Federal Government

Refreshed on 2020-04-27

Type

Wage Subsidy

What

Provide a variable wage subsidy per employee (Max $10,164) to eligible employers till June 2021, retroactive to March 15, 2020.

From Period 1 to 4 ( March 15th - July 4th) This subsidy would be available to eligible employers that see a drop of at least 15 percent of their revenue on Jan/Feb 2020 vs March 2020 this applies until July 4th:

• employees who were unpaid for 14 or more consecutive days in the period can't be included in your calculation
• the subsidy rate is 75% of eligible employees' remuneration, up to a maximum of $847/week per eligible employee
• if you qualify for a period, you automatically qualify for the following period
• you must meet a minimum of 15% (period 1) or 30% (periods 2 to 4) revenue drop to qualify for the subsidy

From Periods 5 to 9 (July th -Nov 21st), the changes for the CEWS include:

• you must meet a minimum of 15% (period 1) or 30% (periods 2 to 4) revenue drop to qualify for the subsidy
• if you qualify for a period, you automatically qualify for the following period
• the subsidy rate is 75% of eligible employees' remuneration, up to a maximum of $847/week per eligible employee
• employees who were unpaid for 14 or more consecutive days in the period can't be included in your calculation
• use the current period’s revenue drop or the previous period’s, whichever works in your favour
• employees who were unpaid for 14 or more days can now be included in your calculation
• employers who were hardest hit can qualify for a higher amount
• if your revenue drop was less than 30% you can still qualify, and keep getting the subsidy as employees return to work and your revenue recovers
• the subsidy rate varies, depending on how much your revenue dropped

NOTE: An employer would not be eligible to claim the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy for remuneration paid to an employee in a week that falls within a 4-week period for which the employee is eligible for the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit.

Value

Varies depending on how your revenue has dropped Upto $10,164 per employee for 12 weeks, retroactive to March 15, 2020.

Eligibility

Eligible employers:

• individuals,
• taxable corporations,
• partnerships consisting of eligible employers
• as well as non‑profit organizations and registered charities

Eligibility would generally be determined by the change in an eligible employer’s monthly revenues, year-over-year, for the calendar month in which the period began.

You may qualify as a founder if you have been paying yourself before COVID-19.

How to Access it

Online with the CRA's 'My Business account' as well as a web-based application

Use the calculator to find out how much subsidy you can claim under the new rules. There are two calculator options:

• an online calculator
• a downloadable spreadsheet

Enter the values of your claim, using one of three options:

• My Business Account

  My Business Account

• Represent a Client (only authorized representatives with level 2 or 3 authorization may use this option)

• Web Forms application

Link

The Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy

What does this mean to you as a Company?

ABC Inc. is a start-up that started its operations last September. It reported revenues of $100,000 in January and $140,000 in February, for a monthly average of $120,000. In March, its revenues dropped to $90,000. Because revenues in March are 25 per cent lower than $120,000, ABC inc. would be eligible for the CEWS for the first claiming period. To be eligible for the following claiming period, ABC Inc. revenues would have to be $84,000 or less for the month of April (that is, 30 per cent lower than $120,000).