Canadian Payroll Reporter

2 Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2015 News January 2015 | CPR Tax credits for LSVCCs being phased out the threshold was $50,000. These employers send in remittances four times a month. The quar- terly remitter category continues to apply to employers with an AMWA of less than $3,000. CPP: Maximum pensionable earn- ings: $53,600 Employer and employee con- tribution rate: 4.95 per cent Basic exemption: $3,500 Maximum annual employer and employee contribution: $2,479.95 EI: Maximum insurable earnings: $49,500 Employee premium rate: 1.88 per cent (outside Quebec); 1.54 per cent (in Quebec) Maximum annual employee premium: $930.60 (outside Que- bec); $762.30 (in Quebec) Employer premium rate: 1.4 times the employee rate unless the employer has a government- approved reduced premium rate The federal government has created a new EI tax credit for small businesses. The Small Business Job Credit applies for 2015 and 2016 for businesses with employer EI premiums that are no more than $15,000 in those years. Employers eligible for the credit continue to pay their share of EI premiums (cal- culated at 1.4 times the employee rate of 1.88 per cent). The CRA will calculate the credit by multi- plying the employer's total insur- able earnings from its T4 slips by 0.392 per cent. Income tax: No federal or provincial/ter- ritorial income tax rates have changed, although government budgets could change that. Most jurisdictions index their person- al income tax systems and have adjusted their taxable income brackets in line with changes to the consumer price index (CPI). The CRA has released up- dated TD1 forms for all juris- dictions. In many cases, the maximum amounts claimed on the forms have changed due to indexing. See chart below for the basic personal amounts that ap- ply for 2015. LSVCC tax credit phase-out continues: The federal government is phas- ing out the tax credit for labour- sponsored venture capital cor- porations (LSVCCs) between 2013 and 2016. For 2015, the credit is the lesser of $500 and 10 per cent of the amount deducted or withheld during the year for the acquisition by the employee of approved shares of the capi- tal stock of a prescribed labour- sponsored venture capital cor- poration. RPP, RRSP limits change: The maximum contribution rates for 2015 for registered pension plans and registered re- tirement savings plans have in- creased: Money purchase plans: $25,370.00 Deferred profit-sharing plans: $12,685.00 RRSPs: $24,930.00 Defined benefit plans: $2,818.89 2014 year-end reporting: Information returns must be filed using Internet file transfer or the Web Forms application. For T4 filing, the CRA has re- named one of the codes used in the Other Information area on the T4. Code 87 is now called Emergency services volunteer exempt amount. Previously, it was named Volunteer firefighter exempt amount. The CRA changed the name to incorporate legislative amend- ments that now allow eligible ground, air and marine search and rescue volunteers to claim a non-refundable tax credit, simi- lar to the volunteer firefighter tax credit. PROVINCIAL UPDATES British Columbia Effective Jan. 1, the provincial government increased premium rates for its Medical Services Plan. For a single person, the maximum premium rose from $69.25 per month to $72.00. The maximum premium for a family of two increased from $125.50 per month to $130.50 and for a family of three or more it rose from $138.50 to $144.00. New Brunswick Effective Dec. 31, 2014, the mini- mum wage rate increased from $10 an hour to $10.30. The rate is expected to remain in place for two years. Newfoundland and Labrador The provincial minimum wage rate will rise from $10.25 per hour to $10.50 on Oct. 1. Nova Scotia For the first time, the province will have a statutory holiday in February. On Feb. 16, Nova Sco- tia will celebrate Heritage Day. Ontario Starting in October, the govern- ment will index the provincial minimum wage rate to the prov- ince's CPI. It plans to announce minimum wage changes by April 1 each year. Quebec Remittances: Revenu Québec has changed its remittance thresholds in line with the federal changes. QPP: Maximum pensionable earn- ings: $53,600 Employer and employee contri- bution rate: 5.25 per cent Basic exemption: $3,500 Maximum annual employer and employee contribution: $2,630.25 QPIP: Maximum insurable earnings: $70,000 Employee premium rate: 0.559 per cent Employer premium rate: 0.782 per cent Maximum annual employee premium: $391.30 Maximum annual employer premium: $547.40 Income tax: There are no changes to Quebec provincial income tax rates for 2015, although the provincial budget could propose changes. Quebec indexes its personal income tax system and has ad- justed its taxable income brack- ets in line with changes to the CPI. It has also adjusted the amounts claimed on its Source Deductions Return (TP-1015.3- V) form. For 2015, the basic amount employees can claim is $11,425. Bonus calculation threshold: The threshold for determin- ing whether to use the "bonus method" to calculate income tax source deductions on bo- nuses and retroactive pay has in- creased from $14,130 to $14,300 for 2015. CNT: The maximum amount subject to the levy to finance the Commission des normes du tra- vail increased from $69,000 per employee to $70,000 for 2015. Jurisdiction Basic Personal Amount Federal $11,327 Alberta $18,214 British Columbia $ 9,938 Manitoba $ 9,134 New Brunswick $ 9,633 Newfoundland and Labrador $ 8,767 Northwest Territories $13,900 Nova Scotia $ 8,481 Nunavut $12,781 Ontario $ 9,863 Prince Edward Island $ 7,708 Saskatchewan $15,639 Yukon $11,327 *Indexing also affects the Canada and Yukon Employment Credits, the British Columbia's provincial tax reduction and Ontario's provincial surtax thresholds and tax reduction. from NEW YEAR on page 1 see boARds on page 4

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