Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)

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Sections

• Who can apply: Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
• Expenses you can claim: Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
• Periods you can apply for: Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
• Calculate your subsidy amount: Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
• How to apply
  
  • How to fill out the application form: Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
• After you apply: Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
• Contact us about CERS: Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)

How to fill out the application form

On this page

• CERS number and business name
• Period covered by this claim
• Claim information
• Eligible expenses
• Qualifying rent expenses

CERS number and business name

On the application form, the CERS account number and business name fields will be automatically pre-populated.

For the first-time filer, there will be a link in MyBA or RAC that you may select to create your CERS account number.

Once the CERS account number is created, there will be a link to access the application form.

Period covered by this claim

Choose one of the periods in the drop-down list.

The periods that appear in the drop-down list are the only ones you can apply for right now. As more claim periods open, more will appear in this list.

Claim information

You only fill out the fields that apply to you. Some fields are for property that you rent, and some are for property that you own.

When you have added all of your information, select «Next».

These lines will be automatically calculated for you and displayed on the Review page:

• Line 155 – Total eligible expenses for the claim period (Line 120 + Line 130 + Line 140 + Line 150)
• Line 170 – Maximum rent expenses that can be claimed for the claim period (lesser of: Line 160; $300,000; and, if applicable, $300,000 multiplied by the percentage assigned per the agreement among affiliated entities claiming the rent subsidy)
• Line 220 – Subsidy rate
• Line 300 – Base Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (Line 170 x Line 220)
• Line 320 – Total Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (Line 300 + Line 310)

Eligible expenses

• Line 120 – Total eligible rent for the claim period
• Enter your total eligible rent for the current period
• Lines 130 to 150 – Total eligible property expenses
• These lines apply to properties that your organization owns

Enter the total property taxes (line 130), total property insurance (line 140) and total mortgage interest (line 150) on all qualifying properties for this claim period.

Qualifying rent expenses

Line 160 – Total qualifying rent expenses for the claim period (maximum $75,000 per property).

Enter the total from lines 120 to 150, up to a maximum of $75,000 in eligible expenses for each qualifying property.

You cannot use an average to reach this maximum. The maximum applies to each property.

Example – maximum eligible expenses per property

Malia owns a sporting goods store. She rents one small qualifying property and a second large qualifying property.

She pays a total of $50,000 in eligible expenses for the small property, and a total of $100,000 in eligible expenses for the large property.

Malia can claim the full $50,000 for the eligible expenses for the small property.

She can only claim the maximum $75,000 for the eligible expenses for the large property.

Revenue drop

Lines 200 and 210 – Calculating your revenue drop for the current and previous period

If you have used the online calculator to calculate your claim amounts, enter the amounts from the summary you printed when you finished using the calculator.

Learn about calculating your revenue drop

Subsidy top-up (Lockdown support)

Under this heading, the form asks you to answer “yes” or “no” if during this period any of your qualifying properties have been subject to a public health restriction.

Line 310 – Lockdown support (subsidy top-up) (if applicable)

If you used the online calculator, enter the amount from the summary you printed.

Find out how the subsidy is calculated

Review

Claim Summary

Review your Claim summary before submitting.

If your claim is $2.00 or less you will see a checkbox. Claims under $2.00 will not be processed. Check the box to acknowledge this.

Attestation

Attestation is the act of signing of a formal document to confirm that you are bound by its contents. An attestation is required to make a CERS claim.

If you are the individual with principal responsibility for the financial activities of the organization making the claim, you must complete and submit the Attestation for owner/manager and/or senior employees.

This may be the business owner or an employee of the business, such as a Chief Financial Officer, a Vice-President, an accountant, or another senior employee who manages the organization's finances.

If you are applying on behalf of your own business, the attestation form will be available within the online application itself.

Representatives need to do two things regarding attestation and form completion. First, they need to make sure that they have obtained the Attestation for owner/managers and/or senior employees:

• Attestation for owner/managers and/or senior employees (comptroller/VP Finance/CFO) of an eligible organization applying for the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy

This form must be completed and signed by the individual who has principal responsibility of the financial activities of the eligible entity (the business or other organization). An electronic signature is permitted. The CRA can request to see the signed copy of this attestation at any time.

Then, while completing the online application on behalf of their client, the representative must complete the confirmation section at the end of the application. This includes a confirmation that the attestation will be provided upon request and without delay in prescribed form and manner, and that failure to do so could result in the application of penalties or the reassessment of the claim to deny benefits.

Penalties may also apply in cases of fraudulent claims. The penalties may include fines or even imprisonment.

In addition, if someone knowingly, or under circumstances amounting to gross negligence makes, or is involved in the making of, a false statement or omission in its CERS application for a claim period, they (or the relevant organization) may be liable to a penalty – commonly referred to as the "gross negligence penalty" – of up to 50% of the difference between the amount of CERS that was claimed in its application and the amount of CERS to which it is actually entitled.

Document navigation

• After you apply