Frequently Asked Questions

Although a bonus payment may fall within one of the employee’s pay periods, the regular income tax tables should not be used to determine the amount of income tax owing on the bonus, as this will increase the amount of tax being deducted even more. The pay period tables apply a rate of taxation based on the assumption the employee will be making X amount of dollars for the year, spread over Y number of pay periods. A bonus payment increases the employee’s overall earnings for the year, which increases the rate at which the employee should have been paying income tax since the beginning of the taxation year.

For example, an employee receiving an annual salary of $50,000 per year in addition to a bonus payment of $10,000 will be taxed based on $60,000 per year when they file their personal income tax return at the end of the year. The employee’s income tax deductions each pay period, however, are only calculated based on an annual salary of $50,000. With a bonus payment, the payroll system is required to recalculate the employee’s taxes based on $60,000 and then calculate the difference between the income taxes the employee pays on a regular basis and the employee’s newly revised salary which has been increase by $10,000 for the entire year.

The payment of the bonus often results in the employee being bumped up to a higher income bracket. Both the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec (RQ) require the employer to collect the difference between the pro-rated income tax that the employee regularly pays on an annual pay of $50,000 and the income taxes that would have been paid based on an annual salary of $60,000. This difference is then deducted from the bonus payment.

If an employer pays an employee additional bonuses throughout the year, the income taxes will be recalculated once again to take into consideration the previous bonuses paid to the employee.

The bonus tax method can be used for any payments that do not represent regular pay period earnings, for example, stock option taxable benefits, a taxable gift or award, or outstanding vacation paid upon termination.

Employers may provide a non-accountable allowance to employees who are moving. When the employer provides a cash allowance with no documented receipts, amounts may be treated as non-taxable in the following circumstances:

• RQ – the equivalent of two weeks’ salary
• CRA - $650.00 (employee must provide a written statement declaring this amount was used to pay for moving expenses)

Any amount in excess of the prescribed exemptions must be included as income subject to Q/CPP contributions, EI and QPIP premiums, and federal and provincial income tax, reported in box A and L of the RL-1 slip and box 14 and code 40 of the T4 slip.

In the majority of cases, Grade Reports will be available to access/print approximately two weeks after the official end date for the course.

If you have enrolled in any courses with a start date of January 1, 2019 you will be prompted to enter your SIN when you click on the T2202A. If we already have your SIN on file, you will not receive a prompt.

Yes. Your payroll experience must be obtained within 5 years before or 5 years after the start of your Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) course. For detailed guidelines, please review the PCP Work Experience information.

Certified members who are unable to fulfill their required CPE hours can request for an extension by submitting the CPE Leave Request Form. Leaves can be granted to certified members under different categories:

Maternity/Parental*

• Long-term illness
• Unemployment
• Retirement

*Certified members who are on Maternity/Parental leave should still submit their CPE Declaration to apply for an exemption. In case they are selected for an audit, they must provide us with the supporting documentation. Examples of supporting documentation for a Maternity/Parental leave are copy of a ROE form or a birth certificate.

Certified members experiencing difficulty meeting the CPE requirement deadline due to one of the above reasons are asked to contact the credentialing team by e-mail at membershipreview@payroll.ca to find out if they are eligible for one year of CPE leave.

The CPA provides the CPE Activity Tracking Tool to help you keep track of your completed CPE activities, but it is not mandatory. Using the tool or not, all certification holders must keep a record of their CPE activities, along with documentation to prove completion (where applicable) for at least six plus one years, in the event they are chosen for a CPE compliance audit.

Most activities that you complete through the CPA will be automatically entered into your CPE file as long as you register directly with the Association.

Note: If you participated in a CPA webinar but were not the individual who purchased the session, you will need to log this individually should you wish to track your CPE using the log. When adding in this activity, enter the Provider/Source as “Webinar – CPA.”

No. As payroll requirements vary significantly from country to country, to obtain the PCP certification, you must have at least one year of weighted Canadian work experience in payroll.

You are eligible to send the Payroll Experience Prerequisite Application (PEPA) for assessment once you have obtained your Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) certification. You must submit your completed application with all supporting documentation at least 4 weeks before you intend to start the Introduction to Payroll Management course. You will be advised of the status of your application within 20 business days of the date it is received by the CPA.

Immediately after you post your job on JobConnect, candidates will be able to view it through the Search Open Positions feature. Candidates will be able to send their resume to you directly if you have opted to display your email address or other contact information.

If you have opted to hide your contact information, candidates will be able to submit their Profile to you using the Apply Online option. This will send a copy of the candidate’s profile or a web link to both the email address you have included in the contact information section of your posting and your inbox on JobConnect. You can review the applications by email or login to your account and review them online.

When candidates apply to your posting, you will able to review their Profile, which contains a simple text version of their resume, job match preferences, cover letter (if submitted) and skills information.

When a profile arrives, JobConnect will match it against the criteria you entered when you posted your job. Candidates that match over 75% of your criteria will be designated as an A-list candidate; all others will be designated as B-list candidates.

It is the employer’s responsibility to issue an amended ROE when additional money is paid. Once received by Service Canada, the employee’s Employment Insurance (EI) claim will be recalculated to determine if it affects their benefit rate or duration. It is the employee’s responsibility to report any money to Service Canada to determine if their entitlement for a particular week of benefits is affected.

A bonus earned prior to the period of the leave of absence should not impact the employee’s EI benefits; however, the employer will often be asked by Service Canada to confirm within which periods of time the bonus was actually earned.

You do not have to be a member to access/print your course Grade Report, however, you do need to use your CPA ID and password to gain access.

You can refer to your income tax return or you can request a confirmation of SIN.

The CPA conducts random audits of CPE hours to ensure certified members are adhering to the CPE requirement of certification. In the event of an audit, you will be contacted by the Association and asked to provide evidence of CPE fulfilment.

Certification holders are asked to keep a personal record of their CPE activities, along with documentation to prove completion (where applicable) for at least three years, in the event they are chosen for an audit.

If the organization does not have an official job description for the position you would like to submit for the Work Experience Requirement Application (WERA) assessment, you must prepare a detailed job description yourself and submit it to your verifier for approval.

You will be sent an acknowledgment email when your Payroll Experience Prerequisite Application (PEPA) is received. You will be advised of the status of your application within 20 business days.

A-list candidates are the candidates that match or exceed 75% of your job posting’s criteria; all others are designated as B-list candidates. Based on the criteria you have entered into your job posting, applications are classified as A-list or B-list candidates.

Students can access/print the Grade Report free of charge. There is a fee to order an official transcript, should you require one.

Only Canadian Payroll Association employees that require your SIN to perform their job duties will have access. The Social Insurance Number (SIN) is required to be on the T2002 form as per subsection 237(1) of the Income Tax Act. The Canadian Payroll Association protects and safeguards all personal and private information, including the SIN. The Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) sets out ground rules about how private sector organizations may collect, use or disclose personal information. To find out more information please click here.

Certification holders are required to keep a personal record of their CPE activities, along with documentation to prove completion (where applicable) for at least six plus one years, in the event they are chosen for an audit. Examples of documentation include course receipts, confirmations, transcripts and course outlines.