How to Combine RL-1 and T4 Slips Into One Québec Tax File

Short answer: Keep each federal T4 paired with its matching Québec RL-1 (and each T5 with its RL-3), order the bundle the way you file, and export one merged PDF per client. With PDF Insight a bilingual local AI pairs and orders the slips on your own machine in about a minute — nothing is uploaded.

Because Québec residents file two returns — federal and provincial — the same income arrives on two slips. Building a clean Québec tax file means keeping those federal/provincial pairs together and in a consistent order. Here's how.

T4 vs RL-1: the federal/provincial pair

A Québec employee normally receives both a T4 and an RL-1 from the same employer for the same job. Keeping the pair together is the single most useful habit when assembling the file.

Slip requirements and box numbers change yearly. Verify against current CRA and Revenu Québec guidance before filing.

Step by step

1. Collect both slips per employer Gather T4 and RL-1 for each employer, plus investment and other slips, into one folder.
2. Pair federal with provincial Keep each T4 with its RL-1 and each T5 with its RL-3 so the dual-filing slips never get separated.
3. Order the bundle consistently e.g. T4 → RL-1 → T5 → RL-3 → RL-31 → REER receipts. Reuse the same order for every client.
4. Export one merged PDF A single, correctly ordered Québec tax file per client, ready to file.

Doing it automatically with a bilingual local AI

PDF Insight reads every file locally — including scanned RL-1s, via on-device OCR — recognizes Québec and federal slip types, keeps the federal/provincial pairs together, and exports one merged PDF. It works in French and English, so labels and the interface match your practice. About 100 seconds for a full bundle on a 16GB Mac, with no file leaving the machine.