COIDA return of earnings season
Once a year, every employer registered with the Compensation Fund must declare what they paid their people. The season opens on 1 April, the closing date is announced each year, and the stakes are simple: no return, no letter of good standing.
The window
The Return of Earnings (form W.As.8) season opens on 1 April each year. The closing date is not fixed in law: the Compensation Fund announces it each year, and in recent years it has often been extended beyond the original date. Do not build a plan around an extension being granted. File early in the window and the announced closing date stops mattering to you.
Who must file
Every employer registered with the Compensation Fund, full stop. One employee counts. A domestic worker counts. It does not matter that nobody was injured this year, or that the business barely traded: registration brings an annual return with it. If you employ anyone and have never registered for COIDA at all, that is the first problem to fix; our COIDA guide walks through it.
What you declare
- Actual earnings paid to employees over the past year that ended in February
- Estimated earnings for the year ahead
The Fund uses these figures, together with your industry's risk rate, to calculate your annual assessment: the invoice you pay for the year's cover. Declare accurately. Understating earnings surfaces at exactly the wrong moment, when an injured employee's claim is assessed against what you declared.
The letter of good standing dies without it
A letter of good standing is proof that your COIDA affairs are in order, and many clients will not let you on site without one: construction contracts, tenders and larger customers ask for it as a matter of routine. The letter depends on an up to date return and a paid assessment. Miss the ROE and the letter lapses, and with it the work that required it. For most small businesses this, not the penalty, is the real cost of filing late.
Filing on CompEasy, and if you are late
Returns are filed online through the Compensation Fund's CompEasy system, where you register a profile, capture the earnings figures and receive your assessment. If you miss the closing date, penalties are added to your assessment and interest can follow, on top of the lapsed letter of good standing. If you are already late, file anyway: the return does not go away, and the sooner it is in, the sooner the letter can be reinstated.
Frequently asked questions
When does the Return of Earnings season open and close?
The season opens on 1 April each year. The closing date is announced by the Compensation Fund each year rather than fixed in advance, and it has often been extended in recent years. Do not plan around an extension: file early in the window.
Who must file a Return of Earnings?
Every employer registered with the Compensation Fund, even with a single employee. Size does not matter and neither does whether anyone was injured during the year; the return is an annual obligation that comes with being registered.
What do I declare on the W.As.8?
Two sets of figures: the actual earnings you paid employees over the past year, and your estimate of earnings for the coming year. The Fund uses these to calculate your annual assessment, the invoice you then pay.
What happens if I file the Return of Earnings late?
Penalties are added to your assessment, and your letter of good standing lapses. Without a valid letter, clients and contracts that require one dry up quickly, especially in construction and anywhere tenders are involved. Filing on time is much cheaper than fixing this afterwards.
Want the whole COIDA thing handled?
Registration, the annual Return of Earnings and your letter of good standing, done for you at a fixed price with everything in writing.
COIDA serviceKeep exploring
The opening date is stable; the closing date follows the Compensation Fund's annual announcement, which always takes precedence. Free tools are estimates. Packs are templates and guidance, not legal or financial advice.