As COVID-19 touches nearly every aspect of the economy, the federal government has been working to mitigate some of the impacts. For Canadian workers (include the self-employed), the Canada Emergency Response Benefit offers $2000 a month for those who have seen their income reduced to less than $1000 a month due to COVID-19.
If you operate a business or not-for-profit that has lost money because of the pandemic, the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy could help. The CEWS will pay 75% of employee wages on the first $58700 that an employee earns, up to a maximum of $847 a week, for employers who have seen the required reduction in revenue.
Those revenue reductions are explained below:
To be eligible to receive the wage subsidy, you must:
- Be an eligible employer
- Have experienced an eligible reduction in revenue, and
- Have had a CRA payroll account on March 15, 2020
Eligible remuneration includes amounts you paid an employee including:
- Salary
- Wages
- Other taxable benefits
- Fees and commissions.
Eligible employees don’t have to live in Canada, but they have to be employed in Canada by an eligible employer during the claim period.
Additionally:
- Employees who have been laid off or furloughed can become eligible retroactively
- Their retroactive pay and status meet the eligibility criteria for the claim period
- You must rehire and pay such employees before you include them in your calculation for the subsidy
To get a sense of what kind of support your business or organization could get from the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, this calculator tool will help you estimate the amount of your wage subsidy.
You will be asked for information such as the number of eligible employees and gross payroll, and will be able to preview your subsidy claim, based on information you enter.
As we did for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, we will soon be offering a step-by-step guide through the application process.
