“The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) gives income support to employed and self-employed individuals who are unable to work because they must care for their child under 12 years old or a family member who needs supervised care.
This applies if their school, regular program or facility is closed or unavailable to them due to COVID-19, or because they are sick, self-isolating, or at risk of serious health complications due to COVID-19. The CRCB is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).
If you are eligible for the CRCB, your household can receive $500 ($450 after taxes withheld) for each 1-week period.
If your situation continues past 1 week, you will need to apply again. You may apply up to a total of 26 weeks between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.” – www.canada.ca
What does this mean and does it apply to you or an employee of yours?
In order to be eligible for the CRCB, you will need to meet the following conditions for the 1-week period you are applying for:
- You have been unable to work for at least half of your scheduled workweek due to caring for a family member affected by COVID-19.
- You are the primary care-giver to your child who is under 12 years old or a family member who needs continuous care because they are at home for the following reasons:
- Their school, daycare, day program, care facility or caregiver are closed and/or unavailable to them due to COVID-19.
- Regular care services are unavailable due to COVID-19.
- The person you are caring for is:
- Sick with COVID-19 or has COVID-19 symptoms
- At risk of serious health complications should they contract COVID-19 (as advised by a medical professional such as a doctor, nurse practitioner, public health authority, person in authority or government).
- Self-isolating due to COVID-19
- You did not apply for or receive any of the following benefits for the same period:
- Employment Insurance (EI) benefits
- Short-term disability benefits
- Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB)
- Canada Recovery Sickness Benefit (CRSB)
- WCB (workers’ compensation benefits)
- You reside in Canada
- You were present in Canada during the period you are applying for
- You are a minimum of 15 years old
- You have a valid SIN (Social Insurance Number)
- You earned at least $5,000 in 2019, 2020, or in the 12 months before the date you apply 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
- You are the only person in your household applying for the benefit for the week
- You are not receiving paid leave from your employer for the same period
How much you receive per period
The Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) provides a payment of $500 (before taxes withheld) per household for each 1-week period applied for. After the CRA withholds a 10% tax at source, the actual payment you get is $450 per 1-week period.
Only one eligible individual in the same household (living as a family at the same address) can apply for the benefit per week.
Each household may receive payments for a maximum of 26 weeks between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021.
If you are eligible, your payment amount will be the same for each period you have applied for, even if:
- you are caring for more than one family member who needs supervised care
- you worked for less than 50% of the work week
How your payment is calculated:
$500 (CRCB gross amount)
Minus $50 (10% tax withheld at source)
Equals $450 (amount you receive per period)
Impact on your taxes
The 10% tax withheld at source may not be all the tax you need to pay. When you complete your personal income tax return, you may need to pay more (or less), depending on how much income you earned. You must still report CRCB payments that you receive as income when you file your personal income tax return.
The CRA will provide you with a T4A tax information slip at tax time for the amount you received for all CRA administered COVID-19 benefits.
How eligibility periods work
Each Canada Recovery Caregiving Benefit (CRCB) eligibility period is a specific 1-week period. When you apply, your household will receive a $500 ($450 after taxes withheld) payment for that period.
The CRCB does not renew automatically. If your situation continues, you must apply for each period separately. You may apply for any eligible 1-week period for up to 60 days after that period has ended.
Each household can apply up to a maximum of 26 periods between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021. The 26 weeks do not need to be taken consecutively.
If you started caring for a family member part way through a period, you can only apply for that period if you missed more than 50% of that work week. If you miss less than that, you need to wait to apply for the next eligibility period.
Period start and end dates
Each 1-week period starts on a Sunday and ends on the following Saturday. You may start applying on the first Monday after the 1-week period you’re applying for has ended.
Recent periods:
- October 11 to October 17, 2020 (Period 3)
- October 4 to October 10, 2020 (Period 2)
- September 27 to October 3, 2020 (Period 1) – if you are eligible, this period is open for application. The earliest you can apply is Monday, October 5.
Your household eligibility ends after 26 periods
The benefit is available between September 27, 2020 and September 25, 2021. You can no longer receive CRCB payments after your household has reached the maximum of 26 periods.
Your eligibility cannot be extended, even if you need to care for the same or other family members for more than 26 weeks or if their school, regular program or facility is closed or unavailable to them again due to COVID-19.
To confirm the number of periods that you have already received the CRCB, you can review your application history in CRA My Account, under “COVID-19 Support Payment Application Details”.
How to apply
- The easiest way to apply will be online through CRA My Account.
- You may start applying on the first Monday after the 1-week period you are applying for has ended. Applications do not renew automatically.
- You must apply for each period separately. You may apply for any period you are eligible for that is open for application, including up to 60 days after the period has ended.
- You may apply online or by phone.
When to expect your payment
If you are eligible for the CRCB, you can expect to get $500 ($450 after taxes withheld) for the 1-week period you applied for.
Direct deposit takes approximately 3 to 5 business days if you have your banking information on your CRA account.
If you do not have direct deposit set up, a mailed cheque should arrive in approximately 10 to 12 business days.
If your application requires further validation, processing may take up to 4 weeks from the time the CRA receives your documentation.
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Source: Government of Canada
