Taxable Benefits Risk: Employee Benefits Could Cause Tax Headaches

Taxable Benefits & Allowances Seminar from the Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) helps make sense of the latest information and legislation

TORONTO, Jan. 15, 2014 /PRNewswire/ - Many employers and employees are surprised at the depth and breadth of items considered taxable, which therefore impact income and statutory withholdings. Most employees are not even aware there is legislation related to gifts provided to them. While there are some opportunities to give non-taxable gifts, simply providing a gift card to an employee can have tax implications. One of the most common compliance issues identified by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec (RQ) in organizational audits is the exclusion of taxable benefits from an employee's income.

The Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) offers a comprehensive one-day seminar on assessing taxable benefits for finance, payroll, accounting and human resources practitioners that provides detailed information on which benefits are taxable and which can be excluded from income, and are therefore not taxable. Topics include: taxable benefits legislation, sales tax issues, automobile benefits and allowances, loan and stock options and all other taxable benefits.

The CPA's Taxable Benefits and Allowances seminar addresses all of these issues in plain language, with exercises to reinforce learning for those benefits that are more challenging to calculate. It fosters the opportunity to network and learn from colleagues who may be facing similar challenges in assessing benefits.

"This seminar is designed for payroll, accounting, human resources and office managers who need to be aware of changing taxable benefits values, policies and regulations," said Janet Spence, Manager of Compliance Services and Programs for the Canadian Payroll Association. "It provides a comprehensive overview of the payroll implications for the full range of taxable and non-taxable benefits and allowances. It also provides legislative details on a number of common benefits and allowances, statutory withholding treatment, and year-end reporting requirements."

Since payroll practitioners are responsible for complying with over 190 legislative and regulatory obligations at the federal and provincial levels, they need to keep on top of ever-changing legislation. For example, consider the change to the assessment of insurance effective January 1, 2013, whereby the coverage for accidental death and dismemberment (known as AD&D) is now considered taxable. Being unaware of such changes can put organizations at a compliance risk.

The CPA's Taxable Benefits & Allowances seminar will be held across Canada over the coming months. It will provide in-depth guidance to the payroll, finance and business communities on how to assess more than 40 different benefits from a taxable and non-taxable perspective.

For more information on the Canadian Payroll Association's Professional Development Seminars, Certification Programs and Benefits of Membership, visit payroll.ca.

CPA representatives are available for interviews.

About the Canadian Payroll Association:
The Canadian Payroll Association (CPA) has influenced the payroll compliance practices and processes of hundreds of thousands of employers since 1978. As the authoritative source of Canadian payroll knowledge, the CPA affects the legislative processes and practices of payroll service and software providers, as well as hundreds of thousands of small, medium and large employers. Payroll professionals in 1.5 million organizations across Canada are responsible for ensuring the timely and accurate payment of $860 billion in wages and taxable benefits, $268 billion in statutory remittances to the federal and provincial governments and $94 billion in health and retirement benefits, while complying with more than 190 regulatory requirements.

SOURCE Canadian Payroll Association

Image with caption: "Mark your calendar for payroll education! It pays to know! The Canadian Payroll Association offers professional development seminars to help payroll practitioners stay current and compliant. Members and non-members are welcome. Sign up now for the Taxable Benefits and Allowances seminar and more. http://goo.gl/oxfRMQ (CNW Group/Canadian Payroll Association)". Image available at: http://photos.newswire.ca/images/download/20140115_C8335_PHOTO_EN_35479.jpg