Real Solutions
for Real Growth

As part of its pandemic relief plan, the federal government provided eligible post-secondary students and recent post-secondary and high school graduates who were unable to find work for pandemic-related reasons with benefits through the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) program. That benefit of $1,250 for each four-week period was payable from May to August 2020, and the benefit amount was increased to $2,000 for eligible recipients who have dependents or are disabled.

The final deadline for all applications for the CESB is Wednesday, September 30, 2020. Applications can be submitted online. Information on how to apply, as well as details of who is eligible for the benefit, can be found on the Canada Revenue Agency website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/emergency-student-benefit.html.

Canadian taxpayers who pay income tax by instalment usually make four instalment payments each year, by the 15^th day of March, June, September, and December.

Earlier this year, the federal government announced that the deadlines for payment of the June and September instalments would be deferred. Both of those instalment payments are now due on or before Wednesday September 30, 2020.

Where such payments are not made in full by the September 30 deadline, interest charges may be imposed. Details of the instalment payment system, and how payments can be made, are available at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/making-payments-individuals/paying-your-income-tax-instalments.html.

Earlier this year, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that the deadline for payment of individual income tax balances for the 2019 tax year, which is usually April 30, was being extended to Wednesday September 30, 2020. Where such balances are paid on or before that date, no interest charges or penalties will be imposed.

In addition, while the return filing deadline for individual income tax returns for 2019 was June 1 for most taxpayers (June 15 for self-employed individuals and their spouses), the CRA’s policy is that no late-filing penalties will be levied where such returns are filed on or before September 30, 2020.

Details of the extended filing and payment deadlines are outlined on the CRA website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/campaigns/covid-19-update/covid-19-filing-payment-dates.html#extend.

The September release of Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey shows that the overall unemployment rate for the month of August stood at 10.2%. That rate represented a decrease of 0.7% from the rate recorded for the month of July.

Employment rose during the month by 246,000 jobs. That figure, when combined with gains made in the previous three months, brought employment to within 1.1 million of the pre-pandemic level recorded for February 2020.

Details of the employment picture for the month can be found in the September release of the Labour Force Survey, available on the StatsCan website at https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/200904/dq200904a-eng.htm?HPA=1&indid=3587-2&indgeo=0.

The federal government has announced an increase in the amount of any overtime meal allowance, or meal portion of a travel allowance, that employers can provide to employees on a non-taxable basis. That increase, the first since 2009, raises the per meal amount from $17 to $23. The change (from $17 to $23) also applies to the rate at which transport employees and others can claim meal expenses under the CRA’s flat rate (simplified) claim system.

All of the announced changes are retroactive to January 1, 2020, and the CRA news release outlining the changes can be found at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/2020/09/canada-revenue-agency-increases-flat-rate-amount-for-meal-claims-and-reasonable-amount-for-meal-benefits-and-allowances.html.

Eligibility for a number of refundable tax credits and benefits, including the harmonized sales tax/goods and services tax credit and the child tax benefit is based in part on a taxpayer’s income for the previous year, as reported on his or her tax return. The current benefit year for such credits runs from July 1, 2020 to June 30, 2021, with benefit entitlement based on income for 2019.

Earlier this year, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that benefit payments would continue past June 30, 2020, even where taxpayers had not yet filed a return for 2019 (such returns were, for most taxpayers, due by June 1, 2020).

However, the CRA recently issued a reminder to taxpayers that, where a return for 2019 has not yet been filed, payment of tax credits will cease as of September 30, 2020. In order to continue receiving tax credit payments in October and subsequent months, taxpayers must file their tax return for the 2019 tax year. The CRA reminder can be found on its website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/newsroom/tax-tips/tax-tips-2020/last-call-file-your-2019-tax-return-keep-getting-your-benefit-payments.html.

The pandemic emergency benefit program provided by the federal government for post-secondary students and recent secondary and post-secondary graduates ended on August 29, 2020. Those eligible for such benefits, for any time period between May and September, must apply before September 30, 2020.

There are different categories of students who may be eligible to receive the Canada Student Benefit, and both eligibility requirements and benefit amounts differ by category. Information on those eligibility requirements, the amount of benefit receivable, and how to apply can be found on the federal government website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/emergency-student-benefit.html.

Since March 15 of this year, Canadians who have lost income as a result of the pandemic have been able to receive $500 per week from the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). The CERB program will end on October 3, 2020, and the federal government has released its plan to provide for the necessary transition for CERB recipients.

That plan has several components, including changes to current Employment Insurance rules, to expand availability for EI. In addition, three new programs will be implemented – the Canada Recovery Benefit, the Canada Sickness Recovery Benefit and the Canada Caregiver Recovery Benefit. Each of those programs will commence on September 27, 2020 and will be available for one year.

Details of the new programs, and the changes to EI, can be found on the federal government website at https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/economic-response-plan.html.

Earlier this month, a cyberattack on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and other agencies of the federal government compromised the personal tax and financial information of approximately 5500 taxpayers. The CRA has indicated that the accounts of affected taxpayers have been locked to prevent any further access, and that the CRA will be contacting all such taxpayers directly to advise them on steps which they can take to restore access to their accounts.

The federal government response to the cyberattack is available on its website at https://www.canada.ca/en/treasury-board-secretariat/news/2020/08/statement-from-the-office-of-the-chief-information-officer-of-the-government-canada-on-recent-credential-stuffing-attacks.html.

On July 17, the federal government announced that the existing Canada Employer Wage Subsidy (CEWS) program would be extended to be available until November 21, 2020, and that eligibility criteria for that Program would be expanded. Those expanded eligibility criteria are effective as of the claim period beginning July 5, 2020.

The government has announced that application forms for the new expanded program are now available on its website at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy.html. Changes to the eligibility criteria are summarized at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/subsidy/emergency-wage-subsidy/cews-what-changes.html.