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The Canada Emergency Response Benefit portal is now open. Here’s the key information about this benefit, including who is eligible, conditions of the benefit and how to apply.

What is the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)?
The CERB supports Canadians by providing financial support to employed and self-employed Canadians who are directly affected by COVID-19. It provides a payment of $2,000 for a 4-week period (the same as $500 a week) for up to 16 weeks. This is a taxable benefit, which means no tax is deducted now but tax will be owing on the amount. 

Note: as of April 8, 2020, no further updates regarding when the wage subsidy applications for employers will be available have been announced.

Conditions include:

• You must have NO employment or self employment income for at least 14 days in a row for the first application period which is Mar 15 to Apr 11.
• For each benefit period you will need to reapply.
• If you or your employees have already applied for EI there is no need to apply for the CERB as well. Service Canada will deal with converting the applications.

Who can apply

To be eligible, you must meet the following requirements:

• You reside in Canada
• You are 15 years old or more when you apply
• For your first CERB application:
  • You have stopped or will stop working due to reasons related to COVID-19
  • For at least 14 days in a row for the period you are applying for, you will not receive:
    • employment income
    • self-employment income
    • provincial or federal benefits related to maternity or paternity leave
• For your subsequent CERB applications:
  • You continue to not work due to reasons related to COVID-19
  • For the 4 week period you are applying for, you will not receive:
    • employment income;
    • self-employment income; or
    • provincial or federal benefits related to maternity or paternity leave.
• You have not quit your job voluntarily
• You did not apply for, nor receive, CERB or EI benefits from Service Canada for the same eligibility period
• You earned a minimum of $5,000 income in the last 12 months or in 2019 from one or more of the following sources:
  • employment income
  • self-employment income
  • provincial or federal benefits related to maternity or paternity leave

How do I apply for the CERB?

You can apply for this benefit via CRA’s personal MyAccount login. See information here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/benefits/apply-for-cerb-with-cra.html. After you apply, you should receive your payment in 3 business days if you signed up for direct deposit. Payments via mail will take about 10 business days.

Eligibility periods

Eligibility periods are fixed in 4-week periods. If your situation continues, you can re-apply for CERB for multiple 4-week periods, to a maximum of 16 weeks (4 periods).

Links to additional info: 

• Who can apply
• How to apply
• Apply
• After you apply
• Questions about CERB 
• Unsure about whether you should apply for CERB with Service Canada or CRA

This information was originally shared by Green Leaves Bookkeeping and was published on April 8, 2020.