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COVID-19 Resources for Businesses and Individuals

We are committed to supporting our community through COVID-19. We’re doing our part by gathering and consolidating resources that are available to businesses and individuals on this page.

Individuals

 
How to apply for employment insurance

Your number one priority if you are out of work. Apply for Employment Insurance immediately. Here’s a snapshot of the process:

ei - Kinden CPA

Here’s an overview of how to complete the steps:

  1. Gather supporting documents: to apply you need a Record of Employment (ROE) from your employer.
  2. Complete the online application: To do this you will need:
    • Names and addresses of your employers in the last 52 weeks
    • Start and end date of employment with each employer
    • Reasons you’re no longer employed for each employer
    • Personal information including mailing address, SIN, and banking information
  3. Provide supporting documents: These should already have been provided by your employer. You can verify this by logging in to your My Service Canada Account.
  4. Receive Access Code by Mail: You will receive a benefit statement including an access code. This code and your SIN number will allow you to get updates about your application and complete mandatory biweekly reports. This can be done on your My Service Canada Account.
  5. Review your application status: You can login to your My Service Canada Account to review your application status.

Self-employed and those not qualifying for EI Sickness Benefit

Canada Emergency Response Benefit

The emergency care benefit has been replaced with the “Canada Emergency Response Benefit.” This taxable benefit would provide $2,000 a month for up to four months for workers who lose their income as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CERB would be a simpler and more accessible combination of the previously announced Emergency Care Benefit and Emergency Support Benefit.

The CERB would cover Canadians who have lost their job, are sick, quarantined, or taking care of someone who is sick with COVID-19, as well as working parents who must stay home without pay to care for children who are sick or at home because of school and daycare closures. The CERB would apply to wage earners, as well as contract workers and self-employed individuals who would not otherwise be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI).

Canadians who are already receiving EI regular and sickness benefits as of today would continue to receive their benefits and should not apply to the CERB. If their EI benefits end before October 3, 2020, they could apply for the CERB once their EI benefits cease, if they are unable to return to work due to COVID-19.

  1. Your My Service Canada Account
  2. Your CRA MyAccount
  3. Toll-free number with automated application process (NUMBER NOT YET AVAILABLE)

To avoid delays in receiving your benefit make sure you are signed up for a My Service Canada Account or a CRA MyAccount.

Income Tax Flexibility

Income tax deadlines for individuals have been deferred. The key dates are as follows:

  • Filing due date: June 1, 2020
  • Income tax balance due: After August 31, 2020

IMPORTANT: If you are expecting to receive the GST Credit or Canada Child Benefit, DO NOT DELAY FILING YOUR TAX RETURN TO ENSURE YOU RECEIVE WHAT YOU ARE ENTITLED TO FOR 2020.

Mortgage Deferral and Credit Relief

Canada’s large banks have committed to supporting Canadians through up to 6-month deferrals of mortgage payments as well as credit relief . Here are the numbers you can call to access relief for the primary lenders in Canada:

 

 

Businesses

Wage Subsidies

April 4, 2020

The Federal Government has announced that the wage subsidy will be increased to 75% and will be back-dated to March 15th. You can read more about the subsidy in our article here.

March 22, 2020

Businesses receiving the small business deduction receive a subsidy of 10% of wages for a period of 3 months. Legislation to enact this measure is pending. Eligible for a maximum of $1,375 per employee and $25,000 per employer. The subsidy will be given through a reduction in payroll remittances.

Although legislation is not enacted, we expect it to come shortly so employers can begin taking advantage of this now by reducing the amount of payroll tax remittances by an amount equal to 10% of salaries and wages paid to employees. You will need to track this by employee and in total to ensure that you do not exceed the $1,375 limit or the $25,000 total limit.

Tax Payments

Corporate Income Tax

Corporate Income Tax balances that become on or owing after today (March 18, 2020) and before September 2020 are deferred until after August 31, 2020.

  • Businesses with a year-end of December 31st:
    • If you qualify for the 1 month extension for balances due for CCPCs (3-month balance due after year-end), you are eligible for deferral
    • If you do not qualify for the 1 month extension, you are not eligible for the remittance
  • Businesses with a year-end of January 31st and beyond qualify for deferral
  • Businesses that remit monthly installments will need to make installments up to January 2020.

If you are unsure if your balance is due, contact us immediately.

Sales Tax

Businesses, including self-employed individuals, are permitted to defer until June 30, 2020 payments of the Goods and Services Tax / Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST), as well as customs duties owing on their imports.

The deferral will apply to GST/HST remittances for the February, March and April 2020 reporting periods for monthly filers; the January 1, 2020 through March 31, 2020 reporting period for quarterly filers; and for annual filers, the amounts collected and owing for their previous fiscal year and instalments of GST/HST in respect of the filer’s current fiscal year.

For GST and customs duty payments for imported goods, deferral will include amounts owing for March, April and May.

These amounts were normally due to be submitted to the Canada Revenue Agency and the Canada Border Services Agency as early as the end of this month.

 
 

 

Funding available to businesses

The Federal Government has taken measures to ensure that businesses have access to credit. This is being done primarily through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) and Export Development Canada (EDC). This is being called the Business Credit Availability Program.

The support is provided on a referral basis – you should first contact your financial institution for an assessment of your situation. If your needs are beyond what is available in the private sector alone, they will refer you to the EDC and BDC.

At this time, funding is being provided on a case-by-case basis. The best way to find out how you can receive funding and financial support is to call these numbers:

  • BDC: 1-877-232-2269 M-F 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 pm EST, Sat-Sun 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST

If you are unsure if your balance is due, contact us immediately.

 
 

 

How to do layoffs

If your business has slowed down or stopped completely, you’ll need to do layoffs. Many employers are hesitant to do this because of the risk of losing employees. Understandable, but if the business fails you won’t need to worry about retaining talent.

Here is a general approach you can follow to conduct layoffs:

  • Look at productivity in the previous week and estimate staffing required to sustain operations
  • Identify personnel that are critical to maintaining a “skeleton crew” (ie: the staff who should not be laid off)
  • For the remaining staff, prepare an internal memo communicating the challenges associated with COVID-19. Indicate to them that it is due to a lack of work Thank them for their hard work. Let them know they are valued and that this is temporary.
  • Prepare records of employment. You can do this online through ROE Web. If you are not signed up for ROE web, you can also order paper copies from the CRA and ask them to be expedited by calling this number 1-800-367-5693
  • Give staff ROEs ASAP so they can open an EI case and begin receiving EI benefits.
  • Make the final payment for any salaries and wages due in line with your regular payroll cycle.
  • Provide your staff with regular updates. This will reiterate to them that they are important and valued and assist in retention.

Keep in mind that you must take labour laws into consideration when doing this and depending on your situation, you may need to contact a labour lawyer. If you are unsure about whether you should consult with a labour lawyer, contact us and we’ll help you figure it out.

 
 

 

Insurance

If you are running a business you probably have general liability insurance. This may cover lost business as well as any lost inventory if it is subject to spoilage. Check your policy for “business continuity” or “business interruption” coverage. If you have it, contact your insurance provider and confirm if you are covered for COVID-19 losses. This may depend on whether a state of emergency is declared. Clarify this with your insurance provider.

Lease Agreements

If you are renting a commercial property, your lease agreement may include clauses for “acts of god” or “force majeur” which could provide you relief on your payments due to COVID-19. If you are unsure if this applies, contact us and we’ll help you. You should also open communication channels with the property owner to negotiate arrangements, such as reduced or deferred lease payments. At the end of the day, it is in the best interests of you and the property owner to reach an agreement that allows you to stay in the property and avoid vacancies.