Annual Return Help
Workers' compensation provides your workers with the benefits and services needed to help them get back to work safely when an injury happens. A worker is anyone who works:
Volunteers or unpaid workers are automatically considered workers under the workers' compensation system if you're a for-profit employer operating in a compulsory industry.
Enter the total gross worker earnings before deductions from T4 Summary of Remuneration Paid (Box 14 and 71) and other employment earnings records. Do not include earnings for directors, proprietors or partners.
Include any additional worker earnings reported on other employment earnings records.
Do not exclude individual worker earnings above WCB-Alberta�s annual maximum earnings.
Total gross worker earnings are equivalent to gross employment income paid. These earnings include taxable benefits and allowances before deductions (where �deductions� include income tax, Employment Insurance and Canada Pension Plan contributions).
The WCB covers the earnings of all workers based on your company�s industry, regardless of worker occupation. Covered workers include administrative, dual function and clerical personnel.
If your company operates in more than one WCB industry and you have staff who administer all industries, you may report the earnings of administrative workers under the �Administrative Earnings� column.
Line G-1 should include all assessable earnings. For a list of assessable and non-assessable earnings, click here.
If your company operates in more than one industry:
You can report administrative earnings under a separate column. Administrative workers support all of the operations of your company, regardless of industry. If your administrative workers do not support all of your active industries, do not report these workers under the administrative earnings column, but include their earnings under the industries to which they are assigned.
Enter the average number of workers employed in the prior year. For example:
Example A: Business with workers throughout the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Average Number of Workers | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Workers | 5 | 6 | 2 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 workers on average (53 total workers/12 months) |
The average number of workers for the year is 4.
Example B: Seasonal business that only operates 5 months of the year
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Average Number of Workers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Workers | 5 | 5 | 10 | 10 | 5 | 7 workers on average (35 total workers/5 months) |
The average number of workers for the year is 7.
Calculate excess earnings over the individual maximum entered on lines G-1 and G-5. The field is mandatory; if no worker earned more than $102,100, enter a zero on line G-2.
For an example of how to calculate G-2, consider the following company with three workers:
| name | individual worker earnings | individual maximum | excess over maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worker One | $35,000 | $102,100 | $0 |
| Worker Two | $108,100 | $102,100 | $6,000 |
| Worker Three | $105,100 | $102,100 | $3,000 |
| total excess over maximum | $9,000 | ||
In the example, the amount $9,000 would be entered on line G-2.
If you have workers whose total annual earnings exceed the WCB-Alberta 2023 maximum ($102,100) and part of those earnings are being reported to workers’ compensation boards in another province, the excess earnings must be prorated.
To calculate the prorated excess earnings of each worker:
Note 1: Line G-2 should include the above worker’s prorated excess of $5,530, as well as any excess earnings (over $102,100) for other employees working exclusively in Alberta.
Note 2: The earnings of workers employed by more than one legal entity must be reported separately. The earnings under each legal entity are insurable to the Alberta maximum. If one of your workers is also employed by another Alberta company, report the full amount earned by the worker at your organization and deduct earnings that exceed the $102,100 maximum on line G-2.
You can obtain more information on prorating excess earnings between provinces here.
Do not include directors’, proprietors’ or partners’ excess earnings on line G-2.
From the excess earnings reported in G-2, report the number of workers that are included in this total.
If you are participating in a provincial government program that paid all or part of worker wages and you included these earnings in line G-1 or G-5, please refer to your wage subsidy application for confirmation of any earnings that may be deductible and enter the amount here.
If line G-1 or G-5 includes earnings reported to the workers’ compensation boards of other provinces or territories, enter the amounts in line G-4. Employers who participate in the Interjurisdictional Trucking Agreement should report their workers’ total assessable earnings to the workers’ compensation authority from the workers’ home province(s).
Other earnings are sometimes overlooked because a T4 isn't issued or the earnings aren't considered to be insurable for WCB purposes.
These other earnings that should be included are casual or short-term workers, unpaid labour (a value of service is required and to be included in your assessable earnings), and tips/gratuities, regardless of the payment method. For a comprehensive list of what is considered assessable earnings, click here.
(For organizations operating in multiple industries only):
If you have staff who administer all of your operations and cannot be assigned to a single industry, you should enter their earnings under the column heading �Administrative Earnings�. The earnings of administrative workers will automatically be prorated across industries.
On the other hand, if your organization�s administrative workers are not shared across industries, you should include their earnings under the appropriate industries.