Taxable Benefit / Training
Archived Financial Policies
For information on Archived Financial Policies or to locate a specific policy, please provide any applicable information regarding the nature of your request and send an email to NC-CFOB-Financial_Policy_Questions_Politique_Financière-GD. A member of the Financial Policy team will get back to you to provide assistance.
This communiqué is ancilliary to information provided by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) information of which is provided at the links below and, --- as the title suggests --- provides information on the treatment of Training as a Taxable Benefit.
1) Tuition fees, scholarships, and
2) Employer's Guide - Taxable Benefits & Allowances
The Canada Revenue Agency has developed guidelines on employer-paid educational costs to help determine a taxable benefit for employees (see link (2) above). When training is mainly a benefit for HRSDC, there is no taxable benefit attributable to the employee regardless whether or not the training leads to a degree, diploma, or certificate. A taxable benefit arises when the training is mainly for the benefit of the employee.
Note that the policy objective of TB Policy on Learning, Training and Development is "to build a skilled, well-trained and professional workforce; to strengthen organizational leadership; and to adopt leading-edge management practices to encourage innovation and continuous improvements in performance."
The following is a direct quote from CRA Employer's Guide.
"The guidelines consider three broad categories of training:
Specific employment-related training. We generally consider that courses taken to maintain or upgrade employment-related skills are mainly for your benefit when it is reasonable to assume that the employee will resume his or her employment for a reasonable period of time after he or she completes the course. For example, tuition fees and other associated costs such as books, meals, travel, and accommodation that you pay for courses leading to a degree, diploma, or certificate in a field related to your employee’s current or future responsibilities in your business are not a taxable benefit.
General employment related training. We generally consider that other business-related courses, although not directly related to your own business, are taken mainly for your benefit. For example, fees you pay for stress management, employment equity, first-aid, and language courses are not a taxable benefit.
Personal interest training. We consider that courses for personal interest or technical skills not related to your business are taken mainly for the employee’s benefit and, therefore, are a taxable benefit."