AvanTax eForms News

eForms 2026 is the 40^th annual release of AvanTax eForms, and some of you who read this have been with us since its first release as T4 TimeSaver in 1987. We have no words to express our gratitude for such incredible loyalty. Over the past forty years, many more have joined the eForms 'family', and have helped us to make eForms all that it is today. All we can say is:

Now, on to news pertinent to this release:

1 - All rates and constants have been updated for the 2026 taxation year.

2 - Data may be rolled forward from 2025 AvanTax eForms.

3 - This release of eForms can be used to prepare the RL-1.T (Temporary Relevé slip and Summary) for preparing end-of-business returns for 2026.

4 - All forms, printing & XML output are in their 2025 formats, but may be used for filing 2026 end-of-business returns.

We've come a long way from the original DOS version that we released as T4 TimeSaver in 1987, just take a look at the screen shots below to see just how far!

Since that first release in 1987, we've added many forms, and a multitude of useful features, some of which are:

- Facsimile forms (we were among the first to do this)

- CPP & EI adustment

- Data import from CSV, XLSX & XML

- Data validation during import

- Data export to CSV

- Email recipient slips

Thank you for joining us on this adventure! We're glad you're here and we look forward to many great years to come, which will be even better if you come along for the ride!

As you may already have learned, Adrem is no longer publishing their excellent T4 - T4A - T5 Printer software.

While we're sorry that one of our favourite cpmpetitors is no more, and we really don't enjoy benefitting from their misfortune, the fact remains that you do still have your 2025 tax submssions to complete. We want to assure you that our eForms software, and its fast and friendly technical support team can help you out of this situation; even at this late date.

Give us a call or send us an email, we'll be happy to help you

If you are currently running AvanTax eForms 2025.105, you do not need to install AvanTax eForms 2025.106 unless one or more of the items described in this update notice apply to your situation.

If you are running version 2025.104 or earlier, then you should install eForms 2025.106, as it contains important updates.

Improved the XML validation and creation screen so the [XML File and Validation Report] and [Validation Report] buttons are always visible while the screen is open. In previous versions, one of these buttons could occasionally be hidden.

Resolved an issue where AGR1 XML files incorrectly used the Business Number as 00000000RP000 when a slip had recipient type 4 (association, trust, club, or partnership) and a valid Business Number was provided. The supplied Business Number is now correctly reflected in the XML.

Fixed a program error that occurred during XML generation when an entity included a slip with recipient type 4 (Other - for example, an association, trust (including fiduciary-trustee), nominee, estate, or partnership).

Removed the Inactive column from the XML validation filing reports for the T4RSP and T4RIF. This column does not apply to these forms, as their XML files may legitimately contain slips with all zero-dollar amounts. Previously, the column always displayed a value, which was misleading. This was a cosmetic change only and did not affect any XML files already created.

TFSA slips may have negative amounts in 'Acquisition of non-qualified investment' and 'Withdrawal of non-qualified investment' as an indicator that those fields are to be excluded from the Xml file. Such slips were sometimes treated as inactive and did not get written to the Xml file. This has been corrected.

Users sending recipient slips via SMTP email may now include the sender's name with the reply-to email address to display the sender's name when the email is received. eForms will accept either of the following formats:

- emailaddress@mydomain.com

- Name (angle braces and the space after 'Name' are required)

Effective January 12, 2026, CRA has retroactively updated its XML specifications for filing previous year XML returns. Consequently, any XML file generated using AvanTax eForms 2024.114 and earlier will probably be rejected by CRA if:

♦ You did not enter a Transmitter Rep ID, meaning that you are using a Transmitter CRA Account Number, which could be either a 15-character business number, a 9-character SIN or a trust identification number.

or

♦ If you are submitting 2024 AGR1, T5 or T5008 Returns, regardless of whether or not you have entered a Transmitter Rep ID.

In these above noted cases CRA will probably reject your XML submission if it was created by eForms 2024.114 and earlier.

AvanTax eForms 2024.115 updates XML processing to comply with the CRA requirements that came into effect on January 12, 2026. Therefore, almost all eForms users who wish to file forms produced by eForms 2024 should download this new release.

We also provide a free utility that can update previous years' XML files to comply with the CRA requirements that came into effect on January 12, 2026. This includes XML files created by all eForms versions released before eForms 2024.115, including eForms 2023 and earlier years.

1 - CRA XML Update - This release updates the XML schema eForms uses in validating CRA XML files to meet CRA's revised XML specification of January 12, 2026.

2 - T5008 Slip Printing Enabled - This release enables printing of the T5008 slip. Printing had been disabled in the prior release pending government approval.

3 - RL-31 XML Filing Enabled - This release enables XML filing of RL-31 data. XML filnig had been disabled in the prior release pending government approval.

4 - Transmitter Setup - Email addresses on the 'avantax.ca' and 'elmcomputers.com' domains can no longer be used as the Technical Contact email address.

1 - Support for Revenu Québec RL-1.T & RLZ-1.ST - eForms now supports processing of Revenu Québec forms RL-1.T (2026-01) and RLZ-1.ST (2026-01). Users issuing RL-1 slips and summaries for the 2026 taxation year may do so with this release.

1 - Transmitter Recipient ID Fix - The previous versions of eFORMS did not include the transmitter’s recipient ID that was entered in the Setup in any XML files that were produced. This issue has been resolved in the latest release of AvaTax eForms.

2 - T4PS Slip Layout Correction - An issue with the T4PS slip layout has been corrected. The plan name was printing too far to the left, and the employer account number was printing too high on Copy 1 of the form.