CERB Repayments Not Required for Eligible Self-Employed Individuals

To be eligible for the Canada Emergency Response Benefit’s (CERB), employed and/or self employed individuals were required to have employment and/or self-employment income of at least $5,000 in 2019 or the 12 months prior to the date of application. While it was not specified at the time, the Federal government later confirmed that “income” was net income and many self-employed individuals had applied for CERB utilizing gross income amounts.
Last Fall, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) may have attempted to claw back CERB recipients who utilized the gross income method. The Federal Government has now declared that if self-employed individuals received the CERB using gross income, and are otherwise eligible for the CERB, will not have to repay the amounts received.
In addition to the $5,000 income, CERB eligibility requires a person to:
• Reside in Canada, and be at least 15 years old;
• Have stopped working because of reasons related to COVID-19 or are eligible for Employment Insurance regular or sickness benefits or have exhausted their Employment Insurance regular benefits or Employment Insurance fishing benefits between December 29, 2019, and October 3, 2020;
• Have not quit their job voluntarily.
Those who may have repaid the CERB on account of CRA clawback attempts, can now have their CERB repaid. If you are self-employed and are unsure if you may need to repay your CERB amounts, please contact your Bateman MacKay Business Advisor.