Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB)

Status: Closed

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• CERB from Service Canada

The Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) provided financial support to employed and self-employed Canadians who were directly affected by COVID-19.

Applicants received $2,000 for a 4-week period (the same as $500 a week), between March 15 and September 26, 2020. The last day to apply was December 2, 2020.

On this page

• Eligibility criteria
• Verifying your eligibility
• If you need to repay
• Self-employment income (net vs. gross)
• CERB debt reduction for students

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the CERB payments, you must have met the following conditions:

• You did not apply for, nor receive, CERB or EI benefits from Service Canada for the same eligibility period
• You did not quit your job voluntarily
• You reside in Canada and are at least 15 years old
• You earned a minimum of $5,000 (before taxes) in the last 12 months, or in 2019, from one or more of the following sources:
  • employment income
  • self-employment income
  • provincial benefit payments related to maternity or parental leave
• One of the following:
  • Your work hours were reduced because of COVID-19 (see last checkbox below for more details)
  • You stopped working because of COVID 19
  • You were unable to work because of COVID-19, for example because you were taking care of someone
  • You were paid EI regular or fishing benefits for at least one week of benefits since December 29, 2019 and you used up your entitlement to those benefits
• One of the following:
  • If you were applying for the first time: You stopped working, or you were working reduced hours due to COVID-19, and you have not earned more than $1,000 in employment or self-employment income (before deductions) for at least 14 days in a row during the 4-week period.
  • If you were applying for a subsequent period: You were still not working, or you were working reduced hours due to COVID-19, and you have not earned more than $1,000 in employment or self-employment income (before deductions), and you expected this to continue during the entire 4-week period.

  What counted towards the $1,000 in income you could have earned?

If you did not meet the above criteria, you were not eligible for the CERB. Find out how to repay the CERB.

If you met the above criteria, you were eligible for the CERB. You could have received $2,000 for each 4-week period that you qualified for.

Period dates for the benefit

Verifying your eligibility

The CRA will verify that you were eligible to receive the CERB. We may ask you to provide additional details to validate your application.

As part of the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, the CRA will also be comparing employers' payroll records with the information you provide. We will use this information to check if you became ineligible when you returned to work.

To report any suspected misuse: CRA's Leads program

If you need to repay

If you received any benefit payments that you were not eligible for, the CRA will contact you to make arrangements to repay.

For details: Repay COVID-19 benefits

Self-employment income (net vs. gross)

Self-employed individuals who applied for the CERB based on their gross self-employment income may be able to keep their payments. Those who have already repaid, may be able to get it reimbursed.

Find out if you meet the conditions for using gross self-employment income.

CERB debt reduction for students

If you were a student in 2020 and were asked to repay the CERB, you may be able to keep some or all of your payments.

Find out if you are eligible to apply for a credit towards your CERB debt.