Employment of a member of a religious order who has taken a vow of poverty - Calculate payroll deductions and contributions

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Calculate payroll deductions and contributions


Employment of a member of a religious order who has taken a vow of poverty

This new content has been developed for clarity, completeness and plain language. No changes were made to the existing legislative requirement.

You may have employees who are members of a religious order who have taken a vow of perpetual poverty. This means that they have paid over to their order their entire earned income and superannuation or pension benefits.

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Steps

  1. Determine if you need to report the payment on a T4 slip

    If your employee is a member of a religious order who has taken a vow of poverty, you must report their employment income on a T4 slip regardless of whether you have to withhold income tax, EI premiums or CPP contributions.

  2. Determine which deductions you need to withhold

    If your employee is a member of a religious order who has taken a vow of poverty, you must withhold the following deductions from their employment income:

    • Income tax, withhold unless one of the following apply:
      • You pay the remuneration directly to the religious order

      • Your employee gives you a letter of authority from the CRA

        How your employee can request a letter of authority from the CRA

        Your employee can request a letter of authority by completing Form T1213 Request to Reduce Tax Deductions at Source, and sending to the CRA at the address provided on this form.

        If they have not previously claimed the deduction on line 25600 of their personal income tax return, they may be asked to provide a letter from the religious order confirming that they are a member and have taken a vow of perpetual poverty.

    • CPP contributions (do not withhold)
    • EI premiums (do not withhold)
  3. Report the payment on a T4 slip

    If your employee is a member of a religious order who has taken a vow of poverty, you must report the following on a T4 slip:

    • Box 14 - Employment income
    • Box 28 - Exempt, both CPP/QPP and EI must be checked
    • Any applicable codes for taxable benefits

    Learn how to report the payment: T4 slip - Information for employers.

References

Related

IT86R- Vow of perpetual poverty (Archived)

Legislation

ITA: 110(2)
Charitable gifts: Deduction for income donated under a vow of perpetual poverty
CPP: 6(2)(e)
Excepted employment: member of a religious order who has taken a vow of perpetual poverty
CPP: 7(1)(g)
Regulations to include employment
EIA: 5(6)(d)
Regulations to exclude employment: Vow of poverty
EIR: 6(c)
Employment of a person as a member of a religious order included in insurable employment
EIR: 7(b)
Employment of a person as a member of a religious order excluded from insurable employment if the person has taken a vow of poverty

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2026-02-17