Apply for Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy starting April 27th | Calculate your subsidy

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Apply for CEWS starting April 27th

On April 21st, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced that the Canada Revenue Agency will accept applications for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) starting Monday, April 27th. This new measure gives qualifying employers up to $847 per employee each week so they can keep people on the payroll.

To be eligible to receive the wage subsidy, the Government of Canada website states you must:

  • be an eligible employer. Eligible employers include:

    • individuals (including trusts)

    • taxable corporations

    • persons that are exempt from corporate tax (Part I of the Income Tax Act), other than public institutions:

      • non-profit organizations

      • agricultural organizations

      • boards of trade

      • chambers of commerce

      • non-profit corporations for scientific research and experimental development

      • labour organizations or societies

      • benevolent or fraternal benefit societies or orders

    • registered charities

    • partnerships consisting of eligible employers

    Public institutions are not eligible for the subsidy. This includes municipalities and local governments, Crown corporations, public universities, colleges, schools and hospitals.

  • have experienced an eligible reduction in revenue.

  • have had a CRA payroll account on March 15, 2020

Online Calculator

The Canada Revenue Agency launched an online calculator to help businesses determine the amount they can expect from the wage subsidy program.  

Check Eligibility
Calculate your Subsidy amount

New Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance | Canada Emergency Business Account Expanded

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Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance

On April 16th, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced support for to help small businesses with their rent for the months of April, May and June.

The program is being worked out with the provinces and more details will be available shortly.

“Businesses and Commercial property owners are also facing specific challenges because of COVID-19 so we plan on introducing the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance. This program will provide support to help small businesses with their rent for the months of April, May and June. To implement this program we have to work with the provinces and territories as they govern rental relationships and we hope to have more details very soon” – PM Justin Trudeau

Canada Emergency Business Account

The eligible amounts are being expanded to include businesses with 2019 total payroll between $20,000 – $1.5 million.

There are restrictions on the funds can be used. From their website https://ceba-cuec.ca/:

“The funds from this loan shall only be used by the Borrower to pay non-deferrable operating expenses of the Borrower including, without limitation, payroll, rent, utilities, insurance, property tax and regularly scheduled debt service, and may not be used to fund any payments or expenses such as prepayment/refinancing of existing indebtedness, payments of dividends, distributions and increases in management compensation.”

Click to Get Full Details

Expanded eligibility for Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) & Boosted wages for Essential Workers

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From his speech this morning (April 15th), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced:

“Today, we’re announcing more help for more Canadians. This includes topping up the pay of essential workers. At the same time, we’ll also be expanding the Canada Emergency Response Benefit to reach people who are earning some income as well as seasonal workers who are facing no jobs and for those who have run out of EI recently. Expanding the CERB to include people who earn up to $1,000 per month. Maybe you’re a volunteer firefighter, or a contractor who can pickup some shifts, or you have a part-time job in a grocery store.”

Eligibility for CERB

On eligibility for CERB, the Prime Minister stated:

“If you earn $1,000 or less a month, you’ll now be able to apply for CERB.

If you were expecting a seasonal job that isn’t coming because of COVID-19, you’ll now be able to apply.

If you’ve run out of EI since January 1st, you can now apply for CERB as well

And for others who still need help, including post secondary students and businesses worried about commercial rent, we’ll have more to say to you very soon.”

Wage Boost for Essential Workers

On topping up wages for Essential Workers, PM Justin Trudeau said:

“Our government will work with the provinces and territories to boost wages for essential workers who are making under $2,500 a month, like those in our long-term care facilities”

The government website is being updated with the new qualifications, for full details and to apply click below:

Apply for CERB

Applications for the Canada Emergency Business Account starts TODAY!

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The new Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) is available starting TODAY and is available through major banking institutions: TD, Scotiabank, BMO, CIBC, RBC, National Bank, HSBC and Canadian Western Bank.

The CEBA will provide interest-free loans of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits, to help cover their operating costs during a period where their revenues have been temporarily reduced until December 31, 2022. Up to $10,000 of that amount will be eligible for loan forgiveness if $30,000 is fully repaid on or before December 31, 2022.

Eligibility

Organizations will need to demonstrate they paid between $50,000 to $1 million in total payroll in 2019

How do I apply?

Prior to applying, please make sure you have this information readily available:

  • Canada Revenue Agency Business Number (BN 15 digits)

  • 2019 T4 Summary of Remuneration Paid (T4SUM)

Apply online at the financial institution your business banks with:

Rules changed to allow more struggling business owners access to CERB, Wage Subsidy. Summer jobs program increased to 100%

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Accepting Applications starting April 6th – Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)

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The sheer volume of applications for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) will likely overwhelm the system. If you or someone you know need to apply for this benefit, we suggest you prepare TODAY before the applications begin:

  • Double check your myCRA account username and password

  • Direct Deposit is setup

    • 3 – 5 days via Direct Deposit vs 10 days via cheque in the mail

You should double check your myCRA username and password by signing in at:

CRA website

If you do not have direct deposit setup with CRA, you can set it up TODAY at:

setup direct deposit with cra

To help manage the volume, the CRA has setup specific days for you to apply based on month of birth.

If you were born in the month of:

  • January | February | March: Mondays – Best day to apply is April 6th

  • April | May | June: Tuesdays – Best day to apply is April 7th

  • July | August | September: Wednesdays – Best day to apply is April 8th

  • October | November | December: Thursdays – Best day to apply is April 9th

  • Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are open for any birth month

Eligibility

The benefit will be available to workers:

  • Residing in Canada, who are at least 15 years old;

  • Who have stopped working because of COVID-19 and have not voluntarily quit their job or are eligible for EI regular or sickness benefits;

  • Who had income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or in the 12 months prior to the date of their application; and

  • Who are or expect to be without employment or self-employment income for at least 14 consecutive days in the initial four-week period. For subsequent benefit periods, they expect to have no employment or self-employment income.

Ontario Support for Families portal is LIVE!

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Today, Ontario launched the portal for parents to apply for a one-time COVID-19 payment to help offset the costs of keeping children entertained and engaged during this time away from school.

Under this new program, parents are eligible for a one-time per child payment of:

  • $200 for children aged 0 to 12

  • $250 for children or youth aged 0 to 21 with special needs

Eligibility

There is no income cap on this program. All parents are eligible if you have a child who is:

  • $200 for children aged 0 to 12

  • $250 for children or youth aged 0 to 21 with special needs

If you have more than one child, you must submit one application per child.

 Before you apply, please note:

  • only one parent can apply for each child

  • the parent who applies should have custody of the child

You are still eligible if you are a health care or front-line worker who is using emergency, 24-hour child care centres.

For Details and to apply

Do I Qualify for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit & EI?

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To help Canadians through this difficult time, the Federal Government created the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and made changes to the Employment Insurance Program (EI). For those whose employment has affected by the Coronavirus, we have created a chart to help you figure out which program you qualify for and provide links to apply for each program.

The Federal Government has already made numerous changes to these programs so we will be updating this document whenever a change to the program is made.

Stay home and stay safe.