The Impact of COVID-19 – revised Mar 25

Jump to: Information for Individuals Information for Businesses Important Links

Key Points For Individuals

Tax Relief

• Tax Return Due Date Referral
  • personal tax filing due date will be June 1, 2020
  • those expecting refunds or benefits (GST/HST credit, GIS, CCB) should file ASAP to avoid a lapse in payment
• Tax Payment Deferral
  • to after August 31, 2020
  • payment of income tax amounts (including instalments) that become owing on or after March 18 and before September
  • no interest or penalties will accumulate on these amounts during this period

Temporary Income Support for Workers

• EI Sickness Benefits
  • for workers without paid sick leave who are sick, quarantined or forced to stay home to care for children will have access to benefits
    • without the one week waiting period, effective March 15
    • without the requirement to provide a medical certificate

• Canada Emergency Response Benefit
  • replaces the Emergency Care Benefit and the Emergency Support Benefit
  • 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
  • Canadians who:
    • have lost their job
    • are sick, quarantined or taking care of someone who is sick with COVID-19
    • are working parents who must stay home without pay to care for children who are sick or at home because of school and daycare closures
    • apply to wage earners, as well as contract workers and self-employed individuals who would not otherwise be eligible for Employment Insurance (EI)
  • workers who are still employed, but are not receiving income because of disruptions to their work situation due to COVID-19
  • all Canadians who have ceased working due to COVID-19, whether they are EI-eligible or not, would be able to receive the CERB
  • portal for accessing the CERB would be available in early April
  • begin to receive CERB payments within 10 days of application
  • CERB would be paid every four weeks and be available from March 15, 2020 until October 3, 2020
• Additional information about EI & CERB
  • those already receiving EI regular and sickness benefits
    • continue to receive their benefits
    • should not apply to the CERB
      • if benefits end before October 3 and are unable to return to work due to COVID-19
      • apply for the CERB once their EI benefits cease
  • those who have already applied for EI and whose application has not yet been processed would not need to reapply
  • those eligible for EI regular and sickness benefits would still be able to access their normal EI benefits, if still unemployed, after the 16-week period covered by the CERB

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Longer Term Income Support for Individuals

• Low/Modest Income Individuals
  • will receive a one-time special payment by early May 2020 through the Goods and Services Tax credit
    • an average boost to income for those benefitting by close to $400 for single individuals and close to $600 for couples
  • increase Canada Child Benefit payment amounts by $300 per child for the 2019-20 benefit year
    • added to the May 2020 benefit cheque
      

• Changes to the EI Work Sharing Program
  • extending the eligibility to 76 weeks
  • easing eligibility requirements
  • streamlining the application process

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Financial Assistance for Individuals

• Mortgage Deferral Program
  • up to 6-month payment deferral
  • relief on other credit products
  • flexible payment solutions
• Student Loan Moratorium
  • six-month interest free moratorium on the repayment of Canada Student Loans
• Minimum RRIF Withdrawals
  • reduced by 25% for 2020
  • similar rules for receiving variable benefit payments from RPP
• Interest Rate Cuts
  • Bank of Canada reduced prime interest rate to .75%
  • other bank have also reduced rates
• Emergency Loan Program
  • to Canadians in need of immediate financial assistance to return home
  • emergency assistance is a repayable loan
• Indigenous Community Support Fund
  • to address immediate needs in the First Nations, Inuit and Metis Nation communities
• Homelessness
  • support the homeless during the outbreak
  • purchasing beds, physical barriers and reducing overcrowding in shelters
• Domestic Abuse Shelters
  • increase capacity and prevent outbreak in their facilities

Information For Businesses

Tax Relief for Businesses

• Tax Payment Extension for Businesses
  • to after August 31, 2020
  • payment of income tax amounts (including instalments) that become owing on or after March 18 and before September
  • no interest or penalties will accumulate on these amounts during this period

Temporary Measures for Businesses

• Payroll Subsidies
  • a temporary wage subsidy for a period of three months
  • equal to 10% of remuneration paid during that period
  • up to a maximum of $1,375 per employee and $25,000 per employer
  • by reducing their remittances of income tax
  • effective immediately
• CRA Audit Activity
  • will not initiate any post assessment GST/HST or Income Tax audits for the next four weeks
  • CRA will temporarily suspend audit interaction with taxpayers (in most cases)

Financial Assistance for Businesses

• Business Credit Availability Program
  • $10 billion of additional credit support
  • Additional credit through Farm Credit Canada for the agri-food sector
  • $300 billion in additional lending by the banks
• Liaison Officer Service
  • available by phone
  • ensuring businesses are aware of any changes such as:
  • filing and payment deadlines
  • proactive relief measures, etc

Other Payment & Filing Extensions

No comments were made about changing the filing and payment dates for payroll, GST/HST and other non-income tax items.

Important Links

• These measures were announced on March 18, 2020 and March 25, 2020 – draft legislation is to come.
• Over the next few days and weeks, specifics to these programs will be finalized.
• Most of the details will be released on one of these four webpages:
  • COVID-19: Canada’s response
  • Helping Canadians with the economic impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic
  • COVID-19: Financial help for Canadians outside Canada
  • COVID-19: Benefits and services