Tax season is approaching and T4 Tax Slips are being distributed through employer payroll systems and Canadian payroll software. If your company uses payroll outsourcing, then outsourcers will be preparing the correct T4 Tax Slips for your employees. Below is important information for your company when preparing T4 Tax Slips. What are T4 Tax Slips and how do they affect a payroll system? A Canadian T4 tax slip, or Statement of Remuneration Paid, is prepared and issued by an employer to advise employees how much employment income they were paid during a tax year and the amount of income tax that was deducted. Quebec employees will receive a...

As we have begun 2014, there are some very important steps that every employee should consider to ensure a smooth payment process. Your employers will have updated their payroll system and payroll software, but you must also be responsible for your part of the payroll system. Please take note of the following: TD1’s- Personal Tax Credit Return This tax from is used to calculate the amount of income tax and other payroll deductions that will be deducted from your pay or pension income throughout the year and there are both provincial and federal forms. Every employee must fill out their TD1’s, especially those who are claiming more than...

As we close the 2013 year we are reminded of new changes occurring in 2014. The Canada Revenue Agency has announced the finalization to new Annual Maximum amounts and the TD1 forms for the 2014 payroll year. TD1 forms Making your employees aware of the upcoming changes provides them with the opportunity to research any additional credits that they may qualify for. For further information on the TD1 forms please see the link below. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/cra-canada.html?utm_campaign=not-applicable&utm_medium=redirect&utm_source=cra-arc.gc.ca_redirecttx/bsnss/tpcs/pyrll/hwpyrllwrks/stps/hrng/td1/ To access the 2014 TD1 forms both Federal and Provincial please use the link below. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/td1-personal-tax-credits-returns.html Source Deductions In the New Year employees who have reached the Annual Maximum Pension and Insurable contribution...

2013 year-end is almost upon us, so we need to be prepared and ensure the following information has been communicated to your Payroll Professional. The checklist below will assist you with some of the information your payroll professional will require to ensure your employees earnings and year to dates are reported correctly. 2013 Check list: 1. Ensure all taxable benefits provided to your employees have been communicated to your payroll professional, some of the more common items include; car allowance, gifts, tool reimbursement, parking or cell phone allowance. Please refer to the Employer’s Guide – Taxable Benefits and Allowances located on the following CRA website for a more...

Every year the Canada employment insurance commission releases the maximum insurable earnings for each year. This allows employers and employees to keep educated on the amount of EI payroll burdens that need to be deducted and determine what the maximum of this amount will be.  The Government of Canada has announced that it will freeze the Employment insurance premium rate at the level of $1.88 per $100 for the year of 2014 and it will also not increase in the years of 2015 and 2016. The Commission also recently announced that the EI maximum will increase to $48,600 from $47,400 in 2013. For employees that reside in Quebec...

Since 1995, the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) has made this week the most significant public relations initiative for our profession. National Payroll Week (NPW) is now in its 19th year running from September 16-20, 2013. This event is taking place all over the country from St. John’s to Vancouver. This is a great event as it recognizes the accomplishments of payroll professionals, the payroll community and the CPA. As payroll professionals this event is an opportunity to talk to other payroll professionals about our industry. This gives us an opportunity to gain other perspectives on current issues affecting payroll, as well as allowing us to enjoy some time...

From pay to pay, employee earnings are reduced close to 50% due to taxes and services that we pay into as legislated by the Canadian Government. As these services go a long way to help out our fellow Canadians when they are in need, my wonder is this new proposal going too far. The conservative government has decided to mainline the private and public sector pay by withholding four percent of payroll for public sector employees in the 2014. The process would work as follows; employees would receive a regular paycheck for the first payday of January 2014, but the next 24 paychecks would be reduced until two...

Recently on payroll and human resource discussion boards there has been interesting conversations about the differences between salary continuance, wages in lieu of notice and retiring allowance. Our payroll department has also been engaging in these conversations with our clients regarding the differences and as an employer what the company is obligated to pay. The following is a brief description of each type of income: 1) Salary Continuance - If upon termination an individual receives periodic payments and remains entitled to benefits available only to employees, for example, long term disability, or the individual continues to accrue pensionable service or continuation in the group RRSP plan, the payments...

The recent federal budget, announced March 29th, 2012, has implications that will likely impact you as an employer: Employer Paid Accidental Death and Dismemberment (AD&D) and Critical Illness Plans. Currently, the premium paid by the employer for AD&D and Critical Illness is a non-taxable benefit to the employee. Starting in 2013, the premium paid by the employer for these benefits will be taxable to the employee. This means that any premium paid on behalf of the employee for these benefits will need to be added to the employee’s T4 slip as income. Further, payroll systems will need to be updated to reflect the change in tax treatment. This...

As per PaySource February 2012 Edition Minimal Wage Updates British Columbia Effective May 1, 2012, the British Columbia minimum wage will increase to $10.25 per hour up from the current rate of $9.50 per hour. As well, the special minimum wage for liquor servers will increase to $9.00 effective May 1, 2012. New Brunswick Effective April 1 2012, the minimum wage will increase to $10.00 per hour up from the current rate of $9.50. Nova Scotia Effective April 1 2012, the minimum wage will increase to $10.15 per hour. The minimum wage for inexperienced workers, with less than three months’ experience in the work for which they were...