The federal government has officially expanded the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA). Starting immediately, you can get another $20,000 in loan funding on top of the $40,000 you can already access.
To apply for the additional funding, applicants must contact the financial institution that provided their initial CEBA loan.
The application deadline for CEBA has also officially been extended to March 31, 2021. Of this additional amount, up to $10,000, is forgivable if the loan is repaid by December
Extension of CEWS and the CERS
The three newest periods, ending on March 13, 2021 (11-13), and their corresponding reference periods under both the general and alternative approach for calculating revenue declines are as follows:
| Timing | Period 11 December 20, 2020 – January 16, 2021 |
Period 12 January 17, 2021 – February 13, 2021 |
Period 13 February 14, 2021 – March 13, 2021 |
| General approach | December 2020 over December 2019 or November 2020 over November 2019 | January 2021 over January 2020 or December 2020 over December 2019 | February 2021 over February 2020 or January 2021 over January 2020 |
| Alternative approach | December 2020 or November 2020 over average of January and February 2020 | January 2021 or December 2020 over average of January and February 2020 | February 2021 or January 2021 over average of January and February 2020 |
Lockdown support measures under the CERS have also been extended until March 13, 2021 at the current 25 per cent rate.
The maximum combined base subsidy and top-up wage subsidy rate is set to rise from 65 per cent (the current qualifying period) to 75 per cent for the next three qualifying periods (January 17, 2021 to February 13, 2021 and from February 14, 2021 to March 13, 2021) for active employees. The new subsidies from December 20, 2020 to March 13, 2021 can be summarized as follows:
| Revenue decline | Base subsidy | Top-up wage subsidy |
| 70 per cent and over | 40 per cent | 35 per cent |
| 50-69 per cent | 40 per cent | (Revenue decline – 50 per cent) x 1.75 |
| 1-49 per cent | Revenue decline x 0.8 | 0 per cent |
The separate wage subsidy program for furloughed employees has also been extended and amended to ensure its continued alignment with benefits provided through Employment Insurance.
Simplified home office expenses
Employees working from home in 2020 due to COVID-19 with modest expenses to claim up to $400 for home office expenses can claim these expenses without the need to track detailed expenses and without a signed form from their employers. CRA will provide more information in a few weeks.
Support for families with young children
In addition to amounts ordinarily payable to families eligible for the Canada Child Benefit (CCB), the Government is proposing four additional payments in 2021 of $300 per child under the age of six to families entitled to the CCB with family net income equal to or less than $120,000, and $150 per child under the age of six to families entitled to the CCB with family net income above $120,000. The first of these amounts would be payable after the enabling legislation is passed, with subsequent amounts payments payable at the end of April, July, and October 2021.
