The T5008 slip is an important tax document for any Canadian who has sold or redeemed stocks, bonds or other investment securities. This tax slip provides details on your securities transactions, which you need to accurately report capital gains and losses on your T1 tax return.
Read on to learn everything about the T5008 slip, including who gets one, what information it contains, how to use it for your taxes, and what to do if you find errors.
What is a T5008 Slip?
A T5008, Statement of Securities Transactions, is a tax slip that contains details on stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other securities that you sold or redeemed during the year. It is issued by the securities dealer or brokerage through which you made the transactions.
The T5008 slip shows key details like:
- The proceeds of disposition – the total amount you received from the sale
- The cost base or book value
- The date of each transaction
- Type of security – e.g. stock, bond
- Number of units of the security sold
This information is needed to calculate capital gains or losses, which you must report when filing your T1 personal tax return. Any gains or losses from investment transactions outside registered accounts like RRSPs or TFSAs must be reported.
Who Gets a T5008 Slip?
T5008 slips are issued to any individual, corporation, or trust that sold or redeemed securities in non-registered investment accounts. This includes:
- Publicly traded stocks and bonds
- Mutual funds and ETFs
- Rights, warrants, options
- Income trust units
- Small business corporation shares
T5008 slips are not issued for securities sold within registered accounts like RRSPs, RRIFs, or TFSAs, since capital gains and losses within these accounts are not taxed.
You will receive a T5008 slip if you held securities personally or jointly outside a registered account. Corporations and trusts that sold securities will also receive these slips.
When Will I Get My T5008 Slip?
Your securities dealer or brokerage is required to issue T5008 slips by the end of February following the year in which the transactions occurred. For example, the deadline for sending 2024 T5008 slips was February 28, 2025.
The T5008 slip covers all transactions made in the previous calendar year. So the T5008 you receive early in 2022 will include all securities you sold between January 1 and December 31, 2021.
If you have not received your T5008 slip by late February, you should request it from your securities dealer or brokerage. This ensures you have the information in time to file your personal or corporate tax return.
You can also view tax slips like the T5008 on your CRA My Account. However, if any information is missing or incorrect on the CRA’s version, your first recourse is to have your dealer issue an amended T5008 slip.
What Information is on a T5008 Slip?
Your T5008 will contain detailed information on each security transaction, including:
| Box | Information |
|---|---|
| Box 14 | Date of Transaction – The date the sale or redemption occurred, often MM/DD (e.g. 12/31) |
| Box 16 | Number of Units – The number of shares, bonds or other units sold |
| Box 17 | Description of Security – The name of the security (e.g. Shares of XYZ Corp) |
| Box 20 | Cost Base/Book Value – The original purchase price plus commissions |
| Box 21 | Proceeds of Disposition – The total proceeds received from the sale/redemption |
Your T5008 will include a separate entry for each security you sold, with full details on the transaction.
How Do I Use the T5008 for Taxes?
You need the information from your T5008 slips to report capital gains and losses from securities transactions on your T1 tax return. This is done on Schedule 3, Capital Gains and Losses.
You must determine the adjusted cost base (ACB) for each security sold to calculate your gain or loss. This is the total cost of acquiring the investment plus any related expenses. It is not necessarily the cost base shown in Box 20 of your T5008.
You report the proceeds of disposition listed in Box 21. If this amount is in a foreign currency, you must convert it to Canadian dollars using the exchange rate provided in Box 13.
If you sold multiple lots of the same security at different prices, you must calculate your ACB separately for each lot and report each gain/loss individually.
What if I Have Errors on My T5008?
If you notice incorrect information on your T5008 slip, such as wrong proceeds, cost base, number of units, etc., contact your securities dealer or brokerage to request a corrected amended copy. Providing the right details on your T5008 ensures your capital gains or losses are correctly calculated.
If requesting an amended T5008 takes too long, you can manually adjust the information when reporting it on your Schedule 3. However, having the amended T5008 on file can help verify the amounts if CRA reviews your return.
Are There Penalties for Errors on T5008?
You will not face any tax penalties purely for having incorrect amounts on your T5008 slip. This responsibility lies with the securities dealer that issued the slip.
The only potential penalties relate to late filing or providing incorrect SINs, which fall on the slip issuer.
For example, a $100 penalty can apply for each missing SIN, or up to $7,500 for filing T5008 slips late.
As long as you make reasonable efforts to report the proper proceeds, cost base, and capital gain/loss amounts on your return, you will not incur penalties for T5008 reporting errors.
How Long Should I Keep My T5008s?
The CRA recommends keeping all tax slips and supporting documents for at least 6 years from the tax year they relate to.
While CRA can typically only reassess returns for the most recent 3 years, you may need your T5008 slips for longer to support your tax reporting in case of an audit. Keeping 6 years of records is ideal.
For example, you should keep your 2022 T5008 slips until at least April 30, 2029, since your 2022 tax return is due on April 30, 2023. An extra buffer is helpful if you need to verify past return amounts.
Can I Get Missing T5008 Slips?
If you have missing T5008 slips, your first step is to contact the securities dealer or brokerage where you made the transactions. They are responsible for issuing the T5008 slip to you directly.
In some cases, you may be able to get copies of previous years’ T5008 slips through your CRA My Account. This option is best for recent tax years, such as 2021 onward.
If you are unable to get the missing T5008 slip from either your dealer or the CRA, you can still report the capital gain or loss on your tax return using your transaction records. However, having the T5008 slip on file is ideal to verify the proceeds, cost base, etc.
Tax time can be confusing with all the different slips you might get. To help you out, we’ve made a quick list of the most common ones. You can check them out below:
The Bottom Line
The T5008 slip serves a valuable purpose in summarizing proceeds and other details from your non-registered investment transactions. While T5008 reporting can seem complex, taking the time to understand what these slips contain and how to use them properly pays dividends in the long run.
With the right information on your T5008 and a clear understanding of how to calculate and report adjusted cost base, proceeds, and capital gains or losses, you can complete your taxes accurately and avoid problems down the road.
FAQs for the T5008 slip
How do I get a T5008 slip?
T5008 slips are issued by the securities dealer or brokerage where you made investment transactions. You should receive your slip by the end of February after the tax year.
What information is on a T5008 slip?
Key details like proceeds from sales, cost base, date of transactions, type of security, and number of units. This is needed to calculate capital gains/losses.
How do I use the T5008 slip for taxes?
You report capital gains/losses from your T5008 on Schedule 3 of your T1 return. Calculate your adjusted cost base and report proceeds of disposition.
Do I report T5008 slips for RRSPs or TFSAs?
No, T5008s are only for non-registered accounts. No need to report gains/losses within registered accounts.
What if I have losses on my T5008 slip?
Capital losses from your T5008 can be claimed on your return to offset capital gains. Unused losses can be carried forward.
Are there penalties for mistakes on my T5008?
No. You won't face penalties for incorrect T5008s provided you make reasonable efforts to report properly.