Employment NOT subject to CPP

Do not deduct CPP contributions from payments for these types of employment:

• employment in agriculture, an agricultural enterprise, horticulture, fishing, hunting, trapping, forestry, logging, and lumbering, by an employer:
  • who pays the employee less than $250 in cash remuneration in a calendar year or
  • employs the employee for a period of less than 25 working days in the same year on terms providing for payment of cash remuneration - the working days don't have to be consecutive;

  Note
  In a calendar year, when the employee reaches both minimums - $250 or more in cash remuneration and works 25 days or more - the employment is pensionable starting from the first day of work.

• casual employment if it is for a purpose other than your usual trade or business;
• employment as a teacher on exchange from a foreign country;
• employment of a spouse or common-law partner if you cannot deduct the remuneration paid as an expense under the Income Tax Act;
• employment of your child or a person that you maintain if no cash remuneration is paid;
• employment of a person in a rescue including disaster operation, as long as you do not regularly employ that person for that purpose;
• employment of a person in connection with a circus, fair, parade, carnival, exposition, exhibition, or other similar activity, except for entertainers, if that person:
  • is not your regular employee; and
  • works for less than seven days in the year;

  Note
  When the employee works seven days or more, the employment is pensionable from the first day of work.

• employment by a government body as an election worker if the worker:
  • is not a regular employee of the government body; and
  • works for less than 35 hours in a calendar year;

  Note
  When the employee works 35 hours or more, the employment is pensionable from the first day worked.

• employment of a member of a religious order who has taken a vow of perpetual poverty. This applies whether the remuneration is paid directly to the order or the member pays it to the order.

For information on situations when CPP contributions are required, go to Amounts and benefits subject to CPP contributions.

If you are not sure whether you should deduct CPP after reading these pages, you can request a ruling.

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