Maintain Employee Tax Slip Data.
Q: How is the dental benefit set for terminated employees?
A: During Extract Employee Tax Slip Data, employees with a termination date in their Employee Profile between January 1 and December 31, 2023, can have their dental benefit code set to 1.
Q: How do I set my terminated employees dental benefit to Code 1?
A: You can set terminated employees with a termination date in their Employee Profile between January 1 and December 31, 2023, to dental benefit code 1 during Extract Employee Tax Slip Data.
Q: We have processed one pay in 2024. Will that pay information be included for T4 box 45?
A: No, the 2024 pay history isn’t included in the 2023 tax slips.
Q: Are dental benefits set based on the company’s offerings, not each family’s status?
For example, I can select option 3 on the Pay Group if our benefits cover employee, spouse, and dependents; I don’t need to enter code 4 for employees with a spouse and no dependents.
A: Yes, that is correct. If your organization’s benefit plan offers dental coverage for employees, a spouse, and their eligible dependents, then you would report dental benefit code 3 on their tax slip, regardless of whether that particular employee has a spouse or any dependents.
Q: Does the dental benefit reporting begin with the 2023 or 2024 T4s?
A: The new dental plan reporting requirement starts with your 2023 T4s and T4As. The information provided in this webinar is for the 2023 T4 and T4A tax slips, which are due for filing by February 29, 2024. The new dental benefit reporting requirements will continue to be in effect for future tax years as well.
Q: Can you please share the importing employee tax slip data template?
A: Go to Tax Slip Import File Format to learn more. For step-by-step instructions, check out Importing your Tax Slip Information.
Q: We offer benefits that allow employees to add their spouse and dependent children if they have them. Employees without dependents are on a single plan, but they can add dependents anytime their circumstances change.
In this case, should all employees’ dental benefit reporting be code 3, whether they are enrolled on the family plan? Or do I have to confirm what plan each employee is enrolled in and update the dental benefit reporting accordingly?
A: Yes, that is correct. If the benefit plan your organization offers is for employees, a spouse, and their eligible dependents, then you would report dental benefit code 3 (payee, spouse, and dependent children) on their tax slip, regardless of whether that particular employee has a spouse or any dependents.
Q: The union said I’m not supposed to use code 3 for dental benefit reporting, and they will be issuing a T4A instead. We pay the dental to the union, so I’m a bit confused. Is the union correct?
A: CRA’s website currently states the following regarding union-provided benefits:
“If a union offers dental benefits to its members, the union would not be considered as their employer and will not be required to issue a T4A slip to report this benefit for their members or provide this information to the member’s employer or former employer. A union will have to report this benefit for the union’s employees or former employees.”
Please get in touch with the CRA directly for additional clarification.
Q: Not all hourly employees are eligible for dental and other benefits. Can Avanti automatically determine who had dental and who didn’t?
A: Avanti only populates the dental boxes based on your selection on the Pay Group. You’ll need to determine the coverage that employees are eligible for.
If the dental benefit code on the Pay Group doesn’t align with some employees’ eligibility, there are a couple of things you can do after extracting the tax slip data:
Change the dental benefit code on T4 and T4 in Modify Employee Tax Slip Data.
Import the dental benefit code using Import Tax Slip Data.
Q: We offer employer-paid dental coverage for all staff who qualify for benefits. We have two codes, one for single coverage and one for family. I know I can change box 45 for each employee, but it seems easier to import the dental benefit code. Is this possible?
A: If the benefit plan your organization offers is for employees, a spouse, and their eligible dependents, then you would report dental benefit code 3 on their tax slip, regardless of whether a particular employee has a spouse or any dependents.
Q: If an employee’s benefits eligibility status changed during the year, say from 3 to 4, which code should populate their T4?
A: The dental benefit code must reflect what type of plan the employee was eligible for as of December 31, 2023.
Q: How do you assign the correct codes to employees if the same Pay Group has employees with and without dental benefits?
A: If the dental benefit code on the Pay Group doesn’t align with some of your employees’ dental eligibility, you can change the dental benefit code on individual slips after extracting the tax slip data or import the dental benefit code using Import Tax Slip Data.
Q: One of the webinar slides stated, “Do not use box 45 before January 2024 if you are filing electronically.” Can you please clarify?
A: This only applies to employers who filed 2023 tax slips before January 1, 2024. If you are filing 2023 tax slips on or after January 1, 2024, you are required to complete Box 45 on the 2023 T4 tax slips.
Additional Resources
Tax Slip Processing in Avanti:
Tax Slip Import Information: