T5 Investment Income Slip Explained
What each T5 box means, where it goes on your return, and why your dividends look bigger than what you received.
The short version
- A T5 reports investment income from a bank, broker or Canadian company: interest, dividends, foreign income and a few others.
- Interest (box 13) goes on line 12100. The taxable amount of dividends (boxes 11 and 25) goes on line 12000.
- Dividends are grossed up on the slip and then reduced by a dividend tax credit (boxes 12 and 26). Enter the taxable amount, not the cash you received.
- No T5 because you earned under $50? The interest is still taxable.
- Investment income inside a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA doesn't get a T5 and isn't reported.
T5 Slip Explained: Interest, Dividends and the Gross-Up
The T5 is the slip that makes people suspect the bank of fiddling the numbers. You received $1,000 in dividends, and the slip says $1,380. Nobody stole anything. That's the gross-up, and it works in your favour once the dividend tax credit comes off. Here's how each box works and where it goes.
Want it read for you? Upload the slip to the tax document analyzer, and it lists each box with its line.
The T5 Boxes and Where They Go
| Box | What it is | Where it goes |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Actual amount of dividends other than eligible dividends | Not entered; box 11 is used instead |
| 11 | Taxable amount of those dividends (box 10 plus a 15% gross-up) | Line 12010 and line 12000 |
| 12 | Dividend tax credit on box 11 | Federal dividend tax credit (line 40425); software calculates it |
| 13 | Interest from Canadian sources | Line 12100 |
| 14 | Other income from Canadian sources | Usually line 12100 |
| 15 | Foreign income, in Canadian dollars | Line 12100 |
| 16 | Foreign tax paid on box 15 | Foreign tax credit (form T2209) |
| 17 | Royalties from Canadian sources | Depends on whether the work or invention is yours |
| 18 | Capital gains dividends | Schedule 3 (half is taxable) |
| 24 | Actual amount of eligible dividends | Not entered; box 25 is used instead |
| 25 | Taxable amount of eligible dividends (box 24 plus a 38% gross-up) | Line 12000 |
| 26 | Dividend tax credit on box 25 | Federal dividend tax credit (line 40425); software calculates it |
Most certified tax software asks for the boxes as printed and does the rest. Type them in exactly. Typing box 24 where box 25 belongs is the most common T5 mistake, and CRA's matching program notices.
Why Dividends Are Grossed Up
A Canadian company pays dividends out of profit it has already paid corporate tax on. To avoid taxing the same dollar twice, the system pretends you received the pre-tax profit (the gross-up), taxes that, and then gives back roughly the corporate tax with the dividend tax credit. The result: eligible dividends from big public companies are taxed at a lower rate than interest or wages for most people. At low incomes in some provinces, the effective rate can even dip below zero.
The catch: the grossed-up amount is what counts as your income, and net income drives benefit clawbacks such as the Old Age Security recovery tax. A retiree living on dividends can have a higher net income on paper than in the bank. The marginal tax rate page explains how clawbacks work. If the dividends come from your own corporation, see salary vs dividends and paying dividends from a corporation.
Interest, dividends or a GIC: which is taxed less for you?
Give the assistant your income and province. It compares the after-tax return on interest, eligible dividends and capital gains at your marginal rate.
Interest: Report It Every Year, Paid or Not
- Under $50, no slip. Banks don't have to issue a T5 below $50, but the interest is still income. Check your year-end statements.
- Compound GICs. Interest that builds up inside a multi-year GIC is reported every year as it's earned, not just when it's paid at maturity.
- Joint accounts. One T5 may list two names. Each person reports their share based on how much they put in, not 50/50 by default. Money one spouse gave the other can bring the attribution rules into play: the income may be taxed back to the spouse who supplied it.
- Foreign accounts. Interest from outside Canada is taxable too, converted to Canadian dollars. Foreign property costing more than $100,000 in total also needs form T1135.
Interest is taxed in full at your marginal rate, which is why it's the first kind of income to shelter in a TFSA or RRSP. See what counts as taxable income for the full picture.
Carrying Charges: The Deduction People Forget
Interest on money borrowed to invest in a non-registered account (for example, a loan used to buy dividend-paying shares) and some investment management fees can be deducted as carrying charges on line 22100. Fees for TFSA or RRSP accounts and interest on money borrowed for an RRSP or TFSA can't. More in Canadian tax deductions.
T5 vs. T3 vs. T5008
A T5 comes from a bank or a company that paid you directly. A mutual fund trust or ETF sends a T3 slip instead. A T5008 reports securities you sold, and that sale belongs on Schedule 3 as a capital gain or loss, explained in capital gains tax in Canada. Slips for the same account can arrive at different times; T3s can come as late as the end of March. Missing one? The steps in missing T4 work for any slip.
Three T5 Rules of Thumb
- Enter the boxes exactly as printed. Let the software do the gross-up and credit.
- Report interest under $50. No slip doesn't mean no tax.
- Hold interest-paying investments in your TFSA or RRSP first, and Canadian dividends outside, when you have the choice.
Before you file, Return Check compares every T5 against your return and flags dividends entered in the wrong box.
T5 Slip Questions
Where does T5 box 13 go on my tax return?
Box 13, interest from Canadian sources, goes on line 12100, interest and other investment income.
Why is box 25 on my T5 higher than the dividends I received?
Box 25 is the taxable amount of eligible dividends: the actual dividend in box 24 plus a 38% gross-up. You report the grossed-up amount and then claim the dividend tax credit, which usually leaves you paying less tax than on the same amount of interest.
Do I have to report interest if I did not get a T5?
Yes. Issuers do not have to send a T5 for less than $50, but all interest is taxable and must be reported.
How do I report a T5 for a joint account?
Each owner reports their share of the income based on how much they contributed to the account, not automatically half each.
Do I get a T5 for my TFSA or RRSP?
No. Income earned inside a TFSA, RRSP or FHSA is not reported on a T5. RRSP and RRIF withdrawals are reported on a T4RSP or T4RIF, and TFSA withdrawals are not taxable.
Sources: CRA, Completing the T5 slip; Line 12100 Interest and other investment income; Line 22100 Carrying charges; T5 Guide (T4015). Checked October 2026. Box 17 royalties are not covered in detail; where they go depends on the source.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026 against CRA and Government of Canada sources. How we check our facts.