If you’re self-employed, you can participate in the Employment Insurance (EI) special benefits program by entering into an agreement with the Canadian Employment Insurance Commission through Service Canada. You’ll be entitled to benefits for parents of critically ill children and for any compassionate care, sickness, maternity, or parental needs. To calculate your EI premiums based on your income this year, use Schedule 13: Employment insurance premiums on self-employment and other eligible earnings.
If you were self-employed or a member of a partnership
If you were self-employed (had income from a business, commissions, farming, etc.) and/or were a member of a partnership during the year, you’ll need to enter your net income from these activities on the Schedule 13 page. You also need to complete the applicable self-employment or partnership page in H&R Block’s tax software:
- Business or professional income and expenses (T2125)
- Statement of farming activities (T2042)
- Statement of fishing activities (T2121)
- Statement of partnership income (T5013)
To get your self-employment or partnership net income amount, go to the SUMMARY page on the WRAP-UP tab. Download your PDF tax summary and add the amounts shown on line 122 and lines 135 to 143.
Note: Remember, don’t include any amounts that are shown on your T4 slip.
If you work for a corporation
If you work for a corporation, but don’t have access to EI benefits because you control more than 40% of their voting shares, you’ll need to enter your total employment income from this corporation on Schedule 13. You can calculate your total employment income by adding the amount shown in box 14 of all T4s you received from that corporation.
Keep in mind, your T4 slip might include certain amounts that aren’t considered insurable earnings. If you received any of the following amounts, don’t include it in your employment income; instead contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to find out the amount you need to exclude from your calculation:
- non-cash benefits (other than the value of board and lodging)
- contributions made by your employer to your employee group RRSP where access to the funds is restricted
- certain amounts paid by your employer to you to cover the waiting period or to increase the maternity, parental, or compassionate care benefits
- top-up amounts paid by your employer to you in addition to worker's compensation benefits
Do I complete Schedule 13 if I’m a resident of Québec?
If you’re a self-employed resident of Québec, you’re entitled to maternity, paternity, and parental benefits through the Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP), as long as you pay your QPIP premiums. You can use Schedule 13 to calculate your premiums if you’ve entered into an agreement to receive other EI benefits.
Note: To access the appropriate version of Schedule 13 when using H&R Block’s tax software, make sure that you tell us that you lived in Québec when you complete the GET STARTED section of your return.
Where do I claim this?
If you were self-employed, follow these steps in H&R Block’s 2017 tax software:
- On the PREPARE tab, click the IN THIS SECTION icon.
- Under Income from self-employment, a business you own, or a profession (lawyer, accountant, etc.) and related expenses (vehicle, advertising, travel, etc.), click the Add This button.
- Click the EMPLOYMENT icon. You'll find yourself here:
- Under the EXPENSES heading, select the checkbox labelled EI premiums on self-employment and other eligible earnings (Schedule 13), then click Continue.
- When you arrive at the page for your EI premiums on self-employment and other eligible earnings, enter your information into the tax software.
If you worked for a corporation, enter your T4 slips under the QUICK SLIP icon on the QUICK ENTRY tab. Then, follow steps 3 to 5 listed above.
