Originally Published by The TaxLetter Vol. 26, No. 1, January 2008   www.adviceforinvestors.com

Full Disclosure Warning: Your T4 may not be telling the whole story  Eileen Reppenhagen

Today’s news is distressing. My T4 Summary and a little instruction slip arrive. I quickly scan them. Wait a minute! Why is Box 85 on the T4 is still optional? RC4120 - Filing the T4 Slip and Summary reads as follows: Code 85 – Employee-paid premiums for private health services plans. An employee can claim, as a qualifying medical expense, premiums paid by the employee to private health services plans. Use of code 85 is optional. If you are not completing code 85, we may ask you to provide supporting documents. All the other boxes are mandatory except that one. It stands out because it’s the only optional box. I have a vested interest in the success of Box 85. It’s my own personal Box. I lobbied long and hard for that Box. It’s been about eight years since my crusade started with a letter to the federal Department of Finance . . . Signup for The TaxLetter and read Eileen's full article every month

Eileen Reppenhagen, CGA, ACG, Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor writes and speaks about accounting and tax.  She is a regular contributor to Canadian MoneySaver, The TaxLetter and Intuit’s award winning online publications for accountants and QuickBooks ProAdvisors, ProConnection Newsletter and Advisor Advantage.   All articles are copyright protected.  Most articles are not available for re-print unless you obtain permission from third parties.  Please respect copyright. For more information or permission to re-print please contact  eileen@taxdetective.ca If you obtain permisison to re-print an article, include this tagline:   "Eileen Reppenhagen, CGA is a Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and speaks and writes about accounting and tax.  Contact her at www.taxdetective.ca".