CRA rolled out a few economic response plans to support Canadian residents and businesses that have been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These include:
- Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS)
- Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
- Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CEBS)
Payments are made to residents based on employment income for a defined period. However, there is a need to monitor the system to avoid its abuse. This has led to CRA introducing additional T4 reporting requirements for the 2020 tax year. The new requirements will enable CRA to validate claims made by employees and employers under each payment program and pay period.
Employers now have to report remunerations paid to employees during the COVID -19 pay periods. Employment income codes on the T4 Slip will include employees’ earnings as follows:
✓ Code 57: employment income – March 15 to May 9th
✓ Code 58: employment income – May 10th to July 4th
✓ Code 59: employment income – July 5th to August 29th
✓ Code 60: employment income – August 30th to September 26th