Return a payment: COVID-19 wage and hiring support for businesses

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https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/wage-rent-subsidies/covid-wage-hiring-support-businesses/wage-after-apply/return-payment.html

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COVID-19 wage and hiring support for businesses



Return a payment

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Why you may need to return a payment

You may need to return all or part of the subsidy you have already received if you:

  • send the CRA any amendments to a previous application
  • cancel your application
  • make a calculation or data entry error for a claim period
  • find out you do not qualify for the subsidy after you receive a payment
  • receive a notice from the CRA that, following a review, your claim has been denied or the amount requested has been reduced
  • are a publicly traded company or a subsidiary of such a company, and for claim period 23 or later you paid taxable dividends to an individual who is a holder of common shares of the company or of the subsidiary of the company
  • are subject to the executive compensation repayment rule

Any excess amount of wage subsidy you received that is not returned may be subject to interest.

To make an arrangement to pay a wage subsidy balance owing, call our COVID-19 business subsidy payment arrangement line.

Executive compensation repayment rule

If you are a corporation whose shares of capital stock are listed or traded on a stock exchange or public market (or you are controlled by such a publicly listed corporation), you may need to repay all or part of the wage subsidy amounts you received for claim periods 17 and later through the CEWS, THRP, or HHBRP if one or more of the following is true:

  • the total executive compensation for certain executives in 2021 exceeds the amount for 2019
  • the total executive compensation for certain executives in 2022 exceeds the amount for 2019

Agreement for groups of eligible employers subject to the executive compensation repayment rule

Groups of eligible employers that are subject to the executive compensation repayment rule must complete an agreement in order to assign a percentage to each member of the group. These percentages are used in determining how much of the total executive compensation repayment amount will be repaid by each member of the group. You can find the form here:

The agreement must:

  • assign a percentage (including 0%) to each member of the group such that the total of all percentages assigned equals 100%
  • not assign any member of the group a percentage that would create a greater repayment obligation than the total of its wage subsidy amounts for the relevant claim periods
  • be completed by each member of the group and signed by the individual principally responsible for the financial activities of the eligible employer

If no agreement is made, the default percentage is 100% for each eligible employer within the group.

Each agreement applies to either claim periods 17 to 23 or claim period 24 and subsequent claim periods. As a result, you may need to complete two separate agreements.

Each member of the group must keep the agreement and working papers to support the calculation of the executive compensation repayment amount in case we ask to see them.

If you are subject to the executive compensation repayment rule, you will need to:

  1. calculate your repayment amount
  2. change or cancel your related claim(s) to remove any wage subsidy you are no longer entitled to
  3. return any excess wage subsidy payments you received

Read more about the executive compensation repayment rule in the CEWS technical questions and answers.

How to return a payment

If you use My Business Account (MyBA) and you have a wage subsidy balance owing, you can make a repayment through MyBA.

  1. Under the section for Payroll, select View and pay wage and hiring subsidy balances
  2. Select Proceed to pay
  3. You will be presented with a Payment options page with the following options presented:
    • Visa® Debit, Debit MasterCard® or Interac® Online
    • Schedule one or more payment(s) using pre-authorized debit from a Canadian chequing account starting in 5 or more business days
  4. The amount field will be pre-populated with the amount owing but can be changed
  5. Follow the prompts to complete the repayment

Otherwise, you may repay the wage subsidy online using My Payment, through your financial institution, or by mail, depending on your situation.

  • Repay online through My Payment

    You may pay back any amount of wages subsidy using My Payment. Only Visa® Debit, Debit MasterCard®, and Interac Online cards are accepted. Credit cards are not accepted.


    Note

    Payments using My Payment are subject to the daily dollar limit of your bank card.

    1. Select Pay now from the home page
    2. Select Payroll source deductions
    3. Select Wage subsidies and hiring program repayment
    4. Enter the account number and amount of the payment and press Next
    5. Review transaction details and press Confirm
    6. Select Pay now
    7. Proceed by selecting the Payment method
    8. Follow the prompts
    9. At the final step, you will be presented with your receipt

  • Repay online through your financial institution

    You may pay back any wage subsidies amount online, if your financial institution has the option.

    1. Sign in to your financial institution's online banking service for businesses
    2. Under "Add a payee" look for
      Federal – Wage subsidies and hiring program repayment
    3. Enter your 15-digit payroll account number (RP) as your CRA account number

    Make sure the payroll account number is the same one you used on your wage subsidy application so we can apply your payment correctly.

If you are unable to pay back the wage subsidy online through MyBA, My Payment, or online banking, you can return all or part of a wage subsidy payment by direct deposit or cheque, depending on your situation.

  • Return an entire payment if you were paid by direct deposit
    1. Contact your financial institution
    2. Ask to return the direct deposit made for wage subsidies
    3. Inform them of the exact amount and deposit date

    The payment will be returned to CRA. No other action is required.

  • Return an entire payment if you were paid by cheque

    You may return the payment by mail to the CRA with the following information:

    • the reason for the return (example: Repayment of wage subsidies – not entitled)
    • business number
    • account name
    • returned payment

    If you still have the original wage subsidy cheque, include this as your returned payment.

    If you do not have the original wage subsidy cheque, include a cheque or money order for the amount you are returning. Make the payment out to "Receiver General for Canada".

    Mail your payment to:

    Revenue Processing – Repayment of wage subsidies
    Sudbury Tax Centre
    1050 Notre Dame Avenue
    Sudbury ON P3A 0C3

  • Return part of a payment

    If you need to return only part of a wage subsidy payment you received and are unable to repay the amount online, you must send the amount by cheque or money order to the CRA even if you originally received the payment by direct deposit. Make the payment out to "Receiver General for Canada".

    Include the following information when you mail your payment:

    • the reason for the return (example: Repayment of wage subsidies – not entitled)
    • business number
    • account name

    Mail your payment to:

    Revenue Processing – Repayment of wage subsidies
    Sudbury Tax Centre
    1050 Notre Dame Avenue
    Sudbury ON P3A 0C3


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Date modified:
2022-04-25