COVID-19 Latest Updates

Author: Colin Phillips, CPA Professional Corporation |

COVID-19 – Canada’s Response

We wanted to reach out and touch base on all of the support measures the Government of Canada and Government of Ontario have implemented.  This information is the most current as of today.  The government is constantly providing additional details and measures which we will try to keep you informed about.

 

Resources:

 

We will be focussing on a few of the response measures that we have received the most questions about.  Most application processes suggest online being the easiest method.  We encourage all individuals to register for CRA’s My Account and all businesses to register for CRA’s My Business Account.  Once you have access to these services, we would also encourage you to apply for direct deposit from within the secure service to ensure timely delivery of any benefits.

 

Individuals:

  • Tax filing due date deferred until June 1 (self-employed still June 15)
  • Tax payment date deferred until September 1 for all amounts that became payable after March 18, 2020
  • Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB):
    • Eligible workers who have lost their income due to COVID-19 will be able to receive $2,000/o for up to 4 months
    • Apply:
    • The government has set up the following timetable for applications to help make sure their systems do not get overwhelmed.  Application dates are based on your month of birth
      • Jan, Feb, Mar: apply on Mondays
      • Apr, May, Jun: apply on Tuesdays
      • Jul, Aug, Sep: apply on Wednesdays
      • Oct, Nov, Dec: apply on Thursdays
      • Any month: apply on Fridays, Saturdays, or Sundays
  • Increased benefits: the Child Care Benefit (CCB) and GST/HST.  Automatically calculated
  • Student Loans: repayments on student loans (principal and interest) will be suspended until September 30, 2020.  There is no application needed for this.  This is the same for both federal and Ontario – if you live have loans in another province, they may have different measures

Businesses:

  • Wage Subsidies: It is important to know that the 10% wage subsidy and 75% wage subsidy are different subsidies (though the receipt of one would reduce the receipt of the other)
  • Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA): this is an interest-free loan of up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits, to help cover operating costs during a period where revenues have been temporarily reduced.
    • Must be used for unavoidable operating costs that the business is not able to defer as a result of COVID-19 (includes rent, monthly lease payments, etc)
    • 25% of the loan is eligible for complete forgiveness if 75% of the loan is fully repaid on or before December 31, 2020
    • If the loan is not repaid by December 31, 2020, it will be extended for an additional 3-year term, bearing an interest rate of 5% per annum
    • To qualify, your business needs to demonstrate that it paid between $50,000 and $1 million in total payroll in 2019
    • Will be available to be applied for in the coming weeks
    • You should contact your financial institution (or their website) for additional details as they will be the ones processing these loans
  • Payment dates of income tax (including instalments) amounts that became owing on or after March 18 and before September 1, 2020 will be deferred until September 1, 2020
  • Payments of GST/HST remittances that became owing from March 27 to the end of May can be deferred until the end of June

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