Incorrect address on employees’ T4s | Minimum standards for bereavement leave | Reducing tax deductions for TFSA contributions
Incorrect address on employees’ T4s
QUESTION: After distributing T4s to our employees and filing our T4 return, I was informed that some employee home addresses were incorrect on the forms. The employees had moved, but failed to notify us. We distribute our T4s electronically, so the employees in question did receive their forms. Do I need to file amended forms with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to correct the addresses?
ANSWER: No, the CRA does not require employers to file amended T4s if they are only changing an employee’s address.
If employers need to make changes to other information reported on the forms, they must file amended T4s.
Minimum standards for bereavement leave
QUESTION: We are updating our bereavement leave policy. What are the minimum labour standards requirements? We have
employees in multiple Canadian jurisdictions.
ANSWER: The following table sets out the minimum labour standards requirements for bereavement leave across Canada:
|
Jurisdiction |
Time off for bereavement leave1 |
Eligibility for leave (minimum period of employment with employer) |
Employer required to pay employee for time off |
Eligibility for paid bereavement leave |
|
Canada Labour Code |
three days |
none |
yes2 |
three consecutive months of continuous employment |
|
Alberta |
three days |
90 days |
no |
N/A |
|
British Columbia |
three days |
none |
no |
N/A |
|
Manitoba |
three days |
30 days |
no |
N/A |
|
New Brunswick |
five days |
none |
no |
N/A |
|
Newfoundland |
three days |
30 days |
pay required for one day of leave3 |
30 days |
|
two days |
fewer than 30 days |
no |
N/A |
|
|
Northwest Territories |
three days if service occurs in community in which employee lives; seven days if in another community |
none |
no |
N/A |
|
Nova Scotia |
five days |
none |
no |
N/A |
|
Nunavut |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Ontario |
two days |
two consecutive weeks |
no |
N/A |
|
Prince Edward Island |
three days |
none |
pay required for one day of leave if an immediate family member dies4 |
none |
|
Quebec |
five days for close relatives (e.g., spouse, child); one day for other family members (e.g., grandparents) |
none |
pay required for two days of leave if a close family member dies |
none |
|
Saskatchewan |
five days |
more than 13 consecutive weeks |
no |
N/A |
|
Yukon |
one week |
none |
no |
N/A |
1
Contact the applicable labour standards board for more detail on the family members for which an employee may take bereavement leave and the period in which they must take it.
2
Pay employees at their regular wage rate for their normal work hours. Proposed amendments to the Canada Labour Code would increase bereavement leave from three days to five days. Employers would have to pay employees with at least three consecutive months of continuous employment for the first three days of the leave.
3
To calculate pay for bereavement leave, multiply the employee’s hourly rate by the average number of daily hours the employee worked in the three weeks immediately before the leave.
4
Pay employees at their regular rate for the day.
Reducing tax deductions for TFSA contributions
QUESTION: Are we allowed to reduce employees’ income tax source deductions on amounts that they contribute to a tax-free savings account (TFSA)? One of our employees has asked us to do this and has provided us with documents to show that she has a TFSA.
ANSWER: No, the employee’s proof of a TFSA is not sufficient for reducing income tax source deductions. The CRA allows employers to reduce the amount of an employee’s remuneration subject to income tax for the following reasons:
• employee’s contribution to a registered pension plan, subject to annual maximums
• union dues
• employee’s contribution to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) deducted at source, subject to personal RRSP limits, as long as the employer has reasonable grounds to believe that the employee can deduct the amount of the contribution for the year
• employee’s contribution to a pooled registered pension plan/voluntary retirement savings plan, as long as the employer has reasonable grounds to believe that the employee can deduct the amount of the contribution for the year
• employee’s contribution to a retirement compensation arrangement
• deduction for living in a prescribed zone as per the federal TD1 form
• other amounts that the CRA authorizes in writing.
TFSAs are not treated the same as RRSPs for tax purposes. TFSA contributions are not tax deductible like RRSPs and withdrawals from the plans are tax free, unlike RRSPs.
Employees who wish to have their income tax source deductions reduced for reasons other than those mentioned above may apply to the CRA.
If the CRA approves the request, it will send the employee a letter authorizing the reduction.
The employee must show the letter to the employer before the employer can reduce the employee’s income tax deductions.
