Each year, employers with workers are required to fill out an annual Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) return by Feb. 28. For employers, this annual return reports their workers’ assessable earnings paid in the last year and the estimated earnings they expect to pay in the upcoming year.
New this year: Employers will no longer receive an annual return PIN letter in the mail. To submit an annual return, employers will log into myWCB and select file my annual return starting Jan. 1, 2021. If an employer does not have a myWCB account, they can sign up here.
If you are a CPA who works in public practice, to ensure you can successfully submit your client’s annual return, you should reach out to your clients to coordinate getting a myWCB account established. Your client will need to give you the appropriate access in order to submit an annual return on their behalf.
When filing an annual return on behalf of your client, please ensure you review their personal coverage option. If you are declining personal coverage on their behalf, it is important that you relay this to your client to ensure they are aware of what this decision entails. The benefits of having personal coverage include:
- Protection against loss of employment income. If your injury or illness is work related and the individual is unable to work, they will receive compensation for lost earnings.
- Comprehensive medical and rehabilitation services with no preset limits to help the individual return to work.
- Risk management. Workers’ compensation personal coverage is the only insurance that offers protection from lawsuits for an individual and other parties covered.
- A smoother bidding process. Personal coverage is a requirement of some contracts.
For more information about what’s new this year, please visit WCB’s website and reference document on the annual returns page. This year’s deadline for submitting returns is Feb. 28, 2021.
Need help? Visit the WCB website or call the contact centre toll free at 1-866-922-9221, 780-498-3999 in Edmonton or 403-517-6000 in Calgary.
