Financial Relief

File your 2023 corporate income tax return now to get the Canada Carbon Rebate for Small Businesses

by

Retroactive payments will be issued to eligible Canadian-controlled private corporations (CCPCs) with respect to the 2019-2020 to 2023-2024 fuel charge years.

To be eligible for the rebate for one or more of the fuel charge years, a CCPC must:

  • have employed one or more persons in a designated province in the calendar year in which the fuel charge year begins;
  • have had 499 or fewer employees throughout Canada in that calendar year; and
  • have filed their corporate income tax return for the tax year ending in 2023 no later than July 15, 2024.

CCPCs do not have to apply for this rebate. Once the Minister of Finance has specified the payment rates for each designated province for an applicable calendar year, the Canada Revenue Agency will calculate and automatically issue the rebate amounts to eligible CCPCs.

How to apply now for the 100% GST/HST rebate for purpose-built rentals

by

 The Government of Canada is providing a 100% rebate on the Goods and Services Tax (GST), or the federal portion of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST), on new purpose-built rental housing (PBRH). This housing includes apartment buildings, student housing and seniors’ residences. Applications for the PBRH rebate can be made online starting May 13, 2024. 

To qualify, residential units need to meet the requirements for the current GST/HST new residential rental property rebate and must be in a multi-unit residential complex with at least:

  • 4 private apartment units (each containing kitchen, bathroom and living area) or at least 10 private rooms or suites, and
  • 90% of residential units are held for long-term rental

Unlike the GST/HST new residential rental property rebate, the PBRH rebate does not have a $450,000 fair market value limitation per unit.

This rebate is available for projects where construction began after September 13, 2023, but before 2031, and will be substantially completed before 2036. For the purpose of this rebate, construction is generally considered to have begun when excavation for the project starts. 

Construction to convert existing non-residential real estate, such as an office building, into a residential complex will be eligible for the PBRH rebate, if all conditions are met. Since the goal is to increase the housing supply, the rebate will not apply to the substantial renovation of an existing residential complex. 

How to apply:

To learn more about the purpose-built rental housing rebate, go to GST/HST rebate for purpose-built rental housing (PBRH).

Alberta Affordability Payments Program

by

As part of the Affordability Action Plan, millions of Albertans struggling with inflation and the high cost of living can apply for the Affordability Payments program until June 30, 2023.

  • Families with household incomes under $180,000 can apply for $600 per child under 18.
  • Seniors who have household incomes under $180,000 and do not receive the Alberta Seniors Benefit can apply for $600 per person.
  • Anyone receiving monthly benefits through AISH, Income Support, Alberta Seniors Benefit or services through Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PDD) will automatically get their personal $600 payment but will need to apply for additional payments if they have kids under 18.

To apply, please follow this link: https://affordability.alberta.ca/prescreen

Government of Canada affordability incentives for Canadians – September 2022 update

by

Doubling the GST Credit – the government is proposing to double the GST Credit for six months. Single Canadians without children would receive up to an extra $234 and couples with two children would receive up to an extra $467 this year. Seniors would receive an extra $225 on average. The proposed extra GST Credit amounts would be paid to all current recipients through the existing GST Credit system as a one-time, lump-sum payment before the end of the year, pending Parliamentary approval and Royal Assent of enabling legislation. Recipients would not need to apply for the additional payment, but should file their 2021 tax return if they have not done so already to be able to receive both the current GST credit and the additional payment.

The Canada Dental Benefit would be provided to children under 12 who do not have access to dental insurance, starting this year. Direct payments totalling up to $1,300 per child over the next two years (up to $650 per year) would be provided for dental care services. This is for families with adjusted net income under $90,000, and will allow children under 12 to receive the dental care.

The one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit would deliver a $500 payment to renters who are struggling with the cost of housing. The federal benefit will be available to applicants with an adjusted net income below $35,000 for families, or below $20,000 for individuals, who pay at least 30 per cent of their adjusted net income on rent.

Loan forgiveness repayment deadline for the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) has been extented to December 31, 2023

by

The repayment deadline for CEBA loans to qualify for partial loan forgiveness is being extended from December 31, 2022, to December 31, 2023, for all eligible borrowers in good standing. Repayment on or before the new deadline of December 31, 2023, will result in loan forgiveness of up to a third of the value of the loans (meaning up to $20,000).

Outstanding loans would subsequently convert to two-year term loans with interest of 5% per annum commencing on January 1, 2024, with the loans fully due by December 31, 2025.

What to do if you can’t pay your taxes

by

If you ignore your tax debt, it will grow with interest charges and penalties. Penalties only apply if you file late or pay by installments and your installment payments are late or less than the required amount. Debts associated with COVID-19 Individual Emergency Benefits overpayments will not have penalties or interest assessed against the amount owing.

The tax-filing deadline for most individuals is April 30, 2022

Since April 30, 2022, falls on a Saturday, your return will be considered filed on time in either of the following situations:

  • received on or before May 2, 2022

You have until June 15, 2022, to file your return if you or your spouse or common law-partner are self-employed.

The payment deadline is April 30, 2022

If you have a balance owing, your payment is due on April 30, 2022. Some taxpayers may receive Notices of Redetermination from the CRA over the next two years that are related to Individual Emergency Benefits overpayments. If you receive such a notice, you should follow the payment directions provided in the letter.

If you or your spouse or common law-partner are self-employed, your payment is still due on April 30, 2022.

Since April 30, 2022, falls on a Saturday, in both of the above situations, your payment will be considered paid on time if we receive it, or it is processed at a Canadian financial institution, on or before May 2, 2022.

If you filed your 2020 return and qualified for interest relief, you have until April 30, 2022, to pay any outstanding income tax debt for the 2020 tax year to avoid future interest charges. This applies to the tax owing for the 2020 tax year only, and not for any previous tax year.

Partial payment

You can make partial payments to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to reduce the amount of interest you need to pay on unpaid amounts. To see all the payment options or to make a partial payment, go to canada.ca/payments.

Payment arrangement

If you can’t pay your taxes in one payment, you may be able to set up a payment arrangement. A payment arrangement is an agreement between you and the CRA. It allows you to spread out your payments over time, based on your ability to pay, until you’ve paid your debt and interest in full. In order to help Canadians during the COVID-19 pandemic, the CRA has expanded its payment arrangement rules. These expanded rules are still in effect. You can work with us on a payment arrangement that fits your situation.

TeleArrangement service

You can also make a payment arrangement by calling the CRA’s automated TeleArrangement service at 1-866-256-1147. When you call, you’ll need to give:

  • your social insurance number;
  • your date of birth; and
  • the amount on line 15000 of your last notice of assessment.

The TeleArrangement service is available Monday to Friday (except holidays), from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., Eastern time.

You can also call the CRA’s debt management call centre at 1-888-863-8657 to speak to an agent. Agents are available Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern time.

Pay by pre-authorized debit

You can authorize the CRA to withdraw a certain amount directly from your bank account, on dates of your choosing, through one of the following:

You can set up a pre-authorized debit agreement or generate a QR code for paying at a Canada Post outlet.

Keep in mind it takes five business days from when you first set up a pre-authorized debit to when your funds will be processed. Also, you can’t cancel the debit agreement within the five days before it’s due. To use this service, you need to register for My Account, My Business Account or the MyCRA mobile web app.

Unable to pay?

You must tell the CRA as soon as possible so that we can work with you to find a workable payment arrangement. Keep in mind that interest compounds daily, at the rate set by law, until you pay the amount you owe in full. Go to When you owe money – collections at the CRA for more information.

In some circumstances, you may ask for relief from penalties and interest, and reduce the amount you owe. Go to canada.ca/penalty-interest-relief for more information.

Are you working from home – what expenses can be claimed?

by

Work-space-in-the-home expenses

If you meet the eligibility criteria, you can claim a portion of certain expenses related to the use of a workspace in your home as follows:

  • Expenses you paid that relate to the work space as well as other areas of the home. You can claim the percentage of those expenses that relate to the work space.
  • Expenses related to the work space only. You can claim the total amount of the expenses if the amount paid is reasonable.
  • Expenses related to a part of the house that you did not use as a work space. You cannot claim any part of those expenses.

Can be claimed:

All salaried employees and commission employees can claim:
  • electricity
  • heat
  • water
  • utilities portion (electricity, heat, and water) of your condominium fees 
  • home internet access fees 
  • maintenance and minor repair costs 
  • rent paid for a house or apartment where you live 
Commission employees can also claim:
  • home insurance
  • property taxes
  • lease of a cell phone, computer, laptop, tablet, fax machine, etc. that reasonably relate to earning commission income

Cannot be claimed:

  • mortgage interest
  • principal mortgage payments
  • home internet connection fees
  • furniture
  • capital expenses (replacing windows, flooring, furnace, etc)Footnote5
  • wall decorations

Office supplies and phone expenses

If your employer requires you to pay for office supplies or certain phone expenses, you may be able to claim those expenses.

Although you can claim these expenses, they are not related to the physical work space in your home. They are claimed on a different section of Form T777S or Form T777. 

Limitations on work-space-in-the-home expenses

The work-space-in-the-home expenses you can claim are limited when:

  • you work only a part of the year from your home:
    • You can only claim the expenses you paid in the part of the year you worked from home. You cannot claim the expenses you paid for the whole year.Example: Multiple periods working from home
  • you have multiple income sources:
    • You can claim work-space-in-the-home expenses only from the income the expenses relate to, and not from any other income.
  • your expenses exceed your income:
    • The amount you can claim for work-space-in-the-home expenses is limited to the amount of employment income that is left after you have deducted all other employment expenses. This means that you cannot use work-space-in-the-home expenses to create or increase a loss from employment. If you cannot claim all your work-space-in-the-home expenses in the year, you can carry forward the expenses. You can claim these expenses in the next year as long as you are reporting income from the same employer. However, you cannot create or increase a loss from employment by carrying forward work-space-in-the-home expenses.
    • If you are a commission employee, you may not be able to claim your total work-space-in-the-home expenses if they exceed your commission income. T

COVID-19 Financial Relief – Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit beginning October 24, 2021

by

Details for the new benefit: 

  • $300 a week.
  • Strictly available to workers whose work interruption is a direct result of a government-imposed public health lockdown.
  • Available until May 7, 2022, with retroactive application to October 24, 2021 should the situation warrant it.
  • Accessible for the entire duration of a government-imposed public health lockdown (up until May 7, 2022).
  • Available to workers who are ineligible for Employment Insurance (EI) and those who are eligible for EI, as long as they are not paid benefits through EI for the same period. 

Individuals whose loss of income or employment is due to their refusal to adhere to a vaccine mandate would not be able to access the benefit.