Professional membership dues you pay on behalf of an employee or reimburse to an employee constitute a taxable benefit for the employee if the dues are required by a professional association for the purposes of maintaining a professional status recognized by law. Likewise, if you pay or reimburse an employee's initial registration fees, this also constitutes a taxable benefit for the employee.

The value of the benefit is equal to:

• the amount you pay (including taxes) 

minus

• any amount the employee reimburses you

You have to include the value of the benefit in boxes A and L and, where applicable, in box G or box I of the employee's RL-1 slip (see courtesy translation RL-1-T). For more information, go to the Benefit Provided to an Employee page.

Tax-exempt benefit

We may consider that such a payment or reimbursement is not a taxable benefit if the facts show that the payment or reimbursement is entirely or almost entirely for the employer's benefit. This may be the case where an employee is not hired to practise their profession and does not perform any act pertaining to the profession, but you require them to maintain a professional status recognized by law simply for prestige.

Professional liability insurance premiums

If you pay or reimburse an employee's professional liability insurance premiums, the payment of which is required for the purposes of the employee's duties, the employee does not receive a taxable benefit. We consider payment of the premium to be directly connected to the duties the employee performs for you and you to be the main beneficiary.