CERS

March 2021 CERS & CEWS Update

As we approach a full year of the pandemic, there has been some uncertainty about the continuing government subsidy programs that so many of our clients rely on. Today, our questions were answered! See below for an explanation of yesterday’s press release regarding CEWS and CERS. 

Federal Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the eligibility guidelines for the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS) for March 14 to June 5, 2021. Previously, details had only been released up to CEWS Period 13 and CERS Period 6, which end March 13. 

Please note that this is proposed legislation, so there is potential for changes to be made in the coming weeks. 

According to the press release, the current rate structures for the CEWS and the CERS will be maintained through to June 5:

  • The maximum base CEWS rate for active employees will remain at 40%, and the maximum top-up rate will remain at 35%. 

  • The maximum CERS rate would remain at 65%, and the maximum Lockdown Support component of CERS will remain at 25%

To ensure that the general approach continues to compare a pre-pandemic month to a current month, the months of the calendar year 2019 will continue to be used as reference for revenue drop calculations. 

The proposed reference months for CEWS Periods 14-16 and CERS Periods 7-9 are as follows:

 

Period

General Method

Alternative Method

CEWS Period 14

CERS Period 7

March 14 – April 10

Mar 2021 over Mar 2019 or
Feb 2021 over Feb 2020

Mar 2021 or Feb 2021 over average of Jan and Feb 2020

CEWS Period 15

CERS Period 8

April 11 – May 8

Apr 2021 over Apr 2019 or
Mar 2021 over Mar 2019

Apr 2021 or Mar 2021 over average of Jan and Feb 2020

CEWS Period 16

CERS Period 9

May 9 – June 5

May 2021 over May 2019 or
Apr 2021 over Apr 2019

May 2021 or Apr 2021 over average of Jan and Feb 2020

You can find the press release here. A full backgrounder with additional details for the release can be found here

CERS & CEWS Updates

2020-12-04 UPDATE: The 2020 Fall Economic Update on November 30 announced that the maximum CEWS rate will be raised to 75% (40% base subsidy, 35% top-up) for the period beginning December 20, 2020 and extending this rate until March 13, 2021. The current rate of the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy and Lockdown Support will also remain in place until March 13, 2021. Official details about this have yet to be announced. 

Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy Updates (CEWS)

With the introduction of Bill C-9, the Federal Government provided more insight into the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the newly announced Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS). This is the first major announcement since we were first informed of the extension that would allow the CEWS to continue through June of 2021. The new bill gives us information about Period 10 (Nov 22 - Dec 19), and comes with a few other adjustments. 

The maximum base subsidy rate of 40% for Period 8 will remain in place for Periods 9 and 10:



Period 8: 

Sep 27 – Oct 24

Period 9:

Oct 25 – Nov 21

Period 10: 

Nov 22 – Dec 19

Maximum weekly benefit per employee

Up to $452

Up to $452

Up to $452

Revenue drop: 50% and over

40%

Maximum base subsidy rate

40%

Maximum base subsidy rate

40%

Maximum base subsidy rate

Revenue drop:

0% to 49%

0.8 x revenue drop

(e.g., 0.8 x 20% revenue drop  = 16% base CEWS rate)

0.8 x revenue drop

(e.g., 0.8 x 20% revenue drop  = 16% base CEWS rate)

0.8 x revenue drop

(e.g., 0.8 x 20% revenue drop  = 16% base CEWS rate

Harmonization of revenue-decline test for both base and top-up subsidies: The top-up subsidy used to be calculated on the basis of a 3-month revenue decline. In order to align this calculation with the base subsidy calculation, the same revenue decline calculation will now be used for both the base and top-up subsidies. 

Under both the base and top-up subsidies, revenue decline will be determined using the general or alternative method as outlined in the table below.


Period

Revenue Drop Calculation Method (for Base Subsidy & Top-up Subsidy)

Period 8

General

October 2020 over October 2019 or September 2020 over September 2019

Alternative

October 2020 or September 2020 over average of January and February 2020

Period 9

General

November 2020 over November 2019 or October 2020 over October 2019

Alternative

November 2020 or October 2020 over average of January and February 2020

Period 10

General

December 2020 over December 2019 or November 2020 over November 2019

Alternative

December 2020 or November 2020 over average of January and February 2020


Safe Harbour Rule: To ensure this change does not result in a lower wage subsidy for eligible employers than you would have received using the previous revenue decline test, a safe harbour rule will apply from 27 September to 19 December 2020 (i.e., from Periods 8 to 10). Under this rule, an eligible employer will be entitled to a top-up subsidy rate that is no less than the rate that would have applied under the three-month revenue-decline test, which you would have used in Period 7. 

Amendment of eligible employee definition: Now, eligible employee means someone who was employed primarily in Canada throughout the qualifying period. This amendment clears up some vagueness that was previously in the definition.

A summary of Bill C-9 can be found on this Government of Canada webpage. 

More info found at ey.com.

Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)

In addition to updating the CEWS, Bill C-9 also introduces the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS). 

As opposed to CECRA (Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance), this subsidy provides relief directly to business tenants, and uses a sliding scale to determine eligibility. It is also aligned with the CEWS, using the same period start and end dates as well as the same initial revenue drop calculation. Similar to CEWS, it has been announced for September 27-December 19, but is expected to continue through June of 2021.  

What can the subsidy be used for? 

Eligible Expenses

  • Commercial rent

  • Property taxes (including school and municipal taxes paid by owners)

  • Property insurance (paid by owners)

  • Interest on commercial mortgages, less any subleasing revenues

  • Must be based on agreements entered into before October 9, 2020, and continuations of those agreements 

  • Must apply to real properties located in Canada

Ineligible Expenses

  • Sales tax on any eligible expenses

  • Expenses relating to residential property used by the taxpayer (eg: their house or cottage)

  • Payments made between non-arm’s-length entities

  • Mortgage interest expenses in respect of a property primarily used to earn, directly or indirectly, rental income from arm's-length entities 

Expenses for each qualifying period would be capped at $75,000 per location and be subject to an overall cap of $300,000 that would be shared among affiliated entities.

Who can get the subsidy? 

Eligibility criteria for the CERS is generally aligned with the CEWS. Eligible entities include individuals, taxable corporations and trusts, non-profit organizations and registered charities. Public institutions are generally not eligible for the subsidy. For a complete list of eligible entities, please visit https://www.canada.ca.

In addition, an eligible entity must meet one of the following criteria:

  • Have a payroll account as of March 15, 2020 or have been using a payroll service provider

  • Have a business number as of September 27, 2020 (and satisfy the Canada Revenue Agency that it is a bona fide rent subsidy claim)

  • Meet other conditions that may be prescribed in the future

Calculations

There is both a base subsidy and a top-up subsidy available through the CERS. The revenue drop calculation method is the same as the CEWS and can be found in the table above. 


The Base Subsidy rate for the CERS is calculated on a sliding scale as follows:


Revenue reduction %

Base Subsidy Rate

> 70%

65%

50-70%

40% + ([revenue reduction %] − 50%) × 1.‍25

< 50%

0.‍8 × [revenue reduction %]

The top-up amount is only available for properties that have been temporarily shut down or had their activities significantly limited by a mandatory public health order for at least one week. The maximum top-up subsidy rate is 25%, and is calculated using the following formula:

0.25 × [# days in period for which the property is subject to a public health restriction]
[# days total in qualifying period]

Deadline

An application for the CERS must be filed no later than 180 days after the end of the qualifying period.

Various other rules that are relevant to the CEWS, such as the deemed government assistance rule, anti-avoidance rules, penalty provision, and notice of determination rules, also apply for purposes of the CERS.

CERS claims will be accepted retroactively for the period from 27 September to 24 October 2020. Similar to the CEWS, the new CERS program will be administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) as opposed to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, which administered the CECRA.


More information available from the Government of Canada Website.

How Young Associates can assist

A consultation with us may make all the difference to your comfort level and confidence that your accounting system is up to the challenge of the pandemic. 

We’d also be happy to give you a quote for full-service bookkeeping

We work on the basis of fixed price agreements, so you’ll know going in how much our work will cost — and we always offer a money-back guarantee: if you’re not completely delighted with our service, we will, at your option, either refund the price, or accept a portion of said price that reflects your level of satisfaction. 

Contact us: info@youngassociates.ca


This tip sheet was created by the Young Associates team based on the best information available to us as of the date of posting.

Although every effort has been made to provide complete and accurate information, Young Associates makes no warranties, express or implied, or representations as to the accuracy of content in this tip sheet. Young Associates assumes no liability or responsibility for any error or omissions in the information contained in the tip sheet. 

Founded in 1993, Young Associates provides bookkeeping and financial management services in the charitable sector, with a focus on arts and culture. Young Associates also provides consulting services in the areas of data management, business planning and strategic planning. Heather Young published Finance for the Arts in Canada (2005, 2020), a textbook and self-study guide on accounting and financial management for not-for-profit arts organizations.