Relaxed CERB repayment rules for self-employed individuals

The Government of Canada has released new guidelines surrounding the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and subsequent repayment for those individuals who are self-employed.

What is the new criteria?

Self-employed individuals who applied for the CERB and would have qualified based on their gross income will not be required to repay the benefit, provided they also met all other eligibility requirements.

In these instances, if your NET self-employment income was less than $5,000 and you applied for the CERB, you will not be required to repay the CERB, as long as your GROSS self-employment income was at least $5,000 and you meet all other eligibility criteria.

The same approach will apply whether the individual applied through the Canada Revenue Agency or Service Canada.

What if I already repaid the benefit?

If you are a self-employed individual whose net self-employment income was less than $5,000 and you already voluntarily repaid the CERB, the CRA and Service Canada will return any repaid amounts to you (additional details will be available in the coming weeks).

Questions?

For more information about the new CERB repayment criteria, please contact our COVID-19 benefit expert, Andrea Harper, or complete the contact form below.