Taxes, CPP, EI and T4s

[Pompey667]

Hello there,

I’m asking for peoples’ specific experience with getting paid during articling. Did your firm deduct taxes, CPP and EI from your paycheque and issue a T4?

I do not want to run afoul of the “no legal advice” rule so I am not asking whether articling students are employees as a matter of employment/tax law. I am simply asking whether your firm made statutory deductions and issued a T4 as if you were an employee.

 

Thank you!

Edited January 31 by Pompey667

[LMP]

Why wouldn't they? It's not "as if you were an employee". You are an employee. So you'll have deductions made (unless you have unique circumstances) and a T4 issued. That's even the case for summer students.

[Pompey667]

Thanks for your reply. A similar question was posed before, but it was framed as “is an articling student an independent contractor or an employee?”. It was closed for veering too far into legal advice territory. I’d like my thread to avoid a similar fate.

You may think it’s clear-cut that an articling student is an employee at law (and frankly, so do I) but that’s not the point of this thread.

I am merely asking people to contribute their own personal experience in terms of how they were paid when articling. Please let’s not debate the law in this thread. Thank you.

Edited January 31 by Pompey667

[QueensDenning]

They'll make statutory deductions and issue a T4.

I also don't think it's a debate that articling students are employees. They aren't covered by the ESA, but can sue employers through human rights tribunals, unionize under the LRA, etc. They obviously aren't independent contractors. 

[Dinsdale]

Every firm on Bay Street makes statutory deductions from their articling students' pay and issues a T4.  I fail to see how this is even debatable.

[Mal]

PSA: Articling students are employees for income tax. They are statutorily required to be wholly dependent on their principal. There is simply no possibility of any of the hallmarks of independence. 

Any lawyer who tries to structure their articling student contract as an independent contractor is likely not someone who should be a role model. This isn't aggressive tax planning, it is tax evasion in almost every case.

I'd comment that this isn't legal advice as it isn't truly dependent on any particular circumstances. 

Edited February 7 by Mal