How to report insurable earnings

Reporting insurable earnings

Earnings to include

  • Total T4 earnings: the total earnings of your employee’s T4 slips, (line 14 of your total T4 Summary filed with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Deduct non-insurable earnings for out of province workers, severance, etc. (see non-insurable earnings).
  • Other earnings not on T4: includes, but not limited to, casual/occasional labour and earnings on your employees’ T4A. For more information, see appendix I of our Determining insurable earnings policy. Dividends paid to nonexempt executive officers in the construction industry are insurable.
  • Contractors: if you hired a contractor or subcontractor, you’ll need to confirm their status as either an independent operator or an employee (worker) by completing a Determining Worker/Independent Operator Status questionnaire.  
  • Volunteer forces: only businesses with volunteer forces, such as fire, ambulance and police should complete the volunteer forces schedule enclosed with your reconciliation form. For more information, see our policy on volunteer forces. 
  • Optional insurance: sole proprietors, independent operators, partners and executive officers that work outside the construction industry are not automatically covered by WSIB benefits unless they apply for optional insurance.  

Earnings to deduct

  • Non-insurable earnings: amounts that do not need to be included in your insurable earnings calculation. If included in your reported Total T4 earnings, you may deduct these amounts when calculating your WSIB insurable earnings. For more information, see earnings to exclude. 
  • Executive officers: are the individual(s) that control the direction or key functions of the organization. They are not automatically covered under the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act 1997 (WSIA) and their earnings are not considered insurable unless they work in construction, or they have optional insurance. We determine who is an executive officer for our purposes.
  • Excess earnings: the WSIB sets an annual maximum for insurable earnings based on the average industrial wage for Ontario. Once an individual’s earnings reach the annual maximum, you do not need to report the earnings that go above the maximum.

Reporting your premiums

Our online service for premium reporting helps you accurately calculate and report your payroll information. Even if your payroll is zero, you must report. You can also calculate and report your premium using the bottom portion of the remittance form and mail it with your payment using the return envelope.

Your premium reporting will be processed immediately through our online services or within three to five business days of receiving your request if you report by mail/email.

Paying your premiums

You can pay your premiums:

* There is a 2.25 per cent service charge for using Visa or MasterCard credit, and a 1.75 per cent service charge for using Visa Debit, and Debit MasterCard payments. We do not receive any part of this service fee; it goes directly to our online payment provider, Paymentus.

Your premium payment will be processed immediately through our online services or within three to five business days of receiving your payment if you pay using a different option.

Common reporting errors

  • Expanded compulsory coverage in construction: independent operators, sole proprietors, some partners in a partnership and some executive officers who work in construction are required to have WSIB coverage
  • Contractor or subcontractor earnings: failing to report payments to contractors considered to be an employee (worker) by the WSIB
  • Insurable earnings not reported: failing to report earnings that should be included in your insurable earnings like vacation pay, bonuses, commissions, sick pay, taxable benefits, etc.
  • Executive officer earnings: deducting earnings of individuals who have been determined not to be executive officers
  • Excess earnings: deducting earnings that result in less than the maximum insurable earnings being reported
  • Prorating ancillary earnings: reporting ancillary earnings using the class/subclass with the lowest premium rate, if you have more than one North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code

Our premium rate setting model

Learn more about how premium rates are set and adjusted.

Changes to your business

Let us know about any changes to your business within 10 calendar days. Changes can include a change in a legal name, change in ownership, address change, starting a new business activity or the closure of your business.