Brief Payroll

1. Company Setup, Employee Setup & Payroll Setup

Fields marked with a * are required. Complete these fields before using other modules. The information you enter may also be used by the Payroll Calculator, Payroll Report, T4 Report, and ROE Report.

• Province: If an employee goes to a physical office, store, or job site, province of employment reflects this specific province (even if the employee lives in a different province or their employer is elsewhere). If the employee works remotely, province of employment is generally where the employer's establishment is located and from which the employee's wages are paid, or the province where the worker has the most reasonable attachment to an employer establishment. Province of residence is not necessarily province of employment.
• TD1 Federal and TD1 Province: If you have additional personal amount except for basic personal amount to claim, please fill out the additional amount. Otherwise, leave the fields blank.

2. Beginning Balance

Use this module when you start using Brief Payroll partway through the calendar year and an employee has already received one or more payroll payments from you during that year. Enter the applicable year-to-date amounts from the beginning of the year through the point you start using Brief Payroll. This information helps maintain accurate payroll calculations and T4 reporting.

If Brief Payroll will be used for an employee's first payroll payment of the calendar year, and there are no up-to-date amounts to enter, i.e. total unused vacation hours, total unpaid vacation pay, you can generally skip this module.

Hours and Vacation Pay

• Used Vacation Hours: Total vacation hours used during the current calendar year.
• Unused Vacation Hours: Earned vacation hours that remain unused as of the date you start using Brief Payroll.
• Holiday Hours: Total holiday hours used during the current calendar year.
• Used Sick Hours: Total sick hours used during the current calendar year.
• Vacation Paid: Total vacation pay paid during the current calendar year.
• Unpaid Vacation Pay: Earned vacation pay that remains unpaid as of the date you start using Brief Payroll.
• Holiday Paid: Total holiday pay paid during the current calendar year.
• Sick Day Paid: Total sick-day pay paid during the current calendar year.

Other Earnings and Benefits

• Acc. Bonus & Other Pay: Total bonuses and other applicable payments, including retroactive payments, paid during the current calendar year.
• Acc. Taxable B&A: Total taxable benefits and allowances provided during the current calendar year. Examples may include employer-provided parking, personal-use portions of cell phone or internet services, and employee training benefits, depending on the circumstances. See the CRA's Taxable benefits and allowances guidance.
• Acc. Pensionable B&A: Total pensionable benefits and allowances provided during the current calendar year. Generally, if a benefit and allowances is considered taxable by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), its value is also pensionable (subject to CPP). For details, please go to CRA website for Benefits and Allowances Chart. See the CRA's benefits and allowances guidance.
• Acc. Insurable B&A: Total insurable benefits and allowances provided during the current calendar year. Generally, if a benefit and allowances is paid in cash, it is considered insurable. For details, please go to CRA website for Benefits and Allowances Chart. Consult the CRA's benefits and allowances guidance.
• Acc. Ins. Employer RRSP: Total insurable employer's contributions to the employee's RRSP during the current calendar year. If employee can withdraw amounts freely from a group RRSP before he or she retires or ceases to be employed, except for the withdrawals under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) or Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP), the contributions will be considered insurable benefit for EI.
• Acc. Addit. CPP/QPP: Total Deductions for Canada Pension Plan additional contributions during the current calendar year. Note: Calculation for the tax may not be accurate if the accumulate deductions for CPP additional contributions are not entered.
• Acc. Other Addit. CPP/QPP: Total Deductions for Canada Pension Plan additional contributions deducted from previous bonus(es) and retroactive payment(s) during the current calendar year. Note: Calculation for the tax on bonus/retro pay may not be accurate if the accumulate deductions for CPP additional contributions deducted from previous bonus(es)/retroctive pay are not entered.

Important: Use payroll records to verify year-to-date earnings, deductions, benefits and vacation balances.

3. Payroll Calculator

• Other Hourly Rate: Enter this field when an employee's hourly rate changes during the current pay period. For example, if the regular rate increases from $30 to $32 per hour and the employee works 80 hours, enter 24 hours at the old rate and 56 hours at the new rate, using the applicable fields in the calculator.
• Taxable Benefit & A.: Taxable Benefit & Allowances, examples may include employer-provided parking, personal-use portions of cell phone or internet services, and employee training benefits, depending on the circumstances. See the CRA's Taxable benefits and allowances guidance.
• Pensionable Benefit & A.: Pensionable benefits and allowances, generally if a benefit and allowances is considered taxable by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), its value is also pensionable (subject to CPP). For details, please go to CRA website for Benefits and Allowances Chart. See the CRA's benefits and allowances guidance.
• Insurable Benefit & A.: Insurable benefits and allowances, generally if a benefit and allowances is paid in cash, it is considered insurable. For details, please go to CRA website for Benefits and Allowances Chart. Consult the CRA's benefits and allowances guidance.
• Insurable Employer RRSP: Insurable employer's contributions to the employee's RRSP, if employee can withdraw amounts freely from a group RRSP before he or she retires or ceases to be employed, except for the withdrawals under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) or Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP), the contributions will be considered insurable benefit for EI.

• Employee RRSP: Employee RRSP contributions may be deductible for income tax purposes, subject to CRA rules and the employee's available RRSP deduction limit. Eligible contributions deducted through payroll may reduce the remuneration used to calculate income tax withholding when CRA requirements are met. These contributions generally do not reduce CPP/QPP pensionable earnings or EI insurable earnings. Brief Payroll calculates the applicable income tax withholding adjustment for employee RRSP contributions.

  When you reduce the remuneration on which you have to deduct tax, CRA requires that you have to have reasonable grounds to believe that the employee can deduct the contribution for the year. Generally, we consider you to have reasonable grounds when your employee has given you confirmation that the contribution can be deducted for the year or you have a copy of the employee’s RRSP deduction limit statement from their notice of assessment.

• Union Dues: Eligible union dues paid by an employee may reduce the remuneration used to calculate income tax withholding. They generally do not reduce CPP/QPP pensionable earnings or EI insurable earnings. Brief Payroll accounts for eligible employee-paid union dues when calculating income tax withholding. The total eligible union dues for the calendar year are reported in T4 Box 44.
• Life Insurance: Employee-paid life insurance premiums generally do not reduce taxable income, CPP/QPP pensionable earnings, or EI insurable earnings. Employer-paid group employee life insurance is considered a taxable benefit to the employee and will be added to taxable income and pensionable earnings even though you never see the cash. A non-cash group term life insurance benefit is generally not included in EI insurable earnings. The benefit is generally included in T4 Box 14 (Employment income) and Box 26 (CPP/QPP pensionable earnings), and reported under Other information Box 40.
• Medical Insurance: Employee-paid portion of medical/health/dental insurance through payroll deductions generally do not reduce taxable income, CPP/QPP pensionable earnings, or EI insurable earnings. Where applicable, the total employee-paid premiums for the calendar year may be reported in T4 Box 85. You can claim these eligible premiums as part of Medical Expense Tax Credit (METC) on your tax return, provide the plan qualifies as a Private Health Services Plan (PHSP). For employer-paid contributions to an employee health or dental plan are generally a non-taxable benefit for federal income tax purposes, although different provincial tax rules may apply. Employees generally cannot claim the employer-paid portion as their own medical expense.

4. T4 Report

• Report Type Code: Report Type Code is required field when file T4 return to CRA. Select the report type that corresponds to the T4 return being filed. Brief Payroll defaults to "O - Original."
  • O - Original: An original T4 return.
  • A - Amendment: An amended T4 return.
  • C - Cancel: A cancellation of a previously filed T4 return.
  Note: An amended return must not include original slips, and conversely, an original return must not contain amended slips.
• CPP/QPP Exemption code: T4 Box 28, identifies whether the employee was exempt from CPP/QPP contributions, is required field by CRA. Select the exemption status based on the employee's circumstances and applicable CRA rules. Brief Payroll defaults to 0.
  • 0: - if no exemption applies or if the employee is exempt for a portion of the period
  • 1: - if the employee has been exempt from CPP or QPP for the entire period of employment for that taxation year due to age, nature of payment, etc.
• Employment Insurance Exemption code: T4 Box 28, identifies whether the employee was exempt from EI premium, is required field by CRA. Select the exemption status based on the employee's circumstances and applicable CRA rules. Brief Payroll defaults to 0.
  • 0: - if no exemption applies or if the employee is exempt for a portion of the period
  • 1: - if the employee has been exempt from EI premiums for the entire period of employment for that taxation year due to age, nature of employment, etc.
• Provincial Parental Insurance Plan (PPIP) Exemption code: T4 slip Box-28, For employees subject to PPIP select the applicable exemption option. Brief Payroll defaults to 0.
  • 0: - if no exemption applies
  • 1: - if the employee has been exempt
• Employer-offered dental benefits: T4 slip Box-45, Employer-offered dental benefits, is required field by CRA. Select the code that accurately reflects the coverage available:
  • 1: - Not eligible to access any dental care insurance, or coverage of dental services of any kind
  • 2: - Payee only
  • 3: - Payee, spouse and dependent children
  • 4: - Payee and their spouse
  • 5: - Payee and their dependent children

5. WCB Premiums

• Shareholders' Earnings: Wages, salaries, dividends, bonuses, shareholder draws, and other forms of payment should be included if they are paid to an active shareholder as remuneration unless these payments are included in Gross Payroll. A sole shareholder of a private company is deemed to be active.
• Payment to Subcontractors: If you don’t hire people on a contract basis, skip this line. If you do, you may be responsible for paying their premiums.
• Personal Coverage: This section does not apply to incorporated companies. The personal coverage is the amount requested by you and accepted by WCB.