In this three-part series, Lott and Company outline the why, what, how and who around the essentials of creating an estate plan that effectively preserves, manages and distributes your personal and business assets after death. For small business owners, estate planning can be especially critical as the majority of their family assets and income sources may be tied up in the business.
Over the past number of months, there have been a number of government subsidy programs announced, changed and extended. There is a lot of information to digest for small business owners. The rules are complex and it can be difficult to determine which programs your business qualifies for. We hope the following summary of the government subsidy programs announced by the Federal Government helps with determining what your business is eligible to claim.
CEWS Eligibility has been expanded and there is a new form to file for the Temporary Wage Subsidy Temporary 10% Wage Subsidy – a new form to file If you claimed the 10% wage subsidy on the remuneration paid from March 18 to June 19, 2020, there is a requirement to complete and file a Self-Identification Form (form PD27) to the Canada Revenue Agency. This information will be used to reconcile the subsidy on the employer’s payroll account and should be submitted before the end of the calendar year to ensure you do not receive a discrepancy notice.
If your business has not already applied for the CEBA program, you can still do so. This is the program where your bank will lend up to $40,000 to be used to pay non-deferrable business expenses. If the loan is repaid before December 31, 2022, 25% of the loan amount will be forgiven.
Another personal tax season is done. It certainly was an interesting and a long one from our standpoint, anyways. Please remember that if you have a balance owing to the CRA, you need to make the payment before September 1, 2020 to avoid interest and penalties. We are happy to announce we will be donating $4,500 to our local Food Banks. If you need assistance with the government programs or other financial matters, please feel free to give us a call.
The Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA) for small businesses provides relief for small businesses experiencing financial hardship due to COVID-19. The goal of this subsidy is to provide unsecured, forgivable loans to eligible commercial property owners in order to reduce the rent owed by their impacted small business tenants and to meet operating expenses on commercial properties.
We hope that everyone is doing well and staying safe. This is a reminder that the portal opened as of April 27, 2020, to receive applications for the CEWS. The Canadian Emergency Wage Subsidy is for Canadian employers whose business has been affected by COVID-19. As an employer, you may be eligible for a subsidy of up to 75% of employee wages for up to 12 weeks, retroactive from March 15, 2020, to June 6, 2020.
We hope everyone is staying safe and making the most of their time during these questionable circumstances. This is a reminder that all personal tax information should be sent to us soon as possible so that we, at Lott & Company, can complete your returns by the June 1st deadline.
Glenn and Joanne Lott will be presenting at the Richmond Hill Board of Trade on Thursday, April 9, 2020, at 10:00 AM. They will be providing financial advice for navigating COVID-19. To register for this online event click here.
These are very uncertain times. The other day we were speaking with a client and he asked us: “Have you all put down your pencils?” We laughed and confirmed that no, we have not put down “our pencils”. We are hard at work.
