29 Sep COVID-19 Update: CEWS, CEBA, CECRA and TWS
CEWS Update
As a reminder, the federal government has changed the eligibility criteria for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) for July through November (Periods 5 to 9). These changes remove the requirement to have a 30% revenue decline to qualify. Now, any eligible employer that has any percentage of revenue decline can qualify for a subsidy. Please review our newsletter article from July 20th, 2020 for more information.
The CEWS rules are complex. There are different approaches (General or Alternatives) and different elections that can be made. Depending on the approach used and elections made, the potential subsidy refund can be drastically different.
We can help you review the CEWS rules, assist with the subsidy calculations (including review of all the different approaches and elections to maximize your subsidy), and apply on your behalf. Please let us know if you would like our assistance. Employers only have until January 31, 2021 to apply for the subsidy.
Please note that a further extension of the CEWS program, until summer 2021, was announced on September 23 in the Speech from the Throne. The following summary has not yet been updated for this announcement as it is pending parliamentary approval.
CEBA and CECRA Extensions
The federal government announced that the application deadline for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) has been extended from August 31st to October 31st. This is to ensure those people that became eligible under the revised criteria (non-deferrable expense) have sufficient time to apply.
The government also announced that the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses will be extended for September. Assuming a business met the qualification of a 70% revenue decline in April, May and June, they will be eligible for the September period. Landlords will need to apply for the September extension.
Reporting TWS to CRA
For those employers that took advantage of the Temporary Wage Subsidy (TWS), the 10% subsidy for remuneration from March 18th to June 19th, you are required to report this information to the CRA. The CRA will use this information to reconcile your payroll (RP) account since employers were eligible to “short-pay” their employee remittances. This will ensure that when the T4s are filed in early 2021, the CRA will not generate a PIER report asking for the missing remittances.
The Form PD27 can be either completed and mailed to the CRA or completed using the CRA’s My Business Account.
