If you haven't heard yet, there have been some cyber attacks against the Government of Canada departments. Some accounts have been disabled in order to protect your identity. Please visit: https://cyber.gc.ca/en/news/statement-gckey-credential-service-and-recent-credential-stuffing-attacks for more information on the recent CRA cyber attacks that have been causing Web access issues since Saturday. The Office of the Chief Information Officer of the Government Canada released a

My Account is a secure portal that lets you, as an individual, to view your personal income tax and benefit information online. It also allows you to manage you tax affairs online. The Canada Revenue Agency has put out a video to demonstrate how to create a 'My Account'. Here is the link for "My Account". Visit our website regularly to view the latest “News and Updates” on issues that impact you, your business and the industry. Stagecoach Payroll Solutions – “Your Canadian Pa

Are you an employer and need to issue a Record of Employment (ROE) for your employees? The Government of Canada has released a reminder on how to correctly issue your ROEs to help ensure your employees get the right benefits whether they apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) or Employment Insurance (EI). If you are issuing ROEs to employees who are affected by the COVID-19 and they are no longer working you must issue a ROE. One of the following reason codes

In response to the current pandemic of COVID-19, the Government of Canada has made several adjustments to assist federal employees, businesses and individuals in various Acts: Income Tax Act and Income Tax Regulations Temporarily increasing Canada Child Benefit payment in order to provide additional assistance to families with children. Individuals and families with low/modest incomes will receive one extra payment of GST/HST (Goods and Sales Tax) credit. For 2020 reducing mi

COVID-19 has prompted several provinces to amend/create Acts to better support workers during a public health emergency and any other future emergencies. Alberta ESA Temporary Workplace Rules The province of Alberta has implemented temporary measures to help employees and employers manage during these critical times. The following amendments/additions are in effect for the duration of public health emergency and until the government deems it is no longer needed: Created an un

Bill 188, Economic and Fiscal Update Act, 2020, received Royal Assent on March 25, 2020 and has been enacted as Chapter 5 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2020. Schedule 1 of the Bill consists of the Employer Health Tax Act. This new Bill will have an impact on your payroll calculations for 2020. Please ensure you update your software to accommodate the new calculation. The Employer Health Tax Act allows eligible employers to claim an exemption amount when establishing their taxab

Each year the CRA specifies the top 10 payroll non-compliance errors that their auditors consistently come across out in the field. Payroll can be very complex and requires proper documentation and recording, review the list below to see if your organization is at risk. Top 10 areas of concern: Taxable automobile benefits – It is important to maintain proper logbooks to separate the personal and business use of a vehicle so the benefit can be calculated properly. Reclassifyin

Not all payments receive the same tax treatment, always ensure you use the appropriate method when calculating withholdings. Salary, wages, overtime, vacation taken, and allowances are examples of a regular payment. Sometimes an irregular or special payment is made to an employee either outside or within the regular pay cycle. Common examples include bonuses, vacation pay (when no time off was taken), retroactive payments, banked overtime, commission payments not regularly pa

Is your T4 accurate, or have you noticed an error? 2018 T4’s have been issued so make sure you have received yours. All your other tax slips will be arriving in the mail as well so keep an eye out as they easily get lost in all the junk mail. If you subscribe to electronic mail you should retrieve them from the website. A T4 slip summarizes the money paid to you during a calendar year, including amounts deducted at source; these amounts are paid directly to the government. Th

If you remember the new provincial sales tax that Saskatchewan introduced late in 2017 for insurance premiums, which was short lived, as of February 26, 2018 provincial sales tax was eliminated and it extended retroactively. The sales tax collected would be refunded to the employers and employees eventually. Thanks to the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA), the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has agreed that 2017 T4 and T4As are not to be amended for the PST from August to Decemb