CRA Ends Penalty Moratorium on Trucking Fees-for-Service Reporting

In December 2025, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) lifted a long-standing moratorium on penalties for failing to report fees paid for services in the trucking industry, a step aimed at the Driver Inc. model. The CRA announced the change on December 4, 2025. It applied to the 2025 tax year and later years.

What businesses must report

Under the Income Tax Act, businesses and organizations must report fees paid to other businesses for services when the payments exceed $500 in a calendar year, usually on a T4A slip. This is known as reporting fees for services (RFS).

In 2011, the CRA introduced a moratorium on assessing penalties for failing to complete box 048, Fees for services, on the T4A. The agency said the aim was to give businesses time to get familiar with the requirement and adopt practices to comply.

With the December change, businesses in the trucking sector would be assessed penalties if they failed to report payments for services of more than $500 in a calendar year made to a Canadian-controlled private corporation in the trucking industry.

Deadlines for the 2025 tax year

The payments had to be reported in box 048 of the T4A by February 28, 2026. Because that date fell on a Saturday, the CRA said an information return would be considered on time if it was received or postmarked by March 2, 2026.

Who counts as trucking

The CRA said a business is considered to be operating in the trucking industry if more than 50% of its primary source of income comes from trucking activities. The agency said it would publish more guidance in the following weeks to help businesses determine whether they were affected.

Part of a Budget 2025 package

The move followed an October 30, 2025 announcement by the Department of Finance that Budget 2025 would target the Driver Inc. scheme. Finance said some trucking companies misclassify drivers as independent contractors instead of employees, which undercuts compliant competitors and deprives workers of benefits and pensions.

The budget measures included:

• $77.0 million over four years, starting in 2026-27, with $19.2 million a year ongoing, for the CRA to lift the moratorium in the trucking industry and run a focused program on non-compliance involving personal services businesses and fees-for-service reporting;
• proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act and the Excise Tax Act so the CRA could share taxpayer information related to worker classification with Employment and Social Development Canada, which could help that department address driver misclassification.

What ministers said

Finance and National Revenue Minister François-Philippe Champagne said that lifting the moratorium would reinforce fairness in the trucking industry. Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon called the change an important step toward a level playing field for operators. Wayne Long, Secretary of State for the CRA, said the government was "cracking down on Driver Inc., closing loopholes."

Archive: this article describes rules and events as of December 2025. Regulations may have changed since, so check the current rule before relying on it.