Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)

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• Eligibility criteria - Closed: Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
• Validating your application: Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
• Impact on your taxes: Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
• Return a payment: Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
• Contact us about CRB: Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)

Eligibility criteria - Closed

Status: Closed

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the CRB

for a 2-week period, you must have met the following conditions:

• During the period you applied for:
  
  • you were not employed or self-employed for reasons related to COVID-19

  or

  • you had a 50% reduction in your average weekly income compared to the previous year due to COVID-19

  How to calculate the 50% reduction

  The 50% reduction is based on your average weekly employment or net self-employment income from the previous year.

  • For periods in 2020, use either 2019 or the previous 12 months
  • For periods in 2021, use 2019, 2020, or the previous 12 months

  You must have met this criteria for every period you applied for.

  Example:

  2020, 2019, or the previous 12 months

  $26, 000 (employment and self-employment income in 2019, 2020, or the previous 12 months)

  ÷ 52

  = $500 (average weekly income in 2019, 2020, or the previous 12 months)

  ÷ 2

  = $250 (50% of the average weekly income in 2019, 2020, or the previous 12 months)

  CRB 2-week period

  $100 (employment and self-employment income for the CRB period)

  ÷ 2

  = $50 (average weekly income for the CRB period)

  Your average weekly income for the CRB period must have been less than 50% of your average weekly income in 2019, 2020, or the previous 12 months for periods in 2021.

  In this example, since $50 (average weekly income for the CRB period) is less than $250 (50% of the average weekly income in 2019, 2020, or the previous 12 months), the individual would have met this criteria.

  What is included in employment or self-employment income

  For this calculation, self-employment income is your revenue minus any expenses incurred to earn the self-employment revenue.

  Employment and/or self-employment income includes, among other things:

  • tips you may earn while working
  • non-eligible dividends
  • honoraria (such as nominal amounts paid to emergency service volunteers)
  • royalties (such as those paid to artists)

  Do not include the following in the calculation:

  • Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Québec Pension Plan (QPP), or other pension income
  • Social assistance or family support payments
  • Student loans and bursaries
  • Old Age Security (OAS) payments
  • Maternity and parental benefits from EI or similar QPIP benefits
  • Any Canada COVID-19 emergency or recovery benefits

• You did not apply for or receive any of the following:
  
  • Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)
  • Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)
  • Short-term disability benefits
  • Employment Insurance (EI) benefits
  • Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) benefits
• You were not eligible for EI benefits
  
• You resided in Canada Definition

  You lived and had a home in Canada, but did not have to be a citizen or a permanent resident.

• You were present in Canada
• You were at least 15 years old
• You had a valid Social Insurance Number (SIN)
• You earned at least $5,000 in 2019, 2020, or in the 12 months before the date you applied from any of the following sources:
  
  • employment income (total or gross pay)
  • net self-employment income (after deducting expenses)
  • maternity and parental benefits from EI or similar QPIP benefits
  • regular or special benefits from EI if your EI claim began on or after September 27, 2020

  What counted towards the $5,000
  

  • Counts as income:
    • All employment or self-employment income, including:
      • tips
      • non-eligible dividends
      • honoraria (nominal amounts paid to volunteers)
      • royalties (payments to artists)
  • Does not count as income:
    • disability benefits
    • student loans, bursaries or scholarships
    • social assistance or family support payments
    • Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Québec Pension Plan (QPP), or other pension income
    • Old Age Security (OAS) payments
    • amounts from other COVID-19 benefits:
      • Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)
      • Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB)
      • Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
      • Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB)
      • Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)

• You did not quit your job or reduce your hours voluntarily on or after September 27, 2020, unless it was reasonable to do so
  
• You were seeking work during the period, either as an employee or in self-employment Provincial course exception

  If you attended a course, program, or training referred to you by a provincial government or provincial body during the 2-week period, you may have been eligible for the CRB if you also met all the other eligibility criteria.

Note: Incarcerated individuals in prison or other institutions were not likely to meet all the above eligibility criteria. Those on day parole or who could legally seek employment may have been eligible if they met all the criteria.

Verifying your eligibility

The CRA will verify that you were eligible to receive the CRB. Individuals who are found to have intentionally made fraudulent claims may face additional consequences, such as penalties or possible jail time.

To report any suspected misuse, go to: CRA's Leads program.

Document navigation

• Validating your application