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I had a short term job where I was hired as a contractor. I was fired for something I didn't do. After I was fired the company wanted me to give them my home address. The agreement was I would be paid by etransfer so they had no need. The manager sent me daily emails demanding my address but finally they paid me.

Recently the manager sent a bulk email saying they need everyone who has worked for them to fill out a form with their personal information. She said it's for tax reasons, specifically to get a T4A. I don't trust the company and don't want to provide the information. Some of the requested information seems reasonable, others I'm skeptical. For example my dob, gender, martial status.

Must I provide any information to a company to aid them in doing their tax? Is it valid for a company to ask for a SIN (aka SSN) from a contractor? Why would a company ask for all this long after the job had started?

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    well, if you have already received payment, there is nothing the former employer can to to force you. Better play dead, if you don't want tp provide information. With your background story I also find it highly unlikely that you want to work there again. So no bridge to burn ;)
    – jwsc
    Feb 7, 2022 at 6:30
  • Adding to what @jwsc mentioned, you also mentioned it is a bulk email. Even more a reason to ignore it.
    – PagMax
    Feb 7, 2022 at 8:04
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    @Maximothe1, You may want to ask a local tax office or tax accountant in your city to see if you need to provide your personal info (SIN, DoB, etc...) to your former company for tax purpose. You local tax offices (from private tax companies) or tax accountants are probably the best professionals to answer this question.
    – Job_September_2020
    Feb 7, 2022 at 8:35
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    If you were actually a contractor, I suspect they have no right to any of that information. If you were a contractor I suspect tax burdens are placed on you, not them.
    – Gregory Currie
    Feb 7, 2022 at 9:36
  • @JoeStrazzere I still believe I should be an employee, but I'm not about to start a lawsuit over it. What is the point behind your question?
    – Maximothe1
    Feb 8, 2022 at 11:49

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If you have been paid then you can disregard anything they want, especially if you left on bad terms, there is no bridge to burn.

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I'll have to disagree with the others. The fact that your (former) employer is issuing T4A forms indicates that you were being paid by them as an employee on a fixed-term contract. They are obligated by law to provide employees with these forms, and also send copies to the Canada Revenue Agency. You will need your copy of the T4A when you prepare your own tax return for the past year, so you do want to receive it.

Only your SIN number, full name, and address are required by the employer to complete this form.

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  • Out of interest, if the company fills out the T4A does that imply that the OP will not have to a pay wage tax (if such a thing exists).
    – Gregory Currie
    Feb 7, 2022 at 14:10
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    @GregoryCurrie No, it means no such thing. They may or may not have withheld any taxes, which would be shown on the T4A; one would calculate the balance, if any, when preparing a tax return.
    – mustaccio
    Feb 7, 2022 at 14:14
  • My understanding is a T4A is for contractors and a T4 is for employees.
    – Maximothe1
    Feb 7, 2022 at 23:15
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    You can call yourself what you want; what matters is how you report your income, and for that purpose the entity that paid you provides you with a T4A, so you'll have to stick with that or be prepared for the CRA's wrath.
    – mustaccio
    Feb 7, 2022 at 23:56
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    I've worked as a non-incorporated contractor and as a term employee in Canada in the past. You don't need to provide your SIN. If you are an employee (term or not), you are correct in saying they only need your SIN, full name, and address.
    – zmike
    Feb 8, 2022 at 1:49
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If you were a contractor, at least from my understanding of what the term "contractor" means in Canada, it would be none of the companies business to ask for the information they are.

If you are an independent contractor, essentially you are your own company with your own single employee. The company doesn't have a right to your company's employee's personal information. It's like you going down to the local Tim Hortons and demand a random employees date of birth, SIN, and marital status.

If you were simply a regular employee with a fixed term contract, then maybe they have a legitimate need for that information.

But even if they have a legitimate need, that doesn't necessarily mean you are obligated to comply.

I would be highly surprised if there were tax reasons why they would need your DOB or marital status. That alone is enough for me to simply ignore them until they contacted more directly.

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    I've worked as a non-incorporated contractor and as a term employee in Canada in the past, and you are correct. If you work as a contractor, there is a separate section on the tax returns for "Income from Self-Employment."
    – zmike
    Feb 8, 2022 at 1:47

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