Payroll services in Regina

No provincial payroll tax, and what that leaves

Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia all charge an employer payroll levy once payroll passes an exemption. Saskatchewan does not. For a Regina employer, the statutory costs on top of gross pay are the employer share of CPP and EI and the WCB premium. That makes the cost of a new hire easier to predict, and it removes one annual return from the calendar.

It does not remove the income tax side. Provincial income tax is still withheld from each cheque, using Saskatchewan tables and the employee’s federal TD1 and provincial TD1SK claims, and remitted to the CRA with the federal deductions. There is no separate provincial remittance to make.

For an owner deciding whether to hire in Regina or keep using subcontractors, that simplicity is worth pricing properly. The true cost of an employee is gross pay plus the employer CPP and EI share, the WCB premium at your rate code, vacation pay and statutory holiday pay under Saskatchewan employment standards. We work that number out before the offer, not after the first pay run.

WCB Saskatchewan, by rate code

Most Regina employers must register with the Saskatchewan Workers’ Compensation Board. Premiums are calculated by applying the rate for the employer’s industry code to assessable payroll, so a business classified under the wrong code pays the wrong rate for every dollar of wages. The annual payroll statement reconciles estimates to actual wages, and a large seasonal crew can turn that reconciliation into a bill.

Two points catch owners out. Coverage for directors and owners is treated differently from employee coverage, so check your own position rather than assuming you are included. And a hiring business can be held responsible where a subcontractor has no account of their own, so confirm each sub’s standing before paying them. Contractor accounting in Regina goes further on that.

Remittances on a schedule that moves

Source deductions are due on a schedule set by your average monthly withholding amount. A small employer typically remits monthly; a larger one remits more often. The schedule is reviewed as payroll grows, so the frequency you started on is not necessarily the one you are on now. Penalties attach to late remittances of deductions held in trust, which makes a missed date expensive out of proportion to the amount.

We put every remittance on a calendar tied to the pay cycle and keep the RP account reconciled to the payroll register each month.

Seasonal crews and records of employment

Regina payrolls breathe. Farms add help for seeding and harvest. Contractors hire for the building season and lay off when the ground freezes. Energy services firms staff up for a drilling program and release crews when it ends. Each of those layoffs needs a record of employment issued on time, with the insurable hours and earnings right, because the former employee’s EI claim depends on it.

Employees working away from home raise their own questions: board and lodging at a remote site, travel between home and a camp, and per-day allowances. Some of that is non-taxable where the conditions are met, and some is a taxable benefit that belongs on the T4. We sort it at the pay run, not at year-end.

Year-end slips and the February deadline

T4, T4A and T5 slips are all due by the last day of February. A Regina owner-manager often needs more than one: a T4 for their own salary, T4s for staff, a T5 for dividends paid to family shareholders, and T4A slips for certain fees. Construction businesses add T5018 slips for payments to subcontractors, due six months after the reporting period.

We reconcile the slips to the remittances and the general ledger before filing, so the CRA’s own year-end reconciliation finds nothing to query. The payroll year-end checklist lists what we check.

What is covered

One CPA handles the whole payroll file:

• Pay runs, pay stubs and direct deposit files on your schedule
• CPP, EI and income tax calculated with Saskatchewan tables
• CRA remittances on your assigned frequency
• WCB Saskatchewan registration, rate code review and annual statement
• Records of employment, T4, T4A and T5 slips
• Payroll entries posted to the ledger so the books agree

EverStone runs this from 32615 South Fraser Way in Abbotsford, with no Regina office and no local staff. Timesheets arrive through a secure upload link, approvals by email, and pay goes out by direct deposit. Bookkeeping in Regina pairs with it, so payroll entries never need reconstructing.