Canada Emergency Rent Subsidy (CERS)
Calculate your subsidy amount
The last day to apply for claim period 1 (September 27 to October 24, 2020) is April 22, 2021.
On this page
How the subsidy is calculated
The CERS provides both a base subsidy and, in some cases, a lockdown support amount.
How much you may claim
The base subsidy rate applies to a maximum of $75,000 in eligible expenses per location and an overall maximum of $300,000 in expenses for you and any affiliated entities per claim period.
If you must close or cease certain activities at one or more of your locations under a public health order for one week or longer, you may be eligible for lockdown support of up to 25% of eligible expenses per affected location for the days the order was in place.
Calculating your base rent subsidy rate
The amount you can claim of your expenses (your rent subsidy rate) is based on the revenue drop you experienced between the claim period you are applying for and a prior reference period.
You have options for choosing which prior reference period you will use.
General prior reference period
the eligible revenue you earned in the corresponding months of 2019 and 2020 that relate to the claim period you're applying for
Alternative prior reference period
the average of the eligible revenue you earned in January and February 2020 compared to the months of 2020 that relate to the claim period
This revenue drop is then scaled to calculate your rent subsidy rate:
| Your revenue drop | How to calculate your rate |
|---|---|
| Revenue drop of 70% or more | The maximum subsidy rate of 65% |
| Revenue drop of 50 to 70% | (Your revenue drop - 50%) x 1.25 + 40% |
| Revenue drop of less than 50% | 0.8 x your revenue drop |
Revenue drop comparison months for claim periods 1 to 9
| Claim period | General prior reference period (current or previous) |
Alternative prior reference period (current or previous) |
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| Period 4 (same months as period 3) |
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Calculating your top-up (lockdown support) rate
In addition to the rent subsidy rate, you can receive a lockdown support amount for certain locations affected by public health restrictions.
Your CERS top-up (lockdown support) rate is 25% on lockdown, calculated as:
- 25% (fixed top-up rate)
- times days the location was locked down due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- divided by 28 (the days in the CERS period)
- equals Your top-up (lockdown support) rate
If you have a 0% rent subsidy rate, you cannot claim a top up for any location.
Example top-up rate calculation
For example, if one of your business locations was on lockdown for 7 days of the 28 day period, you would be eligible to receive:
- 25% base top-up rate multiplied by
- 7 days out of 28
- for a 6.25% top-up rate.
Lockdown support eligibility criteria
Lockdown support is calculated on a location-by-location basis.
To qualify for lockdown support, you must have:
- a base rent subsidy rate of more than 0% for the claim period
- one or more locations temporarily closed, or have activities significantly restricted for a week or longer due to a COVID-19-related public health order
A public health order must:
- be issued by a federal, provincial, or municipal government, or a local health authority
- be limited based on at least one of these factors:
- geographical boundaries
- type of business or other activity
- risks associated with a particular location
- result in sanctions or be an offence if you do not comply
- require you or your non-arm’s-length tenant that has a business at the qualifying property to stop some or all of your regular business activities at the qualifying property while the order is in place
- the activities that were stopped must account for at least approximately 25% of total revenues at that location during the prior reference period
An order that restricts or reduces activities but doesn’t require you to close or stop certain activities does not qualify for lockdown support.
Examples of restrictions that do not qualify for lockdown support
- travel restrictions that reduce the number of clients
- rules about when you can perform your regular activities, such as
- restricted or reduced service hours or hours of operation
- any other restrictions that do not specifically order you to stop or close an activity, such as
- reduced seating capacity or other physical distancing strategies
You do not qualify for lockdown support if you are already restricted or closed because you failed to comply with a previous public health order or decision.
Before you start the calculation
Check these boxes to confirm you have all the information you need before you start your calculation:
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Find out if you have affiliated entities
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You should understand the definitions and gather all the necessary information before you calculate your claim.
Use the calculator
Use this calculator before you apply for the subsidy to calculate the amount you can apply for.
After calculating your amounts, you will have to apply for the subsidy online through My Business Account or Represent a Client.
Print the information from the calculator in order to use it in your application.
Privacy statement: This calculator does not collect your information
The CRA is not collecting or retaining any of the information you enter on this page. These amounts are only used to help you determine the amount of CERS you may be eligible to claim. You may be required to provide a full list of your business locations and their expenses for verification after you apply.
Warning: This calculator does not save any data and if you leave or refresh this page you may need to enter the information again.
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