PEO Canada Blog

The federal government recently announced a new Employment Insurance (EI) premium rate amount as well as some new investment changes to the program that will provide a greater benefit to Canadians. The new rate for 2018 for employees is $1.66 for $100.00 of insured earnings which equates to an increase of $0.03 while the employer rate will increase to $0.04.  While this is a slight increase for 2018, it still represents a reduction of $0.22 from the 2016 rate of $1.88.  It is also lower than the projected rate of $1.68 per $100.00 of insurable earnings that was included in Budget 2017.  The Canada Employment Insurance Commission has...

Did you know that the public sector in Canada is 75% unionized, compared to only 17% in the private sector?  The key difference between a unionized and a non-unionized environment is the presence of a collective agreement.  A collective agreement is a negotiated contract that spells out the general rules and responsibilities for all parties. The payroll department must maintain compliance with the more than 200 Federal and Provincial regulatory requirements or there is a risk of fines and penalties which can be costly.  There are 4 key strategies which will help the payroll professional to effectively achieve their goals in a unionized environment:       Make...

Starting July 1, 2017 you may have noticed some changes with your payroll if you’re in the province of Saskatchewan or Prince Edward Island (PEI). Here are some of the changes for you to look for: Prince Edward Island - On April 7, 2017 the PEI budget announced that as of January 1, 2017 personal tax exemptions will increase from $8,000.00 to $8,160. For the first six months of the year a basic exemption of $8,000.00 was applied, so a pro-rated exemption of $8,320 will be apply for the remainder of 2017 commencing on the first payroll in July.  Starting January 1, 2018 the basic provincial exemption for...

Do your employees receive an employment related benefit? The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) considers a benefit to mean when the employer pays or gives something personal in nature to the employee. The result of the personal benefit is a taxable benefit. One of the most common taxable benefits is related to the use of an employer provided automobile or employee owned vehicle.  An employer provided automobile results in a taxable benefit to the employee when the vehicle is available to the employee for personal use. Both Federal and Quebec Tax Acts require the benefit to be reported as such. When calculating the benefit of an employer provided automobile,...

On March 22, 2017, the Canadian Minister of Finance introduced the Federal Budget for 2017-18. This plan is to build a world leading, innovation economy, create jobs, and grow the middle class. What will change, from a payroll stand point? Income Taxes: Distributing electronic T4 information slips without express consent. This will make getting your T4 easier and faster. Caregiver Credit: Simplifying the existing system of tax measures for caregivers by replacing the existing caregiver credit, infirm dependant credit and family caregiver tax credit with a new Canada Caregiver Credit.  This will better support to those who need it most. http://www.budget.gc.ca/2017/docs/plan/chap-04-en.html#Toc477707488 Tuition Tax credit: Extending the eligibility criteria...