Prepare for our review of your claim

We will be reviewing claims to confirm the information you submit.

On this page

• Keep your records
• Notice of determination
• Calls and letters from the CRA
• Consequences of fraudulent claims

Keep your records

You must keep records showing information that supports your subsidy claims, such as your reduction in revenue, amounts paid to employees for the wage subsidy, and amounts for your eligible expenses for the rent subsidy.

If you used the online calculator to calculate your subsidy amounts, keep the printed summary or the saved electronic copy for your records. We may ask to see it when validating your claim.

If you calculated your amounts another way, you must still save a record of how you came up with your amounts.

If you have affiliated entities that applied for a rent subsidy for the same period you did, you must save a copy of the agreement you made about the percentage of the subsidy each business claimed.

Revenue drop – supporting documents

Other documents you may need to show to support your revenue drop include your:

• sales journal
• general ledger
• revenue amounts
• working paper calculations

Eligible expenses for the rent subsidy – supporting documents

Other documents you may need to show to support the expenses you claimed include your:

• rental or lease agreements
• property tax bills
• insurance documents
• mortgage documents
  • provincial land title or property abstract, or
  • title number, legal description, or other property identifying numbers such as
    • parcel identifier number (PID)
    • land identifier numerical codes (LINC)
    • property identification number (PIN)
    • mortgage registration number
• bank statements
• receipts or other proof of payment

Read more about records you should keep, for any wage or rent subsidy you claim, in the CEWS technical questions and answers.

Notice of determination

After you applied, we let you know in a notice of determination if your claim was accepted.

If you received an amount for the Canada Recovery Hiring Program (CRHP) for claim period 21 or earlier, we automatically determined your Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) for the same period to be $0, even if you entered an amount at line 300 on your CRHP application (amount calculated for the CEWS) that was higher than $0. In this situation, your CEWS amount is deemed to be $0 because you are only entitled to the subsidy that gives you the higher amount.

More information about why we mention CEWS on your CRHP notice

According to the legislation, one of the qualifications for the CRHP until claim period 22 was that you must also have submitted an application for the CEWS for that claim period. To keep the process simpler for you, we considered this condition to be met when you entered your CEWS amount at line 300 in your CRHP application.

Calls and letters from the CRA

The CRA may need to contact you by phone or mail to confirm details, ask for more information about your application, or notify you that your claim was not approved. Please make sure your contact information is current.

Calls from the CRA

CRA phone agents will never:

• use threatening or coercive language
• ask for full banking information, or
• ask for your full social insurance number (SIN)

CRA phone agents should be able to provide you with information about your subsidy application, as well as their name and phone number.

If you have concerns about a call you received from the CRA

If you have concerns about a call you received regarding your subsidy application, please call the Business Enquiries line to verify the name and number of the person that called you.

You can also read more about how to recognize scams.

Letters from the CRA

You may receive a letter from the CRA if your subsidy application was not accepted, or if your claim was modified after we reviewed the information.

Consequences of fraudulent claims

If you do not meet the eligibility requirements for a period, you will be required to repay any subsidy amounts you received for that period. Canadians can also report suspected misuse through the CRA’s Leads program.

Penalties may apply in cases of fraudulent claims, including fines or even imprisonment.

If you artificially reduce your revenue or increase your eligible expenses for the purpose of claiming subsidies or increasing a claim for the CEWS, the Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS), the Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program (THRP), or the Hardest-Hit Business Recovery Program (HHBRP), you will be required to repay any subsidy amounts you received, plus a penalty equal to 25% of the total value.

Additionally, if you, or a person or partnership with which you deal at non-arm’s length, enter into a transaction or participate in an event (or a series of transactions or events) or take an action (or fail to take an action) that has the effect of increasing your incremental remuneration, and one of the main purposes of the action is to increase your CRHP amount, you will be required to repay any amounts you received, plus a penalty equal to 25% of the total value.

Read more about compliance in the CEWS technical questions and answers