Are you reporting your insurable earnings and premiums correctly?

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Timely, accurate and complete reporting and payment of your business’s insurable earnings can help you keep your business in good standing and avoid late reporting or late payment penalties and interest.

Under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, you’re responsible for:

  • providing accurate information when registering with us
  • providing us with periodic statements of insurable earnings
  • keeping detailed records
  • making sure construction contractors you hire have clearances
  • letting us know about any changes to your business within 10 calendar days

You can complete the self-evaluator to help you:

  • understand your roles and responsibilities
  • comply with legislative requirements
  • identify and address any issues in your insurable earnings, classification and premium reporting processes

We won’t record your responses anywhere. This tool is intended only as a helpful guide.

You can learn more about your responsibilities and managing your account. You may have questions or want to object to decisions about your account. The Workplace Safety and Insurance Act imposes time limits on appealing. You or your authorized representative must notify us in writing if you don’t understand the decision, have new information or would like to submit an objection form.

Reporting and paying premiums

You must accurately report your insurable earnings information and make the required payment by the due date. You can do so by logging into our online services.

Reporting frequencies are based on your annual insurable earnings. Businesses that report monthly also complete a reconciliation for the previous year each March.

Insurable earnings (even if they are zero) not reported by the due date will result in an administrative penalty.

Insurable earnings not reported by the due date will result in an administrative penalty, you must report zero if you have no insurable earnings.

Do you:

1. Report insurable earnings by the due date, even if you don’t have any insurable earnings for the reporting period? *
2. Make the required premium payment by the due date? *
3. Review your statement of account to ensure there is no outstanding balance owing? *

Classification and premium rates

Under our new premium rate-setting model, businesses are classified using the North American Industry Classifications System (NAICS), based on your business activities.

Each business activity may be assigned to a NAICS code if your business maintains accurate payroll records. See our Employer Classification Manual for more information.

Some functions, like administration, are considered ancillary because they support the main business, so they are not separately classified and the insurable earnings from your ancillary services must be prorated and reported under all supported business activities.

Businesses classified in one or more six-digit classification codes are generally assigned a single premium rate based on their predominant business activity. See details about our premium rate-setting model.

Do you:

1. Ensure that your business activities are accurately reflected in your NAICS codes?
2. Let us know within 10 days of any changes to your business activities?
3. Disclose to us any affiliation or association to other businesses?
4. Identify and report insurable earnings under the correct NAICS codes?
5. Prorate ancillary earnings if your business has more than one NAICS code?

Insurable earnings

Your premium = insurable earnings x premium rate ÷ 100

To calculate your premium, you would start by determining the gross earnings for each person you are responsible for insuring during the reporting period. See details on understanding and calculating your premiums, including the types of earnings to include and exclude.

If you work in the construction industry, see specific information on how to calculate your premiums based on your type of business.

Do you:

1. Include amounts paid to all employees you are responsible for insuring including, T4 employees, occasional labour and contractors considered to be your workers? *
2. Deduct excess earnings and/or executive officers? *
3. Ensure that any deduction made is listed in our policy on determining insurable earnings? *

Contractors

If your business hires the services of contractors, it is your responsibility to ensure that you protect your business from potential contractor liability by making sure that each contractor you hire has a clearance certificate.

Clearances are mandatory if the contractor you hire is performing construction work, and must be in place before any construction work begins. You must retain these clearance certificates for a minimum of three years.

If you hire someone under contract (not performing construction work), and they are not registered with us, you will need to confirm their status as either an independent operator or a worker for reporting purposes.

Do you:

1. Make sure contractors you hire have a clearance or confirm their status as either an independent operator or a worker? *
2. Keep copies of clearance certificates for contractors you hire for a minimum of three years? *
3. Report and pay premiums on the earnings of any contractor determined to be your worker by the WSIB? *