With this being the second year of the pandemic in Canada Crowe MacKay's trusted advisors share an update on the repayment of CERB advances and reporting COVID-19 assistance programs on your T4A tax slips.
Repayment of CERB advances from Service Canada
Many Canadians who applied for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) through Service Canada before June 14, 2020, received an advance payment of $2,000. Those who applied on or after June 14, 2020, did not receive an advance payment of $2,000.
To reconcile this advance payment, Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) applied it against other payment periods in June, July, and August of 2020. However, if recipients of the advance payment were not entitled to or did not collect CERB payments for at least 20 weeks, some or all of the advance payment remains as an outstanding balance owing.
Service Canada will be contacting Canadians who still have an outstanding balance of money owed from the advance payment, outlining their appeal rights and the process for repayment.
Reporting COVID-19 assistance
Government assistance received in the year such as the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB), the Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB) or the Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) are taxable and must be reported on your 2021 income tax return. The Government should be issuing T4A tax slips to individuals who received assistance in 2021.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
