Frequently Asked Questions

Effective the first pay period with an effective date of 2012, employers may have to deduct Canada Pension Plan (CPP) contributions from the pensionable earnings they pay their employees who are aged 60 to 70, even if these employees are receiving a CPP or Quebec Pension Plan (QPP) retirement pension.

Employees Aged 60 to 65

Under the new rules, employees aged 60 to 65 who continue to work while receiving a CPP or QPP retirement pension have to contribute to the CPP as long as they are receiving pensionable earnings.

Employees Aged 65 to 70

Under the new rules, employees who are aged 65 to 70 who work and receive a CPP/QPP retirement pension have to contribute to the CPP as long as they are receiving pensionable earnings, unless they file an election with an employer to stop paying CPP contributions and send a copy of that election to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

Employees eligible to stop contributing to the CPP must meet all of the following criteria:

• employee is at least 65 but under 70 years of age;
• employee is in receipt of a CPP or QPP retirement pension;
• employee has filed their election to stop contributing to the CPP with their employer using the CRA’s form CPT30 — Election to Stop Contributing to the Canada Pension Plan (with a copy sent to the CRA); AND
• employee has not filed a revocation of a prior election with their employer during the current calendar year.
• Both employee and employer CPP contributions are required to be remitted as per the employer’s remittance frequency. In other words, if an eligible employee does not choose to opt out and instead continue making CPP contributions, the employer must match these contributions and send both portions to the CRA.

Note:
These changes do not affect employees who are considered disabled under the CPP/QPP or who are at least 70 years of age. That is, CPP contributions still stop when the employee is considered disabled under the CPP/QPP or after the employee turns 70. Also, these changes do not apply to Quebec employees whose pay is subject to the QPP.

Code G-1 is indicated at the bottom of the RL-1 by using one of the blank boxes available beneath the pre-printed boxes, followed by the applicable value. All amounts indicated in code G-1 are excluded from box G of the RL-1. The employer is not required to withhold or make QPP contributions on the value indicated in code G-1. For an employee who did not reach the maximum QPP contribution for the year, upon filing their personal income tax return they may voluntarily contribute to QPP based on the value indicated in code G-1 until they’ve reached the annual maximum contribution. Even when the employee chooses to voluntarily contribute on the amounts reported in code G-1, the employer is still not required to remit a matching employer contribution.

Below is a list of when code G-1 on the RL-1 must be used:

• The employer contributes to acquire, on behalf of their employee, a share or fraction of a share issued by the Fonds de solidarité FTQ or by Fondaction.
• If during a given pay period no remuneration was paid to an employee for the pay period during which a taxable benefit in kind (non-cash taxable benefit) was granted.
• If the employee receives remuneration in a given pay period where a benefit was granted but the amount paid did not fulfill the required QPP contribution, the employer must enter the portion of the pensionable earnings (including the amount of the exemption) that is related to the amount withheld in box G of the RL-1. The employer must also use code G-1 followed by the portion of the value of the benefit that the employer was unable to withhold the QPP contribution.

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

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.

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.

Information on how to apply for a SIN can be found on the Government of Canada’s Employment and Social Development website. The website will provide you with details on eligibility and the documentation you will need in order to apply for a SIN.

https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/services/sin.html

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.
 

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 your first Payroll Compliance Practitioner (PCP) course. For detailed guidelines, please review the PCP Work Experience information.

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.