Frequently Asked Questions

New students must enroll in the first course of the Payroll Compliance Practitioner program, Payroll Compliance Legislation. This course is available online, in-classroom at post-secondary institutions or through the challenge option. Click here to search for upcoming course start dates.

The CPA's CPE cycle runs annually from January 1 to December 31. However, the Association recognizes the recent educational investment and rigorous learning that newly certified members have undertaken to achieve certification, and as such, extend the initial CPE cycles for these members.

Newly certified in 2017:

• PCP certification holders certified in 2017 will be required to attain and declare 14 hours of CPE prior to December 31, 2019, after which they will be required to attain and declare 14 hours of CPE annually.
• CPM certification holders certified in 2017 will be required to attain and declare 21 hours of CPE prior to December 31, 2019, after which they will be required to attain and declare 21 hours of CPE annually.

Newly certified in 2018:

• PCP Certification holders who become certified in 2018 will be required to attain and declare 14 hours of CPE prior to December 31, 2020, after which they will be required to attain and declare 14 hours of CPE annually.
• CPM Certification holders who become certified in 2018 will be required to attain and declare 21 hours of CPE prior to December 31, 2020, after which they will be required to attain and declare 21 hours of CPE annually.

All certified members must submit a CPE Declaration online through the Association's website to confirm that they have met the annual CPE requirement by the end of their CPE cycle. CPE declarations are due by December 31 of each year.

Similar to requirements in other professional fields like accounting and human resources, the PCP Work Experience Requirement enhances the quality of PCP graduates. It assures employers that certification holders can step into a payroll position with a limited amount of training because they have both payroll knowledge and payroll experience. The PCP Work Experience requirement elevates the profile of the PCP certification program with stakeholders, enhancing recognition of PCP certification as a fundamental requirement for a payroll position.

All certification requirements, must be completed prior to January 1, 2022.

Yes, only CPA members can view and apply to job postings on JobConnect.

We offer employers a variety of competitively priced packages to choose from, open to both CPA members and non-members. However, only CPA members benefit from discounted rates and have access to all the postings.

Every jurisdiction in Canada has established eligibility requirements for statutory holidays. If an employee meets the eligibility requirements, they are entitled to a statutory holiday regardless of their status as full or part-time. In cases where an employee’s wages vary, each jurisdiction has designated a formula to determine an average day’s pay to be paid for a statutory holiday.

The following table illustrates the eligibility and payment entitlements by jurisdiction.

Province	Entitled to be paid if…	Statutory holiday pay and does not work
Canada Labour Code, Part III	- employed 30 days  - in a continuous operation, reported to work when requested	- paid regular daily wage for the day  - if wages vary, 1/20th of wages earned in 30 days preceding the holiday (continuous operation)
Alberta	Have worked last regular work day preceding and first regular work day after the holiday Worked on the holiday if asked	5% of wages, general holiday pay and vacation pay earned in the previous four weeks immediately before the holiday
British Columbia	- employed 30 days  - earned wages in 15 of last 30 days	- paid regular daily wage for the day  - if wages vary, the average daily wage earned in last 30 days (amount earned/days worked)
Manitoba	- worked regular schedule before and after the holiday unless the employee is absent because of illness or consent from the employer  - reported to work if normal working day and are expected to work  - not refused to work on the holiday, if requested to work	- paid regular daily wage for the day  - if wages vary, the pay is 5% of the employee’s total wages excluding overtime in the 4 workweeks immediately before the holiday
New Brunswick	- employed 90 days in last 12 months  - worked regular schedule before and after the holiday  - reported to work when agreed to work on holiday  - not employed under a continuous work where they elect when to work	- paid regular daily wage for the day  - if wages vary, the average daily wage earned in last 30 days (amount earned /days worked)
Newfoundland and Labrador	- employed 30 days  - worked regular schedule before and after the holiday	- paid regular daily wage for the day  - if wages vary, the average daily wage earned in 3 weeks before the holiday
Northwest Territories/ Nunavut	- worked 30 days in last 12 months  - worked regular schedule before and after the holiday  - reported to work when scheduled to work on holiday  - not on maternity or parental leave	- paid regular daily wage for the day  - if wages vary, average daily wages earned in 4 weeks immediately preceding the week in which the holiday occurs
Nova Scotia	- earned wages on 15 of last 30 days preceding the holiday  - worked regular schedule before and after the holiday	- paid regular daily wage for the day  - if wages vary, the average daily wage earned in last 30 days (amount earned/days worked)
Ontario	- Worked last scheduled shift before and first scheduled shift after the holiday - Reported to work on the holiday after agreeing to do so	- Paid average daily wage If wages vary, the daily rate is determined by dividing the regular wages from the pay period immediately preceding the holiday by the number of days worked
Prince Edward Island	- employed 30 calendar days  - earned wages on 15 of last 30 days preceding the holiday  - work scheduled shifts before and after the holiday  - no option to refuse to work if requested	- paid regular daily wage for the day  - if wages vary, the average daily wage earned in last 30 days (amount earned/days worked)
Quebec	- worked regular scheduled shift on holiday before and after the holiday or had valid reason for absence	- average daily wage. If hours vary, 1/20th of wages earned in last 4 complete weeks prior to holiday  - Commissioned employees are paid 1/60th of wages/commissions earned in the 12 complete weeks before the holiday
Saskatchewan	- no conditions specified	- paid regular daily wage for the day  - if wages vary, 1/20th of wages earned in 4 weeks preceding the holiday
Yukon	- employed 30 days  - reported to work when scheduled to do so on holiday  - worked regular schedule before and after the holiday  - was not on an unpaid leave in 14 days preceding the holiday	- paid regular daily wage for the day  - if wages vary, 1/10th of wages earned (excluding vacation) in 2 weeks immediately preceding the week in which the holiday occurs

Effective January 1, 2018

The amendments to the Code will make holiday pay available to more employees with the following changes to the eligibility criteria:

• the requirement to be employed at least 30 days prior to the holiday will be removed
• the requirement that the employee work on the day of the week the holidays falls on at least five times in the previous nine weeks will be removed

The calculation of an average day of pay for an eligible holiday will also be changed to 5% of wages from the previous four weeks worked.

The CPA is pleased to introduce the new Quebec Payroll Compliance Practitioner (S.C.P.Q) certification. This French-only certification is designed specifically for practitioners with a focus on Quebec-only payrolls. Learn more.

Under the Quebec Taxation Act, gifts and awards follow similar principles to the federal requirements with two main differences:

The first difference is that under Revenu Québec’s legislation, there are two separate $500 annual exemptions that can be used, one for gifts and a second for awards. However, the CRA allows for one $500 annual exemption for both gifts and awards.

Secondly, an employee in Quebec who is given a gift card specifying the name of the merchant, provided in recognition of a special occasion or as an award for an accomplishment such as meeting safety standards, will not be taxed on amounts of $500 or less. On the other hand, the CRA does not accept the gift card under their annual exemption policy and is therefore fully taxable.

Both Revenu Québec and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) consider gifts and awards to be employment income except when non-cash gifts under $500 are provided to recognize an occasion or accomplishment.

Gifts that fall outside of Revenu Québec and CRA’s gift and award policy are taxable and subject to Q/CPP and Income taxes. If the gift or award is provided in cash, it is subject to Q/CPP, EI, QPIP, and Income taxes.

Taxable gifts and awards are reported on the RL-1 in boxes A and L and on the T4 in box 14 and code 40.

Effective January, 2015, students have five years to complete the education requirements and satisfy the PCP Work Experience Requirement to be PCP certified. The five year time frame ensures PCP certification holders are up to date on the changing payroll legislation and regulations.
 

After registering for an archived webinar, you will receive an email confirmation with the login information to access the archived webinar. Confirmation emails are sent 2-3 business days after the registration has been processed. If you do not receive a confirmation email after 2-3 business days, please check your junk mail folder and be sure to whitelist the Canadian Payroll Association in your address book.

Payroll courses offered by or for the CPA vary in length depending on the delivery method.

CPA payroll courses offered through most public post-secondary institutions are based on a 14-week (3 hours per week) timeframe, for a total of 42 hours, which includes the final exam. This is the typical length of a post-secondary course in Canada.

CPA payroll courses offered online by the CPA are based on a 13-week schedule (estimated 3 hours per week), for a total of 39 hours, which includes the final exam.

Click here to select the payroll course you are interested in to find out the duration and start dates.

After reviewing the continuing education processes of other associations, the CPA streamlined its CPE reporting cycle to an annual process. The one-year CPE cycle provides for a clearer and more consistent process for all certified members. It enables you to keep your knowledge up to date each year and better communicate your new learning to your employer and the CPA.

The weighting of the PCP Work Experience Requirement is determined by the number of hours per week spent completing payroll-oriented tasks. Using the standard 35-hour work week, the number of months spent completing qualifying work experience can be calculated. For example, if you spend 20 hours per week on payroll-oriented tasks and have held the position for 16 months, you would be granted a total of nine months (20 / 35 * 16 = 9.14). Partial months will be rounded off to the nearest month (9.14 months will be rounded down to 9 months and 9.61 months will be rounded up to 10 months.

Payroll work experience is 2 years of weighted payroll experience where you are responsible for the payroll function of an organization, including being accountable to management for the accuracy of employees' pay and statutory remittances, or equivalent experience, obtained within the past 5 years.

This experience must be demonstrated to, and approved by, the CPA through the Payroll Experience Prerequisite Application (PEPA). The CPA must approve your application before you can enroll in the Introduction to Payroll Management course.

If you have any difficulty with sign-up or application process, or have any other questions about JobConnect, contact Customer Service: email cpa@jobboardadvertising.ca or call 1.844.864.7355. We are available between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET Monday to Friday.

Please contact the Customer Service number or email above before contacting the CPA, as the CPA cannot help you with the technical aspects of JobConnect. 

You do not have to be a member of the CPA to post on JobConnect. Non-members can create non-member accounts to place JobConnect ads, register for events and order other CPA products. However, only CPA members receive 20% off all JobConnect posting and resume review services, and have access to all the postings. 

Click here for information about becoming a CPA member.

A medical reimbursement made by the employer directly to the employee is considered taxable and must be included in the employee’s pay. As a cash taxable benefit, the reimbursement is subject to Canada/Quebec Pension Plan contributions (C/QPP), Employment Insurance (EI) and Quebec Pension Insurance Plan (QPIP) premiums, as well as federal and provincial income tax deductions. The reimbursement must also be reported in Box 14 and Code 40 of the T4 slip and Boxes A and L of the RL-1.

Revenu Québec (RQ) and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) have different requirements in relation to the calculation of statutory deductions and the reporting of pay in lieu of notice.

RQ considers the pay in lieu of notice as a retiring allowance. However, the CRA considers pay in lieu of notice as employment income.

Pay in lieu of notice paid to a Quebec employee is subject to EI premiums, QPIP premiums, and Income taxes (not subject to QPP contributions). The Quebec lump-sum tax rates are used to calculate the Quebec provincial income tax. The Quebec provincial lump-sum tax rates are:

• 15% for amounts up to and including $5,000.00
• 20% for amounts over $5,000.00

The federal portion of income tax is calculated using the bonus method of taxation. If the employer is unable to use the two separate methods of income tax calculation for the federal and Quebec provincial tax due, then the employer may use the bonus tax method for both.

Pay in lieu of notice paid to a Quebec employee is reported in box O (code RJ) of the RL-1 and in box 14 of the T4.

Pay in lieu of notice paid outside of Quebec is subject to CPP contributions, EI premiums, and income taxes (using the bonus tax method). Since the CRA considers pay in lieu of notice as employment income, it is reported on the T4 in box 14

Go to the Canadian Payroll Association website payroll.ca. On the homepage, click the “Member Centre”, enter your CPA number and password.