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CRA’s $10 Billion COVID Payback Wave: What It Means for Your Household

If you collected CERB or CRB during the pandemic, the risk is not just a scary letter. It is a real, enforceable debt that can disrupt refunds, paycheques, and cash flow. Here is what’s happening and how to protect yourself before the CRA tightens the screws.

The Numbers Behind the Crackdown

The CRA says about $14 billion in COVID benefits went to people who did not meet income rules. About $4 billion has been recovered, leaving $10 billion still owed.

Why People Are Getting Hit Years Later

Reviews came after the emergency rollout. Common triggers include:

• Missing the $5,000 minimum net earnings test

• Confusing net vs. gross income

• Self-employment income reporting issues

Enforcement Is Getting Sharper

The CRA can collect by:

• Offsetting refunds and future credits

• Garnishing wages or other income sources

• Freezing accounts in serious cases

Callout: CRA debt does not “time out.” Waiting is not a strategy, it is a penalty multiplier.

What To Do If You Get a Repayment Notice

Move fast:

• Request a review if you disagree

• Gather proof of income and eligibility

• Set up a payment plan before collections escalate

The Bottom Line

Pandemic benefits are turning into long-tail tax debt for many Canadians. Treat every CRA notice like a deadline, not a suggestion, and act early to keep control of your finances.

Source- CBC News

Make 2026 Your Best Year: A 9-Step Money and Mindset Reset (Without the Motivational Fluff)

A long video won’t change your life on its own. The upside in Alex Hormozi’s 2026 talk is the structure: it moves from getting stable financially, to building confidence, to playing a longer wealth-building game. The win is turning those lessons into a simple weekly system you can actually follow.

The 9 Lessons, Grouped Into What Matters

Hormozi’s timestamps land in four practical buckets:

• Stability first: what to do when money is tight, how to “win” early

• Confidence building: skill, repetition, and earned self-trust

• Wealth creation: the 10-year view, compounding, leverage

• Ambition management: hard truths, avoiding distraction, staying consistent

A Cleaner Way to Use the Video

Don’t binge it like entertainment. Treat it like a playbook:

• pick one lesson that hits your current problem

• write three actions you can repeat weekly

• schedule them before you watch the next section

2026 Weekly Execution Plan

Callout: The only content that matters is the content you convert into a repeatable routine.

Where Most People Waste This Opportunity

• they watch for motivation, not implementation

• they take notes, then change nothing

• they try to “fix everything” instead of building one strong habit first

Waiting for the “Perfect Time” to Move? That Delay Can Be Expensive.

For homeowners, the decision isn’t driven by the headline price. It’s driven by the spread: the difference between what you sell and what you buy.

If your home would likely sell for less than it did 18 months ago, the property you’re targeting may also be priced lower. Combined with today’s reduced rates, this can create a more workable path to upgrade or downsize without overextending your budget.

Considering a move? Let’s run the numbers and map out a confident next step.

✨ Contact Genelle Today

Five 2026 Tax Changes Canadians Should Build Into Their Money Plan

Tax updates matter when they change your paycheque, refund, or contribution room. Here are the 2026 shifts Canadians should bake into their planning now.

1) Contribution limits

• TFSA limit stays $7,000

• RRSP annual dollar cap rises to $33,810 (up from $32,490)

2) Lower first-bracket rate for a full year

2026 is the first full year the bottom federal rate is 14% (down from 15%).

3) Federal brackets move up

Thresholds are indexed by 2%. The first bracket now tops out at $58,523 (vs. $57,375).

4) Basic personal amount increases

You can earn up to $16,452 before federal tax applies (up from $16,129). For most Canadians, the maximum federal credit is $2,303.

Callout: Re-run your tax math for 2026. Old thresholds lead to bad instalment estimates and sloppy withholding.

5) Less paper, more self-serve

Paper tax packages will not be mailed automatically. CRA online services are expanding, including account credential resets and online payment plans for tax debts of $1,000+.

Conclusion

Adjust contributions early, sanity-check payroll deductions, and use My Account tools to stay ahead of surprises.

You May Have Unclaimed CRA Money Sitting in Your Name

Fraser explains in our video how to quickly check CRA My Account for unclaimed payments and what to do if you find one.

It’s more common than people think: Canadians miss refunds or benefit cheques because they were never deposited, were mailed to an old address, or got misplaced. The good news is you can review this directly inside CRA My Account in under a minute.

Where to Look

Log in to CRA My Account and go to:

• Uncashed cheques

@taxmechanic

💰 CRA could be HIDING money in your account right now 👀 Most Canadians don’t even know about this… some have HUNDREDS or THOUSANDS waiting... See more

If an amount appears there, it means the CRA issued money that hasn’t been cashed. In many cases, you can request a replacement.

Callout: Government of Canada cheques do not expire, so older uncashed payments may still be claimable.

Check it today, then share this with someone who rarely logs into their CRA account.