Frequently Asked Questions

It is to the benefit of the student to provide the correct SIN if they want to be able to claim the tuition tax credit.

If they fail to provide their SIN, they could be charged with a $100 penalty. (Section 237 of the ITA).

Your Student PCP Membership will be changed to a Candidate Membership when your membership is up for renewal.
 

Once you complete all the certification requirements (education and work experience), upon your annual Candidate Membership’s expiration when you are due for renewal, you must select a Professional Membership or get added on to the roster of your company’s Organizational Membership.
 

Examples of many types of CPE Approved activities are listed on the Approved Activities List.

If a particular activity does not appear in the Approved Activities List, consider the following question: "Does the activity further my abilities as a payroll professional?" If the answer is yes, the activity is likely acceptable.

If you started the PCP courses after January 1, 2015, you have to complete the 4 educational requirements of the PCP certification within 5 years and obtain at least one year of weighted payroll experience obtained within 5 years before or 5 years after the start of the Payroll Compliance Legislation course if you are taking courses online or through continuing education.

For students taking the PCP courses through a full-time program at a recognized college, university or private career college, the PCP Work Experience Requirement timeline begins once you complete the Payroll Fundamentals 2 course. 

You do not have to hold a management title to satisfy the CPM work experience requirement.

The most common problem is that your membership has expired. Contact Member Services for help at membership@payroll.ca.

No. Jobs purchased for posting on JobConnect will only be posted on the CPA’s website. While the CPA has partnered with Workopolis Niche Networks to run JobConnect, jobs posted on the CPA’s JobConnect will only be accessible to CPA members and not affiliated with Workopolis.

A gift card would be considered a "near-cash" gift or award. Near-cash refers to how easily something can be converted to cash. Regardless of the amount, gift cards and gift certificates are considered taxable employment income and are therefore subject to CPP and income tax in all jurisdictions except Quebec.

Revenu Québec (RQ) allows a gift card or gift certificate to be given as a non-taxable gift or award (up to the $500 exemption) as long as the merchant or merchants are clearly identified on the card and the reason for which the employee is receiving the card falls within their gifts and awards policy. (A Quebec employee receiving such a gift or award would have the value of the gift card subject only to federal tax.)

In the seminar calendar, you can use the search tool to search for upcoming seminars by topic or keyword, or by city or region. You can also view seminar topics for each broad learning category by clicking on the appropriate link from the learning menu or from the learning landing page.   Once you are on the applicable course description page for your selected topic, you may see a list of cities where that seminar will be offered in upcoming months.

There is no requirement by Revenu Québec (RQ) to separate the eligible and non-eligible portion of the retiring allowance on the RL-1 slip. The total amount of the retiring allowance is reported on the RL-1 slip in box O (code RJ).

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) requires the reporting of eligible and non-eligible retiring allowances separately on the T4 slip.

For employees who receive a retiring allowance upon or after termination who have years of service prior to 1996, the employer is required to calculate the eligible portion of the retiring allowance. The eligible amount is determined by using the following calculation:

• $2,000 for each year, or part year, prior to 1996
• $1,500 for each year or part year prior to 1989 that employee was not vested in a pension plan or DPSP.

The eligible portion is reported in code 66 of the T4 slip and the non-eligible portion is reported in code 67.

If you are an international student, and you intend to file a Canadian tax return, you can apply for an Individual Tax Number (ITN) by completing form T1261 Application for a Canada Revenue Agency Individual Tax Number (ITN) for Non-Residents. The ITN must be treated the same way as a SIN

The Candidate membership category went into effect on November 1^st, 2019.  Any Associate memberships obtained or renewed prior to that date were still subject to the former membership categories available at that time.  No refunds will be made available for the difference in the membership category fees. Any membership renewals made after November 1^st, 2019 by eligible candidates can renew at the Candidate Membership rate and can continue to enjoy Candidate Membership up to five (5) fiscal years from the start date of first PCP course and/or until the satisfaction of your PCP Work Experience Requirement.
 

If you hold a Candidate Membership while working towards your PCP certification, your membership type will be upgraded to a Professional Membership only once your membership is up for annual renewal. You can find your renewal date by logging into Member Centre.
 

The course cost depends on the study method chosen Click here for more information.

Note: In-classroom students must first register with the post-secondary institution and pay the applicable tuition fees. Then they must register with the CPA and pay the CPA registration fees to be sent the course materials and access to any online components. Students must have membership with the CPA on order to register for a course.

Should you wish to track your CPE using the online CPE tracking tool to log volunteer hours with the CPA as a SME or hours spent reading DIALOGUE magazine, enter "Subject Matter Expert – CPA" or "DIALOGUE magazine – CPA," respectively, as the provider for your CPE activity.

If you are currently a PCP, you are not affected by the PCP Work Experience Requirement as long as you maintain certification by fulfilling the ongoing requirements. In fact, you may benefit from the enhanced status of the PCP program as a result of the PCP Work Experience Requirement.

Yes. If you have less than 2 years of applicable payroll experience in your current or past position, you can combine positions to satisfy the 2-year requirement. You must complete a separate application form for each payroll position being submitted for assessment.

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JobConnect accepts all major credit cards for posting jobs. At this time employers cannot be invoiced for jobs.