COVID-19 benefits – The Canada Revenue Agency is moving to the next phase of debt recovery

CRA SOURCE ARTICLE

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is responsible for collecting individual overpayments for all COVID-19 benefit programs, such as the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the Canada Recovery Benefit (CRB) and the Canada Worker Lockdown Benefit (CWLB).

Starting in July 2024, for individuals who have not responded or co-operated, and who have been determined to have the financial capacity to pay, legal warnings will be issued and legal measures could be taken to recover monies owed. Legal measures are only taken when there is no cooperation from an individual with ability to repay the debt.

How to pay your debt

Paying off your debt immediately remains the best way for you to avoid legal measures. It’s important to note there are no penalties and interest on emergency benefit overpayment debts.

We offer a number of options for you to make a payment even without having to contact us, such as online or through a financial institution. We encourage individuals to follow the directions they receive in any correspondence from the CRA without delay.

If you can’t pay on time

The CRA remains committed to supporting Canadians who, for different reasons, are not able to repay their debts. If you cannot pay the total amount owing immediately, we encourage you to contact the CRA to develop suitable payment arrangements based on your ability to pay. Not contacting the CRA when receiving a legal warning will result in legal measures that could be avoided.

Debt Collection

The CRA has always been transparent that eligibility to programs relied on individuals to establish their own eligibility based on provided criteria and would later be reviewed. As expected, we are still conducting a meticulous process of reviewing emergency benefits payments. This ongoing process started by issuing initial contact letters to some benefits recipients to request documents to support their claims. The second step was to issue Notices of Redetermination to individuals who were deemed to be ineligible for a portion or all of their claim, or who did not respond to the initial contact letters.

In May 2022, the CRA began its collection approach by sending letters favouring voluntary payment. Then in February 2023, the CRA started issuing collection letters to individuals who had not made an effort to resolve their overpayment. The CRA also made several attempts to reach individuals by phone.

To get more information

Visit How to make a repayment: Repay COVID-19 benefits - Canada.ca or contact the CRA at 1-833-253-7615, between Monday to Friday, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. (ET).

Canadians expect the CRA to ensure benefits are only paid to those who are entitled, and to do so in a manner which recognizes individuals’ and families’ financial situations. As expected, we are still conducting a meticulous process of reviewing emergency benefits payments.