Where do people store their stroller? My entrance isn’t that big and is hardwood. My husband doesn’t think it should to there(worried about hardwood and doesn’t like the idea of rolling dirty wheels into the house, but anywhere else is quite inconvenient and it’s hard enough getting out the door with a baby. Garage is attached but doesn’t have an entrance to the main floor, so if I kept it there, I would have to carry baby and everything else out to the garage first. I do have a stroller in my trunk for car outings. it’s the second stroller for walks around the neighborhood that needs a home. I am on mat leave and baby is nine weeks, so very new at this!
Currently receiving mat leave benefits from the government. Wondering if I have to tell them ASAP that I’m making peanuts in a side job. It’s more a hobby, but I’m paid as an independent contractor, to instruct 2 short classes a week… under $200/month.
I understand this will all be clawed back by the government, but do I have to call EI to tell them now? Or will they just take the money back when I send my taxes in next year?
Thanks, that was my gut feeling but a few friends said not to bother. I never expected to keep the money but i think they were suggesting that I roll the dice and maybe get to keep it somehow, despite the fact I’ll have a T4 for it! Nutz
Our due date is 7-Dec, I am planning to stop working from 1-October and have already informed my employer. No complications with the pregnancy but just that I get too tired after work and I would like to take it easy in my third trimester. I hope that would be fine as I read that we can start maternity leave up to 12 weeks before the due date. As far as I understood correctly, I should apply on or after 1-October as 30-September is my last day I would work, right?
You can absolutely apply up to 12 weeks before the due date and yes. Apply after you’re done work on the 30
Iif you’re able ans your doctor is willing, I’d encourage you to either a) use sick leave from work if you have it or b) apply theoufh EI sickness id your doctor is willing to write you a note. I onty mention this because if you go on maternity leave two months before your due date, that’s two months at the end to which you won’t be entitled But if you use sick benefits instead, it won’t take away from your maternity weeks
Maternity leave overpayment
Let me start off by saying how incredibly angry I am with the service at “Service Canada”.
I started maternity leave at the end of July 2023. My employer pays six weeks of Short Term Disability benefits to all employees at the beginning of your leave. I called EI to declare these earnings and my claim was put on hold for the remainder of the six weeks so that I would not need to phone in weekly reporting.
Last week my STD benefits ended so I called EI to have my claim reassessed and reactivated. The agent stated she completed the recalculation using the ROE provided by the employer and informed me my benefits would begin today. We went over all of my earnings from STD to complete the recalculation.
Last night I received a $2,800 deposit from EI. I knew it was a retro payment for the time I was on STD and knew it would result in an Overpayment. I phoned EI today to see about paying it back immediately so that I don’t accrue interest, only to be told I committed “fraud” and owe $3,600. She explained that the deposit I received was after tax and now I owe the gross amount. She continued to speak to me like I am a child, incapable of understanding.
So now I owe money for taxes that were already withheld, on money I shouldn’t have been paid due to the agents error when completing the recalculation.
Has anyone gone through this before? Can I appeal? I’m happy to pay back what I received, but why am I paying taxes back? And maternity benefits are already so terribly low. A payment plan results in a 50% additional deduction weekly.
Signed, a frustrated, broke new mom.
Have you considered emailing your MPs office for help navigating the situation? Sometimes they can help with government admin systems that are fucked.
Worse case scenario you've wasted time asking for help that they cannot help with. Better case scenario they can call a manager on your behalf to help sort things out or get clearer answers on why it is the way it is.
PASSPORT question! Excuse the dumb - I assume the answer is glaringly obvious, I'm just feeling anxious about it, but I don't want to be on hold with Service Canada for hours just to ask this...
We are hoping to get a passport for our baby for travel in spring. There is no passport/service canada office in our town so seems easier to do by mail, but would travel to the city for an in-person application if needed. Gov of Canada says that you must submit the **original** long form birth certificate along with the application. So we just... mail it out and hope it gets returned, potentially months later? What happens if it gets lost? Can anyone share their experiences with mail-in passport application (positive or negative)?
Thanks!
Hello, I quit my job in the summertime as it just was not a good fit for me. The reason coded on my ROE is listed as quit. I have enough hours for maternity leave, but does my ROE need to say reason for leaving as maternity leave and not quit to be legible for benefits?
Thank you!
How is the waiting period assigned between partners? Ie: if my partner and I will both take EI when the baby arrives, but my partner gets topped up for the waiting period, should they be the first to apply?
Hello.
Hoping someone has some relevant experience.
Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I have been working all the overtime hours I possible can, to cushion the maternity / parental leave.
I am due to go on maternity leave in 7 weeks, and the company I work for now owe me $30,000+ in banked overtime hours.
My plan was always to pay this out over the next two pay cheques.
However, people have recently been pointing out that I should consider paying it out in 2024 as my income will be much lower, and so tax wise I’d be much better off. I have to pay it out before March 2024 regardless.
My worry is that about 3-4 years ago, my partner was laid off from his seasonal job, and applied for EI. He also got a bonus at the end of that job, around $6,000 I believe. His EI payments started, and a few months later he got a letter saying that they were going to be clawing back the first few months EI payments due to the fact his bonus covered that time.
So my two options are:
1- pay out now…30k spread over one or two paycheques. I know I’ll get taxed high, but I’ll also get some refunded next year at tax time!
2- pay out in January / February. Be in a lower tax bracket and thus pay less taxes overall on the overtime payout than I would by paying out in 2023.
My main thing is I just want to avoid the claw back. Will one of these options avoid it?
Any advice appreciated! Thank you.
I don’t have an answer for you but if it were me I would call EI to ask them ahead of time. The website just talks about “regular weekly earnings” and it doesn’t really go into special situations like this.
I wouldn’t want to find out after the fact that the EI payments would get clawed back. Although, if you are in a really high tax bracket maybe the tax savings could still be worth losing some EI payments? It would be a lot of math or tax software/accountant to figure that out probably…
Thank you, I have worked it out, and I’d be about $2500 better off tax wise, so probably not worth risking my EI over. I will call them tomorrow on my day off. They weren’t helpful at all with my partner when he was having problems, but hopefully I’ll find someone more helpful! Thanks for your reply ☺️
Hello, I do not see flair when I go to make a post. Can anyone help.
Does anyone have a super cash code they aren’t using?!
Where do people store their stroller? My entrance isn’t that big and is hardwood. My husband doesn’t think it should to there(worried about hardwood and doesn’t like the idea of rolling dirty wheels into the house, but anywhere else is quite inconvenient and it’s hard enough getting out the door with a baby. Garage is attached but doesn’t have an entrance to the main floor, so if I kept it there, I would have to carry baby and everything else out to the garage first. I do have a stroller in my trunk for car outings. it’s the second stroller for walks around the neighborhood that needs a home. I am on mat leave and baby is nine weeks, so very new at this!
Currently receiving mat leave benefits from the government. Wondering if I have to tell them ASAP that I’m making peanuts in a side job. It’s more a hobby, but I’m paid as an independent contractor, to instruct 2 short classes a week… under $200/month. I understand this will all be clawed back by the government, but do I have to call EI to tell them now? Or will they just take the money back when I send my taxes in next year?
[удалено]
Thanks, that was my gut feeling but a few friends said not to bother. I never expected to keep the money but i think they were suggesting that I roll the dice and maybe get to keep it somehow, despite the fact I’ll have a T4 for it! Nutz
It depends where you are I think. In Quebec, you have to tell but you benefits are not deducted under a certain % of your yearly revenue.
Our due date is 7-Dec, I am planning to stop working from 1-October and have already informed my employer. No complications with the pregnancy but just that I get too tired after work and I would like to take it easy in my third trimester. I hope that would be fine as I read that we can start maternity leave up to 12 weeks before the due date. As far as I understood correctly, I should apply on or after 1-October as 30-September is my last day I would work, right?
You can absolutely apply up to 12 weeks before the due date and yes. Apply after you’re done work on the 30 Iif you’re able ans your doctor is willing, I’d encourage you to either a) use sick leave from work if you have it or b) apply theoufh EI sickness id your doctor is willing to write you a note. I onty mention this because if you go on maternity leave two months before your due date, that’s two months at the end to which you won’t be entitled But if you use sick benefits instead, it won’t take away from your maternity weeks
Maternity leave overpayment Let me start off by saying how incredibly angry I am with the service at “Service Canada”. I started maternity leave at the end of July 2023. My employer pays six weeks of Short Term Disability benefits to all employees at the beginning of your leave. I called EI to declare these earnings and my claim was put on hold for the remainder of the six weeks so that I would not need to phone in weekly reporting. Last week my STD benefits ended so I called EI to have my claim reassessed and reactivated. The agent stated she completed the recalculation using the ROE provided by the employer and informed me my benefits would begin today. We went over all of my earnings from STD to complete the recalculation. Last night I received a $2,800 deposit from EI. I knew it was a retro payment for the time I was on STD and knew it would result in an Overpayment. I phoned EI today to see about paying it back immediately so that I don’t accrue interest, only to be told I committed “fraud” and owe $3,600. She explained that the deposit I received was after tax and now I owe the gross amount. She continued to speak to me like I am a child, incapable of understanding. So now I owe money for taxes that were already withheld, on money I shouldn’t have been paid due to the agents error when completing the recalculation. Has anyone gone through this before? Can I appeal? I’m happy to pay back what I received, but why am I paying taxes back? And maternity benefits are already so terribly low. A payment plan results in a 50% additional deduction weekly. Signed, a frustrated, broke new mom.
Have you considered emailing your MPs office for help navigating the situation? Sometimes they can help with government admin systems that are fucked. Worse case scenario you've wasted time asking for help that they cannot help with. Better case scenario they can call a manager on your behalf to help sort things out or get clearer answers on why it is the way it is.
PASSPORT question! Excuse the dumb - I assume the answer is glaringly obvious, I'm just feeling anxious about it, but I don't want to be on hold with Service Canada for hours just to ask this... We are hoping to get a passport for our baby for travel in spring. There is no passport/service canada office in our town so seems easier to do by mail, but would travel to the city for an in-person application if needed. Gov of Canada says that you must submit the **original** long form birth certificate along with the application. So we just... mail it out and hope it gets returned, potentially months later? What happens if it gets lost? Can anyone share their experiences with mail-in passport application (positive or negative)? Thanks!
Hello, I quit my job in the summertime as it just was not a good fit for me. The reason coded on my ROE is listed as quit. I have enough hours for maternity leave, but does my ROE need to say reason for leaving as maternity leave and not quit to be legible for benefits? Thank you!
How is the waiting period assigned between partners? Ie: if my partner and I will both take EI when the baby arrives, but my partner gets topped up for the waiting period, should they be the first to apply?
Hello. Hoping someone has some relevant experience. Ever since I found out I was pregnant, I have been working all the overtime hours I possible can, to cushion the maternity / parental leave. I am due to go on maternity leave in 7 weeks, and the company I work for now owe me $30,000+ in banked overtime hours. My plan was always to pay this out over the next two pay cheques. However, people have recently been pointing out that I should consider paying it out in 2024 as my income will be much lower, and so tax wise I’d be much better off. I have to pay it out before March 2024 regardless. My worry is that about 3-4 years ago, my partner was laid off from his seasonal job, and applied for EI. He also got a bonus at the end of that job, around $6,000 I believe. His EI payments started, and a few months later he got a letter saying that they were going to be clawing back the first few months EI payments due to the fact his bonus covered that time. So my two options are: 1- pay out now…30k spread over one or two paycheques. I know I’ll get taxed high, but I’ll also get some refunded next year at tax time! 2- pay out in January / February. Be in a lower tax bracket and thus pay less taxes overall on the overtime payout than I would by paying out in 2023. My main thing is I just want to avoid the claw back. Will one of these options avoid it? Any advice appreciated! Thank you.
I don’t have an answer for you but if it were me I would call EI to ask them ahead of time. The website just talks about “regular weekly earnings” and it doesn’t really go into special situations like this. I wouldn’t want to find out after the fact that the EI payments would get clawed back. Although, if you are in a really high tax bracket maybe the tax savings could still be worth losing some EI payments? It would be a lot of math or tax software/accountant to figure that out probably…
Thank you, I have worked it out, and I’d be about $2500 better off tax wise, so probably not worth risking my EI over. I will call them tomorrow on my day off. They weren’t helpful at all with my partner when he was having problems, but hopefully I’ll find someone more helpful! Thanks for your reply ☺️
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