You may have recently received your T4A slip relating to the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) completing your documents to file your 2020 tax return. However, it has been noted that individuals who repaid their CERB and other benefits on or before December 31, 2020 may have received inaccurate T4A slips related to the repayments. In certain cases these repayments have been allocated by CRA as a tax installment or part of another account.
In this case, the T4A income amount related to CERB (box 197) would be overstated as it wouldn’t take into account the net CERB received during 2020 (total received less amounts repaid on or before Dec. 31, 2020).
CRA’s comments about this issue are noted below:
If you find an issue on your T4A slip, call the CRA right away to resolve it.
- Call the CRA
- For any of the following:
- your T4A slip shows an incorrect amount
- the amounts you repaid before December 31, 2020 are not reflected on your T4A slip
- your T4A slip shows incorrect personal information such as SIN or address
- you did not apply for COVID-19 benefits, but received a T4A slip
- Before you call
- Have the following ready, where applicable:
- benefit type (CERB, CESB, CRB, CRCB, CRSB)
- eligibility period you repaid or applied for
- amount and date of any repayment
- Telephone number
- 1-800-959-8281
After you’ve called the CRA, we may provide you with an amended or cancelled T4A slip.
Source: https://www.canada.ca/en/services/taxes/income-tax/personal-income-tax/covid19-taxes/t4a-report.html
Considering the extremely long wait times on the phone with CRA, this may become a serious issue for people who have been issued incorrect T4A slips. This is problematic as the filing deadline is fast approaching.
If you have any questions regarding your T4A and related repayments please contact our office.
