T5018 — the slip construction businesses owe the CRA
If construction is your primary business activity and you pay subcontractors, the CRA expects a T5018 information return reporting those payments. The tracker keeps the numbers as you go, so filing season is a printout, not an archaeology dig.
Free to fill and print
The worksheet opens in Blue Crane's Form Maker: fill the fields on screen, print, done — no account. Free PDFs carry a small Blue Crane footer line; the one-time Form Maker Pass ($12 for 30 days, $79 for a year) strips all Blue Crane text for clean, client-ready prints and auto-fills your company details on all 126 forms.
Worksheet and record, not a filing. Where an official form or filing exists, this prepares the information and keeps your copy — the filing itself is done with the regulator.
Who has to file a T5018
The T5018 (Statement of Contract Payments) applies to businesses whose primary activity is construction and who pay subcontractors for construction services. A slip reports each subcontractor’s total for the period, and a summary accompanies the slips to the CRA.
The threshold, timing options, and filing channels are set by the CRA — check the current T5018 guidance when preparing, and confirm with your accountant how your reporting period is set.
What the tracker keeps
One sheet per subcontractor, maintained as you pay:
- The subcontractor’s legal name, address, and business number or SIN
- Every payment date and amount through the period
- The running total including GST/HST — the figure the slip reports
- Who prepared and verified the numbers
The bigger tax picture
The T5018 is one corner of a trades business’s tax life. For what you’ll owe and what you keep — province by province — use the free Trades Tax Calculator.
Frequently asked questions
What is a T5018 slip?
It is the CRA’s Statement of Contract Payments — an information slip reporting the total a construction business paid a subcontractor for construction services in the reporting period, filed with a summary to the CRA. It exists to help the CRA match what contractors deduct with what subcontractors report.
Do I file a T5018 for every supplier?
No — it covers payments for construction services by businesses whose primary activity is construction. Materials-only suppliers are treated differently. When a payee provides both goods and services, check the CRA’s current guidance on what gets reported.
What do I need from each subcontractor?
Their legal name, address, and CRA business number (or SIN for unincorporated individuals). Collect it when they start, not at filing time — the tracker has a field for it, and chasing numbers in slip season is the classic scramble.
Is this tracker filed with the CRA?
No. Slips and the summary are filed with the CRA through its channels. The tracker keeps the running record so those filings are prepared in minutes and your copy stays in the books.
The paperwork is the easy part now.
The Blue Crane App keeps documents, certs, crew sign-offs, and costs per job site — the Form Maker is the free front door.