T4 Box 44 — Union dues
Annual union or professional-association dues paid through payroll deduction — fully deductible from employment income.
At a glance — Box 44
- Box name
- Union dues
- T1 line
- Line 21200 — Annual union, professional or like dues
- Check against
- Your final pay stub, and any receipt the union itself issued. Do not claim both for the same dues.
What Box 44 means
Box 44 is the tax-deductible union or professional dues your employer withheld from your pay. The CRA only permits an employer to use box 44 where the employer and the union have agreed that the union will not issue its own receipts, and the employer keeps that certificate of agreement on file. Without such an agreement box 44 stays empty and the union sends you a receipt instead.
Line 21200 covers more than union dues. It takes annual dues for membership in a trade union or an association of public servants, professional board dues required under provincial or territorial law, professional or malpractice liability insurance premiums or professional membership dues required to keep a professional status recognized by law, and parity or advisory committee dues required under provincial or territorial law.
Several things that look like dues are not deductible. Initiation fees, licences, special assessments and any charge for something other than the organization's ordinary operating costs are all excluded, and charges for pension plans are excluded even where your receipt describes them as dues.
The amount in box 44 includes any GST or HST you paid on the dues. That is deliberate: the tax is part of the deductible amount, and you may also be able to recover it separately through the employee GST/HST rebate.
Tax return implications
- Claim the box 44 amount at line 21200. It is a deduction, so it reduces income at your marginal rate rather than giving a flat credit.
- Dues you paid directly rather than through payroll are claimed on the same line from your own receipts.
- You may be eligible for a rebate of the GST/HST included in your dues, claimed separately at line 45700.
- Strike pay the union paid to its members is not reported in box 44 and is not netted against your dues.
- For the 2024 calendar year and later, union dues relating to tax-exempt employment income under the Indian Act are reported under code 95 rather than box 44, and partly exempt pay is prorated between the two.
Common pitfalls & things to check
- Claiming both box 44 and a union receipt for the same dues is the most common error on this line. If both arrived, one is a duplicate; the CRA's own guidance is not to claim the same amount twice.
- Initiation fees often sit on the same pay stub line as regular dues but are not deductible, and the CRA tells employers to keep them out of box 44. A box 44 that looks unusually high in your first year of membership is worth checking.
- Professional liability insurance qualifies only where the coverage or the membership is required to keep a professional status recognized by law. A voluntary industry association fee does not qualify just because it is work-related.
- Dues your employer paid for you and did not include in your income are not yours to deduct. Only amounts you paid, or that were paid for you and reported as income, count at line 21200.
FAQ
My T4 has no box 44 but I pay union dues. Is that a mistake?
Usually not. Box 44 is used only where the employer and the union have agreed that the union will not issue receipts. Without that agreement the union issues you a receipt and you claim from it instead.
Can I claim my professional association membership here?
Only if the membership or licence is required to keep a professional status recognized by law, or the dues are professional board dues required under provincial or territorial law. Optional memberships and networking bodies do not qualify.
Are initiation fees deductible?
No. The CRA excludes initiation fees, licences and special assessments from annual membership dues, and instructs employers not to report initiation fees in box 44.
I was on strike for part of the year. Does that change anything?
Dues actually withheld from your pay still go in box 44 and are still deductible. Strike pay is a separate matter and is not reported in box 44.
Related T4 boxes
Box 40 — Other taxable allowances and benefits
Taxable benefits and allowances that have no T4 code of their own — group term life insurance, car allowances, taxable gifts. Already included in Box 14.
Box 42 — Employment commissions
Commission income portion of your Box 14 total — important if you want to claim commission-employee expenses on Form T2200/T777.
Box 46 — Charitable donations
Charitable donations made through payroll deduction — claim them as part of your charitable donation tax credit.
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.
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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