Fishers and Employment Insurance

Notice to reader

The information on this page replaces the information in Guide T4005 Fishers and Employment Insurance, which has been discontinued.

On this page

Overview

This page will help to determine if you are a designated employer of fishers under the Employment Insurance (Fishing) Regulations. It will also explain your responsibilities as a designated employer, and how to calculate the insurable earnings of a fisher.

If you hire workers as employees in the fishing industry, see Guides T4001, Employers' Guide – Payroll Deductions and Remittances, and T4032, Payroll Deductions Tables.

Are you a designated employer?

You are a designated employer if any of the following conditions applies to you.

Buyer of a catch

You are the designated employer of all the self-employed fishers who make the catch if you buy the catch and both of the following conditions are met:

If you do not operate under these conditions, for example, if the delivery is made to an American buyer in the United States, you are not the designated employer.

Head fisher of a crew

You are the designated employer if you are the head fisher of a crew and:

You are the designated employer of all other fishers who are members of the crew, but not yourself.

Agent

You are the designated employer if you are an agent acting either for the buyer or for the crew and:

If you are a member of the crew, you are the designated employer of all the other fishers who are members of the crew, but not yourself.

Common agent

You are the designated employer if you are a common agent acting for both the buyer and the crew at the same time. If you are a member of the crew, you are the designated employer of all the other fishers who are members of the crew, but not yourself. If you are not a member of the crew, you are the designated employer of all the fishers who are members of the crew.

What is a self-employed fisher?

To be a fisher as defined under the Employment Insurance (Fishing) Regulations, an individual has to be a self-employed person and also has to:

Note

This means the worker is required to pay a predetermined amount or percentage of the expenses incurred by the crew to make the catch, regardless of the value of the catch. Such expenses can include the cost of fuel used to make the catch.

For more information, go to Fishers.

If a worker in the fishing industry does not meet any of the above conditions but you believe that he or she is a self-employed individual, you can request a ruling to have the status determined. If you have a payroll program account and are registered on My Business Account, you can use the "Request a CPP/EI ruling" service.

A designated employer or a worker can request a ruling by sending a letter or a completed Form CPT1, Request for a CPP/EI Ruling – Employee or Self Employed?, to their tax services office.

It is important to determine a person's employment status as it affects your responsibilities and it could affect the processing of the person's file under the Canada Pension Plan, Employment Insurance Act, and the Income Tax Act.

For more information about the employment status of workers, see Guide RC4110, Employee or Self-employed?.

What are your responsibilities as a designated employer?

If you are a designated employer of self-employed fishers, including self-employed Indian fishers whose earnings are tax-exempt, you are responsible for:

Calculating the insurable earnings of a fisher

The insurable earnings of a fisher are the amounts paid or payable to the fisher from the sale of a catch. These earnings do not include amounts paid for a catch or part of a catch made by other persons who were not members of the crew.

Calculating the insurable earnings of a fisher depends on the circumstances of the particular fisher. To help illustrate the calculation of earnings, the CRA has categorized the fishers as either Type 1 or Type 2. This labelling is done for the purposes of this page only to help explain the calculation process.

Type 1 fisher – a member of the crew who either:

Type 2 fisher – any self-employed fisher who is not considered a type 1 fisher. This includes a single fisher who borrows a boat and specialized fishing gear and has no employees. In this situation, you should ask for the details of ownership or leasing from the person who makes the delivery.

Calculations

To calculate the insurable earnings of a type 1 fisher, start with the gross value of a catch, not including the value of any part of a catch the crew did not make. Then subtract:

The remaining amount is the insurable earnings of the type 1 fisher.

To calculate the insurable earnings of a type 2 fisher, use the amount paid or payable to the fisher from the proceeds of a catch based on the sharing arrangement agreed to prior to embarking on the fishing trip. Do not include any amount paid for a catch or any part of a catch made by other persons who were not members of the fisher's crew.

Deducting and remitting EI premiums

When you pay self-employed fishers, you have to deduct EI premiums from the first $60,300 of insurable earnings for 2022. There is no minimum amount of insurable earnings. You start deducting EI premiums on the first dollar of insurable earnings, and you only stop when you have deducted the maximum of $952.74 for 2022 (the maximum for workers in Quebec is $723.60 for 2022). At that point, the worker can continue to earn income without having any additional EI premiums deducted by the designated employer.

You have to remit the premiums you deduct, plus the employer portion, to the CRA on a regular basis. The due date of your remittance depends on the date the CRA considers you to have paid your employee or employees.

For information on how to deduct and remit EI premiums, see Guide T4001, Employers' Guide – Payroll Deductions and Remittances. For information on how to calculate the amounts you have to deduct from the remuneration of your employees, see Guide T4032, Payroll Deductions Tables.

Note

If an employee leaves one employer during the year to work for you, or if an employee at the same time has another job with other employers, you still have to deduct EI premiums on the first $60,300 (for 2022). In other words, you cannot use the EI premiums deducted by any other employer when you calculate the premiums of your employees.

Earnings of a fisher may be subject to employee and employers premiums for the Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP). For information, see the Publication TP-1015.G-V, Guide for Employers – Source Deductions and Contributions.

Filing a T4 information return

You have to file a T4 information return if:

A T4 information return includes the T4 slips and the related T4 summary. You have to give each of the fishers and crew members their T4 slips each year on or before the last day of February following the calendar year to which the information return applies. For more information on how to fill out T4 slips and summary, see Guide RC4120, Employers' Guide – Filing the T4 Slip and Summary.

Keeping records

You have to keep records to support the following:

Your records should include:

Your records have to accurately reflect all transactions and contain supporting documents to prove your claims. Do not send your records with your T4 information return, but keep them in case the CRA asks to see them. If the CRA determines that your records do not support the insurable earnings you report, it may estimate the insurable earnings. Your premiums payable in 2022 would be calculated as 5% of the estimate.

Note

If you are a designated employer, you have to keep your books, records, accounts, and documents for the fishers separate from those of other insured persons.

You have to keep your records for six years. If you want to destroy them before the six-year period is over, you have to get permission from your tax services office. To do this, either use Form T137, Request for Destruction of Records, or prepare your own written request. For more information, go to Keeping records.

Examples

The following are examples that explain the various types of earnings of a fisher and how to calculate insurable earnings. For information on calculating EI premiums, see Guide T4001, Employers' Guide – Payroll Deductions and Remittances.

Note

The 2022 EI premium rate (1.58%) is used in these examples.

Example 1

Catch: Fresh lobster
Date caught: June 13
Crew: A – Owner and sole fisher

 

Gross value: $1,200
Date delivered: June 13
Sharing arrangement: A – 100%

Determining the earnings
 
 
Insurable earnings
Gross value of catch
 

  $1,200

 
Deduct 25% (prescribed amount)
 

-      300

$900
EI premiums to be deducted on
 
 
$900
Record of employment will show
 
 
$900
The T4 slip will show
Gross
income
EI insurable
earnings
EI
premiums
 
$1,200
$900

$14.22

Example 2

Catch: Fresh clams
Date caught: June 13
Crew: A – Sole fisher – no boat required

 

Gross value: $100
Date delivered: June 13
Sharing arrangement: A – 100%

Determining the earnings
 
 
Insurable
earnings
Gross value of catch
 

$100 

EI premiums to be deducted on
 
 
$100
Record of employment will show
 
 
$100
The T4 slip will show
Gross
income
EI insurable
earnings
EI
premiums
 
$100
$100

$1.58

Example 3

Catch: Fresh herring
Date caught: June 13
Crew:
A – Owner
B – Shareperson
C – Shareperson

 

Gross value: $1,000
Date delivered: June 13
Sharing arrangement:
A – 60%
B – 20%
C – 20%

Determining the earnings of A
 
 
Insurable
earnings
Gross value of catch
 

  $1,000

 
Deduct:
 
 
 
  • 25% (prescribed amount)

   $  250

 
 
  • Amount paid to B and C ( $200 each)

+     400

-      650

$350
Determining the earnings of B and C
 
 
 

B has 20% of the gross value of the catch ($1,000 × 20%)

 
 
$200

C has 20% of the gross value of the catch ($1,000 × 20%)

 
 
$200
EI premiums to be deducted on
 
 
 
A
 
 
$350
B
 
 
$200
C
 
 
$200
Record of employment will show
 
 
 
A
 
 
$350
B
 
 
$200
C
 
 
$200
The T4 slip will show
Gross
income
EI insurable
earnings
EI
premiums

A – Owner

$1,000
$350

$5.53

B – Shareperson

$   200

$200

$3.16

C – Shareperson

$   200

$200

$3.16

Example 4

Catch: Fresh mackerel
Date caught: June 13
Crew: 
A – Owner of boat
B – Owner of gear

 

Gross value: $1,000
Date delivered: June 13
Sharing arrangement:
A – 65%
B – 35%

Determining the earnings
 
 
Insurable
earnings
Gross value of catch
 
$1,000
 
Deduct 25% (prescribed amount)
 

-    250

$750.00
Divide proportionately
 
 
 

A – 65% ($750 × 65%)

 
 
$487.50

B – 35% ($750 × 35%)

 
 
$262.50
EI premiums to be deducted on
 
 
 

A – 65%

 
 
$487.50

B – 35%

 
 
$262.50
Record of employment will show
 
 
 

A – 65%

 
 
$487.50

B – 35%

 
 
$262.50
The T4 slip will show
Gross
income
EI insurable
earnings
EI
premiums

A – Owner of boat

$1,000
$487.50

$7.70

B – Owner of gear

$1,000
$262.50

$4.15

Example 5

Catch: Fresh crab
Date caught: June 13
Crew:
A – Co-owner 60% of partnership
B – Co-owner 40% of partnership
C – Shareperson
D – Shareperson

 

Gross value: $1,000
Date delivered: June 13
Sharing arrangement:
Co-owners – 15% off the top for boat
From the balance:
A – 45%
B – 25%
C – 15%
D – 15%

Determining the earnings of C and D
 
 
Insurable
earnings
Gross value of catch
 
$1,000
 
Less 15% off the top for boat:
 

 -   150

$  850.00

C – 15% ($850 × 15%)

 
 

$  127.50

D – 15% ($850 × 15%)

 
 

$  127.50

Determining the net partnership amount of A and B
 
 
 
Gross value of catch
 
 

$1,000.00

Deduct:
 
 
 
  • 25% (prescribed amount)

   $    250 

 
  • Amounts paid to C and D
 

+       255

-    505.00

 
 
 

$   495.00

Co-owner A ($495 × 60%) Footnote 1

 
 

$   297.00

Co-owner B ($495 × 40%)
 
 

$   198.00

EI premiums to be deducted on
 
 
 

A – Co-owner

 
 

$   297.00

B – Co-owner

 
 

$   198.00

C – Shareperson

 
 

$   127.50

D – Shareperson

 
 

$   127.50

Record of employment will show
 
 
 

A – Co-owner

 
 

$   297.00

B – Co-owner

 
 

$   198.00

C – Shareperson

 
 

$   127.50

D – Shareperson

 
 

$   127.50

The T4 slip will show
Gross
income
EI insurable
earnings
EI
premiums

A – Co-owner

$1,000.00

$297.00

$4.69

B – Co-owner

$1,000.00

$198.00

$3.13

C – Shareperson

$   127.50

$127.50

$2.01

D – Shareperson

$   127.50

$127.50

$2.01

Definitions

Buyer – A person who buys a catch to resell it raw or after processing it. A buyer does not buy a catch to use it for food, feed, or bait.

Catch – Any natural product or by-product of the sea, or any other body of water, that a crew catches or takes. A catch includes fresh fish, cured fish, Irish moss, kelp, and whales. However, it does not include fish scales or seals.

If only part of a catch is delivered to a buyer, the part delivered is the catch. If more than one catch or part of a catch is delivered to a buyer at one time, the catches or parts delivered are the catch.

Crew – A single fisher or a group of fishers who make a catch together.

Cured fish – Fish and fish products identified as follows:

Designated employer – A person who is considered to be the employer of self-employed fishers.

Fisher – A self-employed individual who fishes. This means a person who does the following:

Note

This includes loading, unloading, transporting, or curing a catch made by the crew of which the person is a member. It also includes preparing, repairing, dismantling, or laying up the fishing vessel or fishing gear the crew uses to make or handle a catch, when the person doing this work is also making the catch.

A fisher does not include a person who works as an employee or who fishes for sport.

Fishing gear – Any specialized equipment that a crew uses only to make a catch. It does not include hand tools or clothing.

Fresh fish – Fish that is not cured fish.

Page details

Date modified: