T4 Box 22 — Income tax deducted
The total federal and provincial income tax your employer withheld and remitted to the CRA on your behalf during the year.
At a glance — Box 22
- Box name
- Income tax deducted
- T1 line
- Line 43700 — Total income tax deducted
- Check against
- The income tax line on your final pay stub year to date, added across every T4 you received.
What Box 22 means
Box 22 is the income tax your employer took off your pay and sent to the CRA on your behalf during the year. It covers federal tax plus provincial or territorial tax, with one exception: Quebec provincial tax is not in box 22, because it is withheld separately and reported on the Relevé 1 you file with Revenu Québec.
The amount is driven by the federal and provincial TD1 forms you gave your employer, by any extra withholding you asked for, and by your pay frequency. It is tax collected in instalments against an estimate, not a calculation of what you actually owe.
Box 22 is the single biggest reason people receive refunds. Payroll withholds as though every pay period were typical of the whole year, so a bonus, a mid-year job change, a period of unpaid leave, or deductions payroll never knew about all push the withheld amount away from your real liability.
Amounts your employer withheld under a garnishee or a requirement to pay for tax arrears you were already assessed on do not belong in box 22. Those are payments against an existing debt rather than current-year source deductions, and the CRA credits them to your account separately.
Tax return implications
- Enter the total from box 22 on every T4 at line 43700. It is subtracted from your total tax payable.
- If box 22 plus your refundable credits exceeds your tax payable, the difference is refunded to you.
- Withholding is credited to the year the pay was received, not the year the work was done.
- A slip with income in box 14 and nothing in box 22 is normal for low earners whose TD1 claims covered their income. It simply means no tax was prepaid.
- Quebec employees claim the Quebec tax withheld on the TP-1 using the Relevé 1, not through box 22.
Common pitfalls & things to check
- Do not enter box 22 as a deduction or a credit anywhere else on the return. It is tax already paid, and claiming it twice produces a refund the CRA will reverse on assessment.
- If you had several employers, none of them knew about the others, so each withheld as though it were your only job. That is the usual reason someone with two jobs owes money at filing despite a large-looking box 22.
- Check box 22 against your final pay stub before you file. Slips are occasionally produced from an incomplete payroll run, and an understated box 22 costs you real money.
- Bonuses, commissions and severance are often withheld at flat lump-sum rates rather than at your marginal rate, so box 22 can fall well short of what those payments actually attract.
FAQ
Can I increase Box 22 next year?
Yes. File a new TD1 and provincial TD1 with an additional amount requested on the last line, or ask payroll to withhold extra each pay. It is the simplest fix if you tend to owe at filing.
Why is my box 22 so much smaller than a coworker's?
The TD1 claims you each filed differ, and so do the credits payroll was told about. Someone claiming more on their TD1 has less withheld through the year and a smaller refund, or a balance owing, when they file.
My Quebec T4 shows a small box 22. Is it wrong?
Probably not. For Quebec employment, box 22 carries only the federal tax. The Quebec portion is withheld separately and appears on your Relevé 1.
I paid tax instalments as well. Do those go in the same place?
No. Instalments are claimed at line 47600. Line 43700 and box 22 cover only tax withheld at source by an employer.
Related T4 boxes
Box 14 — Employment income
Your total gross employment income for the year before any deductions — salary, wages, bonuses, commissions, taxable benefits and most other pay.
Box 26 — CPP/QPP pensionable earnings
Your total earnings subject to CPP or QPP during the year — typically Box 14 up to the YMPE (and up to the YAMPE if Box 16A CPP2 contributions apply).
Box 28 — Exempt (CPP/QPP, EI, PPIP)
Three check boxes showing whether you were exempt from CPP/QPP, EI or PPIP deductions for the full reporting period.
Box 16 — Employee's CPP contributions
The total CPP (Canada Pension Plan) contributions deducted from your pay during the year — base plus enhancement rate applied to pensionable earnings between the basic exemption and the YMPE.
Filing your return? Use the payroll deductions calculator to verify the amounts on your T4 match expected CPP, EI and income tax withholdings, and the income tax calculator to estimate your refund or balance owing.
Sources
T4 box definitions from CRA T4 employer guide. Rates and thresholds current for 2025; file your 2025 T1 by April 30, 2026 (self-employed June 15).
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