Wildfires: Apply for Taxpayer Relief Provisions

It may not be the first concern, but Canadians affected by wildfires may worry at some point about the tax consequences of lost records or missed filing deadlines – the next one on June 16 for those filing T1 returns with proprietorship income. Fortunately, the CRA offers Taxpayer Relief Provisions when there are circumstances beyond a taxpayer’s control, including natural disasters, serious illness or death in the family, or errors made by the CRA, which may trigger penalties and interest due to late or incomplete tax filings. Here’s what you need to know.

Most Canadians who applied for the CERB for the first period of March 15-April 11 should have received their payments of $2,000 by now. However, the process has now changed from the initial guidelines released by the government for those who want to continue to access these benefits. Here’s what you need to know:

The eligibility criteria for the CERB has been criticized for its failure to help those that have jobs but are under-employed and under-earning during the pandemic. This was addressed on April 15, when the federal government introduced new eligibility criteria for those earning less than $1,000 per month. It’s been a gap since zero income for at least two consecutive weeks has been a requirement to receive the CERB so far.

Recently unemployed or are earning zero income due to COVID-19 and need to apply for the CERB for the first time? The application process has changed slightly since it first opened. So, beware: how you apply may not be the same as what you heard your friends, family, or colleagues did earlier this month.

On April 6, the government initially opened the CRA application process with two portals: one through the CRA (for those ineligible for standard EI) and one through Service Canada and the standard EI program.  This lead to many Canadians receiving duplicate $2,000 payments last week – one from each program. What now?

Small business owners in Canada are among the most impacted fiscally by the pandemic, according to the Canadian Federation for Small Business (CFIB). In a recent survey, the group reported that almost 80% of small businesses are fully or partially closed, and on average, it’s cost them more than $200,000 already. Will the new announcements from this week help?

With the passing of Bill C-14, the COVID-19 Emergency Response Act, No. 2 on April 12, 2020 Canadian businesses have some surety on the 75% Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS), and the money could flow in 2 to 5 weeks.  However, there are some of the important new details to consider including a new refund of the employer’s portion of EI/CPP benefits.