CRA: Error Transmitting T4 Slips (Updated)

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is currently experiencing a technical issue reporting “invalid formatting detected in one or more fields” during transmission of T4 slips through internet file transfer.

The CRA has informed us that this error message appears if one or more of the information fields in the return contains invalid formatting.

Before attempting to transmit the T4 slips, verify that the fields on the Info worksheet and on recipient slips do not contain any extra blank spaces or invalid characters (such as $ or ^).

Note that this error message is only a warning and will not cause your return to be rejected. You can check the “I want to proceed without correcting these errors” box to file the slips return. You may need to manually enter the submission number if you choose to proceed.

If you continue to experience issues with filing information returns (slips), we recommend contacting the CRA directly for further guidance.