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CERB update
The Ira Smith Trustee Team is absolutely operational and Ira, in addition to Brandon Smith, is readily available for a telephone consultation or video meeting. We hope that you and your family are safe and healthy.
CERB update introduction
The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB). CERB update: The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has started audits to assess payments made under certain of Canada’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan. After being slowed down by the coronavirus, auditors are now getting back to their complete workload.
This Brandon’s Blog will concentrate on the Government of Canada CERB update.
CERB update: Who can qualify for CERB?
As a refresher, there were eligibility criteria to be eligible for the $2,000 CERB payment by applying to the CRA, you must have met certain conditions during the period you are applying for. The Government of Canada stipulated the eligibility criteria to be:
- You did not look for, or get, CERB or Employment Insurance benefits from Service Canada for the exact same qualification period.
- You did not stop your work willingly on your own.
- You live in Canada and also are at least 15 years old.
- You earned a minimum of $5,000 (before taxes) in the preceding 12 months, or in 2019, from 1 or more of:
- employment earnings
- self-employment income
- provincial benefit payments connected to pregnancy or parental leave
- 1of:
- Your work hrs have actually been minimized because of COVID-19.
- You have actually quit or will certainly quit working as a result of COVID 19.
- You are incapable to work as a result of COVID-19, for example, because you are looking after a person.
- You have actually been paid EI benefits for at the very least one week of benefits since December 29, 2019, and finished your entitlement to such benefits.
- One of:.
- If you are applying for the first time: You have actually stopped or will stop working, or you are working minimized hours due to the coronavirus. Also, you don’t expect to earn over $1,000 in gross employment or self-employment revenue for at least 14 days straight during the 4-week duration.
- If you are looking for a subsequent period: You are still not employed or self-employed, or you are doing reduced hours due to COVID-19. You don’t expect to make over $1,000 in gross employment or self-employment revenue, and you anticipate this to continue during the whole 4-week duration.
One CERB update is that the CERB program has now ended. The CRA is continuing to accept and pay retroactive applications until December 2, 2020.
CERB update: What are the CERB pay periods?
You will see in the above CERB update description, it talks about qualifying for different periods. What were the CERB pay periods? The CERB was available from March 15 to September 27, 2020, inclusive.
The Government of Canada paid out $2,000 per four-week duration for approximately 28 weeks, backdated to March 15. CERB payments were paid out in the gross amount. No deductions for income tax, Canada Pension Plan or Employment Insurance were taken off. CERB is taxable income that must be reported on your 2020 income tax return.
As long as you did not make more than $1,000 for any 4-week period applied for, there was not any CERB claw-back.
So for this CERB update, keep 3 things in mind because it will be important from a CRA audit perspective:
- You could apply for CERB through either CRA or Service Canada, but not both.
- There were certain eligibility requirements regarding anyone who applied having reduced work hours or no work due to the coronavirus.
- You were only allowed to earn $1,000 for any CERB pay period. If you earned more, you were not entitled to apply for the CERB for that pay period or receive payment of CERB.
CERB update: What is replacing CERB?
Now that the CERB has ended, the Government of Canada has created some new benefit programs. These new CERB update programs are retroactive from September 27, 2020, to September 25, 2021, inclusive.
Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
The CRB will provide qualified workers with $500 weekly (taxable, and this time tax is deducted) for as much as 26 weeks for those who are not working for an employer or independently as a result of COVID-19.
To qualify, you also must not be eligible for Employment Insurance or had employment/self-employment revenue minimized by a minimum of 50% as a result of the coronavirus.
Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)
The CRCB will supply $500 each week (taxed, tax deducted from the gross weekly amount) for up to 26 weeks per house. It is for workers incapable of working at least 50% of the week since they must look after a youngster under the age of 12 or a member of the family. The allowed for reasons are since schools, day-cares or treatment centres are closed due to COVID-19, or due to the fact that the youngster or member of the family is sick and/or required to quarantine or is at a high threat of serious health ramifications as a result of COVID-19.
Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)
The CRSB will provide $500 weekly (taxable, and this time tax is deducted) for a maximum of 2 weeks, for workers that are not able to work at the very least 50% of the week because:
- they acquired COVID-19;
- self-isolated for factors associated with COVID-19; or
- have hidden problems, are undertaking therapies or have actually gotten various other sicknesses that, in the opinion of a doctor, nurse practitioner, government or public health authority, would make them much more prone to the coronavirus.
Employment Insurance
If you received the CERB by applying to Service Canada after you got your last CERB amount, continue completing records for Service Canada. For the most part, you do not require to make a special application for EI benefits.
Service Canada will automatically examine your data and your Record of Employment. They will review your case and let you know if you qualify for EI.
If you got the CERB by applying to CRA, you are required to first get all your CERB payments before applying for EI benefits. You can apply after the end of your last CERB eligibility period for the CERB update benefits.
CERB update: Can CRA audit CERB?
Definitely. They will be looking for two things. People who made an honest mistake in their application and those who committed out and out fraud.
The CRA isn’t going to fool around with these CERB payments. If you made a mistake on your application and therefore got more money than you should have, the CRA will want those funds back.
The Canadian federal government has spent billions on the CERB program. That’s a lot of money calling for accountability. If you do not think the CRA will audit applications, you may want to rethink just how easy auditing is with the CRA computers.
Taxpayers who inaccurately claimed CERB benefits by mistake may just be required to pay back the incorrectly claimed amount. But here is the CERB update – there will be, if there aren’t already, additional procedures to successfully penalize taxpayers who purposefully claimed COVID-19 subsidies they did not qualify for.
These actions will include penalties and interest and possibly prosecution for the, especially more grievous tax fraudsters. COVID-19 benefits or subsidies have come at a significant cost to the government. They will be keeping an eye out for those attempting to abuse the system.
The very best security against flunking an audit where the CRA chooses you is to have taken simple preventative steps. The simplest way to come out clean from a CERB update audit was to make sure that you qualify before applying for the money!
CERB update: What if you can’t (re) pay?
There are going to be three kinds of people that may very well have trouble paying money to the government. People went on the CERB because of very low, or no, employment earnings. Nobody got rich from the CERB. So people are now flush with cash after having received CERB payments.
The first type is those that made an honest error in their applications. If caught through an audit, they may very well not have the funds to repay.
The second type is those that committed fraud in getting the CERB. Perhaps they never qualified but falsely applied. Or, perhaps on the surface they did qualify, and then while receiving the CERB were able to pick up work and got paid in cash.
The third type will be those people who did everything right and needed all the CERB to put food on the table and make their rent or mortgage payment. Remember that CERB is taxable and was paid at the gross amount. No income tax was deducted at the source. So, next winter or spring, when filling out their 2020 income tax return, they may have a nasty surprise. That nasty CERB update surprise will be income tax payable for which they do not have the cash to make the tax payment they are required to.
So now they will have income tax debt to add to credit card debt or other types of debt. These people will need income tax debt relief. CRA will definitely contact you if you do not pay.
If you find that you will be in need of a debt settlement plan to deal with your debts, including any income tax debt, contact a licensed insolvency trustee (Trustee).
A Trustee will review your situation and make specific recommendations on how you can settle your debts. Our aim is always to help people avoid bankruptcy. We have helped many people who have received bad news from a CRA audit. We can also help anyone with a CERB update problem.
CERB update: Summary
I hope you have enjoyed this CERB update Brandon’s Blog. Hopefully, you have better insight now into the fact that a sick insolvent company’s business can be saved by doing a sale of its assets to a healthy organization.
Do you or your company have too much debt? Are you or your company in need of financial restructuring? The financial restructuring process is complex. The Ira Smith Team understands how to do a complex restructuring. However, more importantly, we understand the needs of the entrepreneur or the person who has too much personal debt.
You are worried because you are facing significant financial challenges. It is not your fault that you are in this situation. You have been only shown the old ways that do not work anymore. The Ira Smith Team uses new modern ways to get you out of your debt troubles while avoiding bankruptcy. We can get you debt relief freedom.
The stress placed upon you is huge. We understand your pain points. We look at your entire situation and devise a strategy that is as unique as you and your problems; financial and emotional. The way we take the load off of your shoulders and devise a debt settlement plan, we know that we can help you.
We know that people facing financial problems need a realistic lifeline. There is no “one solution fits all” approach with the Ira Smith Team.
That is why we can develop a restructuring process as unique as the financial problems and pain you are facing. If any of this sounds familiar to you and you are serious in finding a solution, contact the Ira Smith Trustee & Receiver Inc. team today.
Call us now for a free consultation.
We will get you or your company back on the road to healthy stress-free operations and recover from the pain points in your life, Starting Over, Starting Now.
The Ira Smith Trustee Team is absolutely operational and Ira, in addition to Brandon Smith, is readily available for a telephone consultation or video meeting. We hope that you and your family are safe and healthy.
