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Relief for Sole Proprietors/Partnership & Corporations
Register for My CRA Business Account
if you have not done so yet. This is a secure portal that lets you view your business tax accounts and will have updates for you on benefits during this time that you may qualify to apply for. You will need to have access to this account as the Government is saying some benefits you will apply through this account. Click here for your account
Canada Emergency Business Account $40,000 Interest-free Loans
Update: Applications are now open for CEBA. See qualifications below. The application is fast and can be done through your online business banking portal. Please have on hand your T4 summary. I have been told it is a quick and easy process and that the bank will follow up with you in about 3-5 business days. Here are the links for a few of the big banks that I could find:
Up to $40,000 to small businesses and not-for-profits, to help cover their operating costs. Repaying the balance of the loan on or before December 31, 2022, will result in loan forgiveness of 25 percent (up to $10,000). Requires no minimum monthly principal payments until December 31, 2022. Click here to learn more. To qualify, these organizations must be an operating business and will need to demonstrate they paid between $50,000 to $1 million in total payroll in 2019. To apply you will need the following Employer Acct number at the top of your T4 Summary and the amount in Box 14 of your 2019 T4 Summary. These funds must be used for costs that cannot be deferred such as payroll, rent, utilities, insurance, property tax. Click here to learn about the available loan programs.
Update April 16, 2020: The $40,000 Interest-free loan that was offered has now relaxed the restrictions to help smaller businesses. The Government has increased and decreased the threshold of restrictions payroll for 2019 is now expanded to $20,000 and up to 1.5 million to meet the eligibility criteria
Business Credit Availability Program (BCAP)
Available to help business owners with financing - Canadian Businesses seeking support through BCAP should contact the financial institutions with whom they have a pre-existing relationship, so that the financial institutions may assess the client’s financial request. If the needs of the client exceed the level of support the financial institution can provide, the financial institution will work alongside BDC or EDC to access additional resources the Government has made available under BCAP. For more details click here.
Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy
Update (April 27,2020): CEWS Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Portal at is now opened to register now for those who qualify. Funds should start to arrive on May 7 if you registered for direct deposit.
Click Here To Apply
Click Here for Information on the Application Process
Update (April 22,2020): CLICK HERE for the 75% Canada Wage Subsidy (CEWS) Here is how to apply, what you need to do to get ready to apply, you need to make sure you have registered for CRA My Business Account.
Update (April 17,2020): Online applications for 75% Emergency Wage Subsidy will open on April 27 and you can apply through your CRA Business Account
Update (April 10,2020): The government is encouraging owners to rehire employees as quickly as possible and has updated this subsidy. So now the subsidy would be available to eligible employers that see a drop of at least 15 per cent of their revenue in March 2020 and 30 per cent for the following months (see Eligible Periods). In applying for the subsidy, employers would be required to attest to the decline in revenue.
This wage subsidy will cover up to 75% of your employees’ salaries. This is to encourage businesses to rehire workers previously laid off as of a result of COVID-19. This is for employers who have a decrease in revenue of up to 30% or more over the same period as last year because of the pandemic to qualify. The subsidy will then cover up to 75% of the salaries covered up to ¾ of the first $58,700 per employee working out to up to $847 per week per worker. Employers must make their best effort to top-up employees’ salaries to bring them to pre-crisis levels. Please ensure you are eligible before applying. The government has already warned there will be strictly enforced compliance. Please note you cannot claim this subsidy for any compensation paid to an employee in a week that falls within a 4-week period in which the employee is eligible to receive the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit due to a layoff or job termination. You will need to apply for this subsidy through My CRA Business Account. 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. With this Subsidy part of the challenge will be these funds will not be available for another 6-weeks (approximately) and employers will still need to demonstrate that they’re paying employees up to the $847 limit covered by the government, which will then be recouped through businesses’ CRA accounts. For employers that are eligible for both the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy and the 10 percent wage subsidy for a period, any benefit from the 10 percent wage subsidy for remuneration paid in a specific period would generally reduce the amount available to be claimed under the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy in that same period. MAKE SURE TO KEEP GOOD RECORDS. Click here for more info.
10% Temporary Wage Subsidy
Update (April 10): Please check if you are still working you or were working until the end of March you should qualify for this subsidy. You get to reduce your tax portion of your remittance by up to 10% see below for more details. This is due April 15.
For eligible small employers introduced March 15, 2020, the federal government is proposing to provide eligible small employers with a temporary wage subsidy for a period of three months. The subsidy will equal 10% of the remuneration paid during that period, up to a maximum subsidy of $1,375 per employee and $25,000 per employer. The eligible period is March 18, 2020, to June 19, 2020 (3 months). Businesses will be able to benefit immediately from this support by reducing their remittances of income tax withheld on their employees’ renumeration. Employers benefiting from this measure will include corporations eligible for the small business deduction, as well as non-profit organizations and charities. Businesses will need to continue to remit their payroll deductions. How it will work is you will Claim the reduction against the income tax remittances owing to CRA. The wage subsidy cannot offset the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions and Employment Insurance (EI) premiums. If income tax remittances are fully offset by the value of the subsidy, future payroll remittances can be reduced by the excess even if they fall outside the application period, which ends June 19, 2020. Do not adjust the employees to check only the remitting amount. MAKE SURE TO KEEP GOOD RECORDS. Click Here to Learn More
UPDATE (April 10): Canada Summer Jobs Program
The Government of Canada is taking unprecedented action to support workers, businesses, and all Canadians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Right now, young people are facing serious challenges finding work. The government is taking action to help young Canadians. This includes a six-month, interest-free moratorium on Canada Student Loans, and a 75 per cent wage subsidy for businesses that will help more employers keep part-time employees and workers over the coming months. So, the government has implanted temporary changes to the program for this year:
an increase to the wage subsidy, so that private and public sector employers can also receive up to 100 per cent of the provincial or territorial minimum hourly wage for each employee
an extension to the end date for employment to February 28, 2021
allowing employers to adapt their projects and job activities to support essential services
allowing employers to hire staff on a part-time basis
For more information Click Here
Avoiding layoffs, the Government has extended the Work- Sharing Program
The work- sharing program provides income support to employees eligible for EI benefits who work a temporarily reduced work week. This is offered to workers who agree to reduce their normal working hours because of developments beyond the control of their employers. The government has extended the maximum duration of the program from 38 weeks to 76 weeks. During the Work-Sharing agreement, the employer may request an employee to work on a Work-Sharing day. The employee is required to report to work as work becomes available. More details on eligibility, CLICK HERE
Relief for Commercial Property Owner and Tenants
Update (April 27, 2020): 75% Rent coverage for April, May and June
They have reached an agreement with all provinces and territories to lower rent by 75% for April, May, and June.
Businesses who had to temporarily cease operations or have experienced at least a 70 percent drop in pre-COVID_19 revenues
The province will cover 50% of this and the Property owner will cover the rest.
Small business owners that have been seriously affected by COVID-19 and are paying less than $50000 a month in rent you will be eligible for this support.
It will also be there for nonprofit and charitable organizations
Coming more information for the large organizations. Click Here for news article
Business and light and major industrial property classes will see a property tax cut in half for 2020 for the owner of property and tenants on triple-net leases, Click Here.
Update (April 17, 2020): Canada Commercial Rent Assistance this program will provide assistance for rent in April, May, and June more details to come. The Government will be working with the Provinces and Territories on this more details coming soon
BC Hydro Commercial Relief Fund
Fortis Customer Recovery Fund
https://www.fortisbc.com/about-us/supporting-british-columbia-during-the-covid-19-outbreak
Tax Support for Businesses
Payments and filing are immediately deferred to September 30, 2020 for Provincial Sales Tax (PST), Employer Health Tax, municipal and regional district tax on short-term accommodation, carbon tax, motor fuel tax and tobacco tax are also deferred. Covid Action Plan Provincial tax changes. Click Here to learn more! and information on Employer Health Tax Click Here!
GST/HST
Remittances and payments are deferred to June 30, 2020, for more details Click Here.
Information for Childcare for Essential Service workers in BC
Updated April 6, 2020 Due to the closures of schools and childcare facilities some essential service workers are struggling with childcare to be able to go to work. So the Government has set up Temporary Emergency Child Care program available to these families. You would use this program if your child is aged 0-5 or you would go through your school if they are 5-12 years old. There is a link below with more information. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
Licensed Child Care
Providers that stay open will receive enhanced funding to keep operations going. These centers are eligible to receive 7 times their average monthly operating funding from the government. See more, Click Here.
Essential Services and Workplaces
Are you considered an Essential Service? Here is a list of what British Columbia considers Essential Workplaces