Every employer in Canada has to remit the CPP contributions and the EI premiums in addition to the income tax that is deducted from the employees’ income and your share of CPP contribution and EI premiums. This means that the employer pays salaries and certain benefits to the employees, and the employer is required to calculate and deduct the amount and remit the source deduction every time a payroll is issued. These include deductions which are based on the income earned by every employee.
It includes the Canada Pension Plan Contribution which is 4.95% up to a yearly maximum. It further includes the employment insurance premium up to a yearly maximum and income tax which is based on the current rates that are determined by whether the employee reports the business establishment or not. The employer’s portion includes the contributions made by the employer CPP and the employer EI premiums which is 1.4 times the amount deducted from the employee’s premium.
Things to keep in mind
- There is no minimum age requirement or restriction for income tax or EI.
- Employers may choose to reduce the employer premium by offering short term disability coverage.
- CPP must be deducted for employees aged 18 to 70, who are engaged in pensionable employment and who are not considered as disabled.
As an employer, you need to know which remittance schedule you should follow. This basically depends on the average monthly withholding amount which is the sum of all the payroll deductions you paid to the CRA in a particular year. Your two year history of AMWA is used to help classify you as a remitter. There are four types of remitters-new, regular, accelerated and quarterly.
New remitter: You will be classified as a new remitter if you are a new employer and have never made remittance payment earlier. If you are a new remitter, your payment will be due on the 15th of the month following the one in which you made the deduction. Small businesses may qualify as a new remitter.
Regular Remitter: You will be classified as a regular remitter if you are a new employer with a history of less than two years and have a two year AMWA not exceeding $25,000. The remittances for regular remitters are due on the 15th day of the month following the one in which deductions are made.
Accelerated Remitter: The third category is of an accelerated remitter which has two sub categories. The first has a threshold of employers with a two year AMWA ranging between $25,000 – $99,999.99. Remittances for these threshold remitters are due on the 25th day of the same month for the payroll which is processed in the first 15 days of the month. For a payroll that is processed after the 16th day of the month, the remittances are due by the 10th day of the next month. The second threshold is for employers with a two year AMWA exceeding $1, 00,000. The payments for threshold 2 remitters are due no later than the third working day after the 1st. 7th, 8th, 14th, 15th, 21st and 22nd day and the last day of the month. Basically, the remittance will be due no later than the third business day after the week in which the payroll has been processed. Remitters in this category also need to make payments through a financial institution one day before the due date. In order to make your job easier, you can opt for CRA payroll remittance online.
Quarterly Remitter: The last category is a quarterly remitter which usually consists of small businesses. These remitters have an AMWA not exceeding $3, 000 in the previous two years and have an ideal compliance history with the CRA. Their remittances are due on or before the 15th of April, 15th of July, 15th of October and 15th of January for the payrolls that are processed in the previous quarters.
It is extremely important for every employer to make payments on time in order to avoid fines and penalties.
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