CRA T619 change for 2025

It's been a while since I have posted something on my blog, but this one might impact a few people and it is causing some confusion among those transmitting T4 or T5 XML files.

The CRA (Canada Revenue Agency) has changed some of the schemas on the T619, which is the "header" of the XML file that would include T4 or T5 type data (among many other types of tax slips remitted via XML). My specific exposure is to the T4 and T5 formats so those are my examples.

Skip to the Dynamics GP Canadian Payroll section for impacts for Dynamics GP clients and tips.

What has changed?

The two big things (in my opinion) are:

1. All returns in the submission must be the same file type. If you are filing payroll-related tax slips for example, you cannot have one big XML file that would contain both T4 and T4A slips, you would need an XML for each type of slip – one for T4s, one for T4As in that example.
2. Several fields have changed, the most significant one being the TransmitterNumber. More on this below.

Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/e-services/filing-information-returns-electronically-t4-t5-other-types-returns-overview/whats-new-2025.html

Does this impact 2024 returns transmitted now?

Yes, in my experience it does. A client had failures when uploading T5s with the old T619 format. A software vendor they use didn't know about the updates and generated an incorrectly formatted file, even though the slips were for 2024.

T619 field changes

I'm not going to list all of the changes, because it's all in the link below (and could change in the future, who knows). Essentially they removed a lot of fields like the address, and kept the country field, but changed the definition of what goes in the TransmitterNumber field (a new tag, previously there under a different tag).

Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/e-services/filing-information-returns-electronically-t4-t5-other-types-returns-overview/t619-next-year.html

Where this gets complicated is the Transmitter Number to use in the file depends on how the file will be uploaded to the CRA.

A) If the person transmitting the file logs in using the My Business Account feature, the XML tags would be <bn9> and </bn9> with the 9-digit prefix of the business number the person is logging in for (where their account is associated I guess is the easiest way to explain that).

<T619>
<sbmt_ref_id>00000001</sbmt_ref_id> 
<TransmitterAccountNumber>
<bn9>123456789</bn9>
</TransmitterAccountNumber>
<summ_cnt>1</summ_cnt>
<lang_cd>E</lang_cd>
<TransmitterName>
<l1_nm>COMPANY NAME</l1_nm>
</TransmitterName>
<TransmitterCountryCode>CAN</TransmitterCountryCode>
<CNTC>                 
<cntc_nm>CONTACT NAME</cntc_nm>
<cntc_area_cd>AAA</cntc_area_cd>
<cntc_phn_nbr>BBB-BBBB</cntc_phn_nbr>
<cntc_extn_nbr>CCCC</cntc_extn_nbr>
<cntc_email_area>CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS</cntc_email_area>
</CNTC>            
</T619>  

B) If the person transmitting logs in using a Web Access Code, they are logging in with a 15-character BN + the Web Access Code and the XML tags would be <bn15> and </bn15> respectively. Here's the key part: it doesn't matter if the BN associated with the web access code is the same as the BN in the file for the T-slips.

For example: one of my clients uploads all of their companies' T4 XML files under one BN/Web Access Code. In this case, the T619 TransmitterNumber for every company file is the same BN, the one associated with the web access code no matter what the BN is for that company's T4 slips themselves.

<T619>
<sbmt_ref_id>00000001</sbmt_ref_id> 
<TransmitterAccountNumber>
<bn15>123456789RP0001</bn15>
</TransmitterAccountNumber>
<summ_cnt>1</summ_cnt>
<lang_cd>E</lang_cd>
<TransmitterName>
<l1_nm>COMPANY NAME</l1_nm>
</TransmitterName>
<TransmitterCountryCode>CAN</TransmitterCountryCode>
<CNTC>                 
<cntc_nm>CONTACT NAME</cntc_nm>
<cntc_area_cd>AAA</cntc_area_cd>
<cntc_phn_nbr>BBB-BBBB</cntc_phn_nbr>
<cntc_extn_nbr>CCCC</cntc_extn_nbr>
<cntc_email_area>CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS</cntc_email_area>
</CNTC>            
</T619>  

C) If the person transmitting is logging in using Represent A Client (RAC), they ALSO need to include <TransmitterRepID> and <RepID> tags for the 7-character representative identifier. This would not be in the XML file at all if it does not apply to an organization.

<T619>
<sbmt_ref_id>00000001</sbmt_ref_id> 
<TransmitterAccountNumber>
<bn15>123456789RP0001</bn15>
</TransmitterAccountNumber>
<TransmitterRepID>
<RepID>1234567</RepID>
</TransmitterRepID>
<summ_cnt>1</summ_cnt>
<lang_cd>E</lang_cd>
<TransmitterName>
<l1_nm>COMPANY NAME</l1_nm>
</TransmitterName>
<TransmitterCountryCode>CAN</TransmitterCountryCode>
<CNTC>                 
<cntc_nm>CONTACT NAME</cntc_nm>
<cntc_area_cd>AAA</cntc_area_cd>
<cntc_phn_nbr>BBB-BBBB</cntc_phn_nbr>
<cntc_extn_nbr>CCCC</cntc_extn_nbr>
<cntc_email_area>CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS</cntc_email_area>
</CNTC>            
</T619>  

Dynamics GP Canadian Payroll impact

If you are a Dynamics GP Canadian Payroll client, the XML file exported from Canadian Payroll will be correct except for the TransmitterNumber. It will have the OLD "MM_____" number, not the new BN number required. What to put there depends on how you submit, as referenced above. The above are examples of what that section might look like under the 3 scenarios noted. The out-of-the-box file would resemble scenario (B) above. Replace the MMXXXXXX text with the BN applicable for the situation (or replace the tags and text entirely for that row of data if not using a BN15) and you should be good to go.

Summary

XML files are a pain in the butt to deal with if they need editing. The changes can be finicky, so make a backup of your file if you are manually editing it. Good luck!

Original Post https://jenkuntz.ca/2025/02/cra-t619-change-for-2025/