HSPBA: Professional Fees Reimbursement

HSA members under the HSPBA bargaining unit may submit a receipt for reimbursement to cover 60% of the fees related to one professional body of your choice. We encourage you to apply for the most expensive fee you will pay in 2025. 

Applications for reimbursement will be accepted here beginning at 12 noon Pacific time on Wednesday, May 21.

Please visit the member contact information update form to ensure that your contact information is up to date before applying.

Email: @email

Due to the very high volume of submissions please DO NOT call the HSA office or send follow-up emails as we will not be able to respond to individual inquiries.  You may want to consult the FAQ’s on the website for the fund.

You may submit a receipt for reimbursement to cover 60% of the fees related to one professional body of your choice. We encourage you to apply for the most expensive fee you will pay in 2025. 

Applications will stay open until the end of 2025; please submit your application once you have paid your most expensive fee.
 
The application process is exclusively online and will not open until noon on Wednesday, May 21. To apply for reimbursement, HSA requires you to have a personal email on file with the union. To update your contact information, use this form. And please complete the entire application, as incomplete applications will sadly be rejected.
 
Before you access the application, please make sure that you have the following information on hand:

• A completed digital copy of HSA’s electronic banking information form (a link to a downloadable and form fillable link is provided in the application process). This allows us to reimburse you by direct deposit.
• A digital copy (picture or scan) of a void cheque or blank PAD (pre-authorized debit) form in your name from your financial institution. We ask that you submit a new copy even if you submitted one last year, as we want to be certain that your reimbursement is sent to the correct bank or credit union account.
• A digital copy (picture or scan) of the receipt for which you are applying to claim reimbursement (receipts must be dated between January 1 – December 31, 2025).

 
All three documents will need to be uploaded to complete the applications. Your application will be rejected if any of these are missing, or if you apply for reimbursement for multiple fees (as only one fee may be claimed for reimbursement).
 
As you complete the application process, you will be required to select your profession and the professional body for which you are claiming reimbursement for payment of fees. You may only choose one professional body fee for reimbursement, and are encouraged to apply for the one that has the highest dollar value.
 
As you know, health care is ever-changing, professions evolve and develop, and some professions’ names change, so if you do not see your profession on the drop-down list, there is an option to enter your profession manually. You may also manually enter the name of the professional body.
 
Once your application is submitted, you will receive an auto-generated email confirming receipt. This is not the end of the process; union staff need to manually check each application to ensure that everyone receives the correct reimbursement, and that the reimbursement is sent to the correct bank account. This means that reimbursement is not immediate. Rather, as we expect to receive thousands of applications in only a few days, reimbursements will take several weeks to process.
 
As staff will be very busy reviewing applications, we will not be able to respond to emails or phone calls requesting updates on the status of reimbursement processing. Please know that if you completed the full application and uploaded the required documents, your application is in the queue for review. In order to reimburse members as quickly as possible, once reviewed your reimbursement will be automatically deposited. Please keep an eye on your bank or credit union account as your reimbursement will simply appear.

HSPBA members are able to apply for reimbursement to cover 60% of the fees related to one professional body of your choice. You are encouraged to apply for reimbursement for the highest dollar value fee you paid or will pay in 2025.

Yes. Members will be reimbursed up to a maximum cap, informed by the fee rates set by regulatory bodies and professional associations.

Yes, please. We anticipate up to 18,000 applications for reimbursement; having all the necessary information submitted together will streamline the reimbursement process.

A small percentage of users encounter this error when submitting their application on their smartphone. Switching to a computer will resolve this issue, so please try again on a desktop or laptop.

No, you can only apply for reimbursement of professional fees.

No. You can only apply for reimbursement of one professional fee.

An employee may deduct annual professional membership dues in computing the income or loss from an office or employment to the extent that they may reasonably be regarded as applicable to that source of income and provided that:

(a) they are annual dues (in contrast with entrance fees) necessary to maintain professional status,

(b) the amount claimed is paid in the taxation year and the employee is not reimbursed or entitled to be reimbursed,

(c) any reimbursement in part would reduce the amount of the claim on Line 21200 – Annual union, professional, or like dues on their personal income tax return.

No.  Any professional fees reimbursed are considered non-taxable income, and the reimbursement must be deducted from professional/membership fee claims.

Under paragraph 8(1)(i)(i) of the Tax Act, professional fees paid in respect of an occupational, trade, or professional examination are claimed as a deduction against Employment Income on your personal income tax return. Any reimbursement to the individual must be deducted from this claim. 

Professional fees that are reimbursed to an individual are not included in your income and therefore do not require a T4A; however, individuals should take note the amount reimbursed is not eligible for a tax deduction and should reduce any claims made their in.

Note: HSA does not provide financial advice and the above information, referenced from the CRA website should not be considered as such.  HSA recommends that members seek independent professional tax advice as they so choose. 

HSA members under the HSPBA bargaining unit may apply for reimbursement of their 2024 Professional Fees online.

Apply Here

 Please visit the member contact information update form to ensure that all contact information is up to date before applying.

Email: @email

Due to the very high volume of submissions please DO NOT call the HSA office or send follow up emails as we will not be able to respond to individual inquiries.  You may want to consult the FAQ’s on the website for the fund.

The application process is exclusively online. In order to make application for reimbursement, HSA requires you to have an email on file with the union. To update your contact information, use this form. Incomplete applications will be rejected.

In order to apply, you will need the following information on hand:

• A void cheque or blank PAD (pre-authorized debit) form in your name from your financial institution
• A digital copy (picture or scan) of the receipt you are applying to claim reimbursement for.  Receipt must be dated between Jan 1 - Dec 31, 2024.

You must include all this information in order for your application to process. Processing your application may be delayed significantly if any of these are missing. Only one fee may be claimed for reimbursement.