Expert Zone
This page contains forms, guides and other key information to assist with filing AgriStability information. It is designed for anyone, from producers to bookkeepers and accountants, who has an interest in AgriStability or who completes AgriStability forms and applications.
What’s New
- 2023 RC4060 Farming Income and the AgriStability and AgriInvest Programs Guide
- 2023 AgriStability/AgriInvest Statement A
- 2023 Corporate Accrual to Tax Conversion Worksheet
- For 2023, there are no new specific codes for the AgriRecovery responses.
- Use 627
for the 2022 Canada-Alberta Bee Colony Replacement Assistance Initiative - Use 774 for the 2023 Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock
Assistance initiative
- Use 627
AgriStability enhancements will reduce paperwork and lower costs for producers
Farmers are vital to Alberta’s economy, providing essential food resources and driving rural prosperity, yet they often face burdensome paperwork and high accounting fees that hinder their productivity. Governments are making changes to the AgriStability program to address these challenges
A new option to align AgriStability reporting with tax filing in 2025 will result in less paperwork, reduce accounting fees, and make enrolment and participation in the program much easier. An accelerated deadline to submit program forms to AFSC will lead to earlier payments. Enrolling in AgriStability can also provide producers access to other credit options like the federal Advance Payments Program, which offers low-cost cash advances.
Read the full news release: Saving Alberta farmers time and money | alberta.ca
Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership
The Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) will help Canada be a world leader in sustainable agriculture and agri-food production, building on the good work already being done by Canadian producers and processors.
The federal, provincial, and territorial Ministers of Agriculture agreed to improving business risk management programs to help enhance economic sustainability, including raising the AgriStability compensation rate from 70 per cent to 80 per cent.
Learn more about the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership
Important AgriStability supplementary form and tax deadline information
We encourage 2023 AgriStability participants to submit completed applications as early as possible to avoid delays in processing. Submitting your forms on or around the September 30 deadline may cause delays as we usually receive a high volume of forms at the program deadline.
To simplify the process, consider:
- Submitting your program forms online via AFSC Connect
- Clients who have an AFSC ID number and an AFSC Connect account can view a summary of the program forms required and if AFSC has received the document.
- The ‘Confirmation of Program Forms Received’ section displays the status of the different forms that make up the complete AgriStability information package.
- Authorized representatives can access this information too. (This section does not apply or show for AgriInvest only clients.)
- While logged into AFSC Connect, you can use the ’Search Help’ button to access helpful tips for using AFSC Connect. You can also click on the ’Knowledge Centre’ button on the home page for important information and tips about AgriStability and the forms needed to complete your application.
- Signing up for direct deposit. (PDF opens in a new window) If you are an authorized representative, encourage your clients to sign up for direct deposit
Non-calendar yearend businesses – Filing 2024 AgriStability forms
AFSC offers continuous filing options for farming operations with a non-calendar yearend (yearends other than December 31).
We are currently accepting 2024 program tax and supplementary forms through AFSC Connect via document submission, as well as by email, fax and mail.
Please note that Supplementary and Statement A forms within AFSC Connect are only open for one year at a time. As a result, only 2023 information can be entered into the online AFSC Connect versions of these forms. The 2023 program year is open until December 31, 2024.
Online Supplementary and Statement A forms for the 2024 program year will be available on AFSC Connect January 1, 2025.
Common errors that cause delays
We cannot accept an unsigned application as complete.
- Paper Applications: Each participant is required to sign. If you farm in a partnership with other AgriStability participants, all participants must sign.
- Online Applications: If you submit electronically through AFSC Connect, all partners filing farm tax to CRA in a formal partnership must sign in under their own ID and click the “Submit” button.
Please ensure you submit all five Supplementary schedules.
If any of the schedules are not applicable, please indicate “Nothing to Report” and include them with your submission.
- Individuals: T1163 Statement A
- Corporations: Statement A, T2S(1) or Schedule One, Financial Statements
Please see the AgriStability Application Checklists section below for a complete list of requirements.
Please ensure notes are included that explain any extenuating circumstances or changes in structure that occurred during the farm’s fiscal year.
AgriStability Application Checklists
Use these handy checklists to ensure each application you submit is complete and ready for review.
Do you have all the right forms?
Prepopulated Supplementary forms are available for download through your AFSC Connect account. Blank forms are available in the Program Guides & Forms section below.
Bee Supplementary Forms are available for producers with bee and honey operations.
☐ Client signature in the Supplementary Forms – Client Declaration section on Page 2
· All partners must sign this form.
· For corporations: A Shareholder must sign this form.
☐ Schedule 1a – Deferred Income and Receivables
☐ Schedule 1b – Unpaid Expenses
☐ Schedule 1c – Purchased Inputs
☐ Schedule 2 – Crop Inventory Worksheet
☐ Schedule 3 – Livestock Inventory Worksheet
For Individuals / Partnerships
☐ T1163 Statement A – AgriStability and AgriInvest Programs Information and Statement of Farming Activities
Note: AFSC receives this information from CRA, however there may be a delay between AFSC receiving your Supplementary Forms and receiving your tax from CRA. To ensure your application is processed in a timely manner, you may include a copy of this document with your Supplementary Forms.
For Corporations / Co-operatives
☐ T2S(1) or Schedule One
☐ Full Financial Statements Including Notes
☐ Statement A – Alberta Corporations/Co-operatives/Other Entities that matches the T2S(1) Net income (loss) for income tax purposes
· With the introduction of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) initiative in 2018, it is essential that corporate tax information be supplied on a Statement A. An Accrual to Tax worksheet can be provided with the AgriStability filing package and will assist with the processing of your application.
· Statement A Net Farming Income must match the T2S(1) or Schedule One Net income for income tax purposes (federal income). All T2S(1) or Schedule One adjustments should be directly applied to the Statement A.
· A blank Statement A is available in the Key Tax Forms section below.
In addition to the Program Year Supplementary Form & Farm Tax Information outlined above:
☐ Completed and signed Participant Declaration
☐ Reference Margin information: Farming information required for each of the 3 (or 5) years you choose to provide prior to the current AgriStability program year:
Reference Margin Accrual Schedules
☐ Schedule 1a – Deferred Income and Receivables
☐ Schedule 1b – Unpaid Expenses
☐ Schedule 1c – Purchased Inputs
☐ Schedule 2 – Crop Inventory Worksheet (opening & closing inventories and production acres)
☐ Schedule 3 – Livestock Inventory Worksheet (opening & closing inventories, livestock births and/or feeder sales)
These items are available in the Program Guides & Forms section below.
☐ Farm Tax information: Required for each of the 3 (or 5) years you choose to provide prior to the current AgriStability program year:
For Individuals / Partnerships
☐ T1163 Statement A – AgriStability and AgriInvest Programs Information and Statement of Farming Activities
Note: AFSC receives this information from CRA, however there may be a delay between AFSC receiving your Supplementary Forms and receiving your tax from CRA. To ensure your application is processed in a timely manner, you may include a copy of this document with your Supplementary Forms.
For Corporations / Co-operatives
☐ T2S(1) or Schedule One
☐ Full Financial Statements Including Notes
☐ Statement A – Alberta Corporations/Co-operatives/Other Entities that matches the T2S(1) Net income (loss) for income tax purposes
· With the introduction of the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) initiative in 2018, it is essential that corporate tax information be supplied on a Statement A. An Accrual to Tax worksheet can be provided with the AgriStability filing package and will greatly assist with the processing of your application.
· Statement A Net Farming Income must match the T2S1 or Schedule One Net income for income tax purposes (federal income). All T2S(1) or Schedule One adjustments should be directly applied to the Statement A.
Submitting your forms
Completed forms, including application, opt-out, supplementary and tax statements, can be submitted to AFSC by:
- Logging in to your AFSC Connect account
Clients and their third party/authorized representatives can create an online account by visiting AFSC Connect Login Page
Completed forms, including application, opt-out, supplementary and tax statements, can be submitted to AFSC by:
- Fax: 403-782-8348
- Toll Free Fax: 1-855-700-2372
Clients and their third party/authorized representatives can create an online account by visiting AFSC Connect Login Page
Completed forms, including application, opt-out, supplementary and tax statements, can be submitted to AFSC by:
- Email info@afsc.ca
Clients and their third party/authorized representatives can create an online account by visiting AFSC Connect Login Page
Completed forms, including application, opt-out, supplementary and tax statements, can be submitted to AFSC by:
- Mail:
AFSC
5718-56 Avenue
Lacombe, AB T4L 1B1
Clients and their third party/authorized representatives can create an online account by visiting AFSC Connect Login Page
Filing tax information
All tax information must be supplied on a Statement A – Corporations/Co-operatives and Special Individuals for all participants other than individuals. Standardized reporting will provide processing efficiencies and reduce errors. Accrual to tax statements will only be required if requested during verification.
Key tax forms
Enrolling in AgriStability
To become a participant in the program, producers must submit a written request to AFSC by the enrolment notice deadline, April 30 of the program year in which they wish to participate.
To learn more about enrolling in AgriStability, please see the New to AgriStability page.
A participant may opt out of the program upon written notice to AFSC. Written notice must be received by the enrolment notice deadline, April 30 of the program year in which the participant wishes to opt out.
AgriStability Opt Out Request Form.pdf (opens in a new window)
Learn more about key AgriStability policies
AgriStability program guidelines allow producers to request adjustments to their claims within the 18-month period after the original calculation of program benefits (COPB) has been issued.
Reprocessing Claims PDF (opens in a new window)
Estates and beneficiaries are eligible for benefits under the AgriStability program if all the eligibility requirements are met (page 3 of the program handbook).
Estates and Deceased Individuals PDF (opens in a new window)
Details on allowable vs non-allowable income and expenses.
Allowable vs Non-Allowable PDF (opens in a new window)
For participants who report current program year information on a cash basis, the Administrator will adjust the program year margin information for changes in inventories using the Hybrid Inventory Adjustment. For participants who report current program year information on an accrual basis, the Administrator will adjust the program year margin for changes in inventories using the Hybrid Inventory Adjustment.
Hybrid Accrual Margins PDF (opens in a new window)
If the program year margin or any of the reference margins represent less than 12 months of operation (a stub period), the income statement for the stub period may be combined with information from preceding statements until a minimum period of 12 months is available.
Stub Periods PDF (opens in a new window)
Structural change is a change in ownership, business structure, size of operation, farming practices, type of farming activity, method of accounting, moving from one province to another, or any other practice that a participant might undertake that may alter production margins.
Structural Change PDF (opens in a new window)
Inventory changes (quantity and price) are a factor in calculating production margins. Participants who wish to use a price other than a price listed on the AgriStability published price list may be required to demonstrate that their commodity or marketing strategy is substantially different than the industry norm.
Inventory Valuation PDF (opens in a new window)
Commodity futures market transactions (including options and forward contracts) are considered allowable income and/or expenses to the extent that these transactions are used as a hedging strategy. To demonstrate that the futures market transactions are eligible, the participant may be required to substantiate several factors.
Commodity Futures Transactions PDF (opens in a new window)
To ease the information burden for participants entering or re-entering the program in the 2018 and later program years, the AgriStability program has changed to facilitate Ease of Enrolment and Ease of Participation.
Simplified Participation (opens in a new window)
Effective for the 2025 program year, participants will have the opportunity to choose an alternative calculation for the AgriStability Reference Margin. The new method is referred to as the optional reference margin calculation and is based on the same method of accounting for reporting a participant’s financial information for tax purposes (i.e. cash or accrual).
Optional Reference Margins PDF (opens in a new window)
Frequently Asked Questions about AgriStability
Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP) is the new five year federal-provincial-territorial agricultural agreement in effect as of April 1, 2023. The agreement covers AgriStability program years 2023-2027.
Under Sustainable CAP, the AgriStability compensation rate has increased to 80 per cent or 80 cents per dollar of support from the previous 70 per cent rate. This change is in effect for the 2023 program year.
What hasn’t changed is the benefit trigger point or how fees are calculated – benefits still begin to trigger at 70 per cent of the reference margin and it still costs only $315 for every $100,000 of reference margin support. Losses in excess of 30 per cent are now compensated at $0.80 for every dollar of decline.
Changing what I produce
If you change commodities, expand or downsize your operation, AgriStability will adjust your reference margins to reflect your current operation. This is referred to as “structural change”. For more information on structural changes, please refer to Technical Information Circular (TIC) #6 – Structural Change
Changing my legal structure
If you change the legal structure by incorporating, your fee, reference margins and production history will be transferred to the corporation. Corporations must submit Financial Statements, T2 Schedule 1 and an accrual to tax in the format of Statement A. Beginning in 2018, corporations must submit the tax information using the Alberta Statement A for Corporations/Co-operatives/Other Entities.
The transfer of fees, margins and production history is facilitated by submission of the CRA Form T2057, more commonly referred to as a Section 85 rollover tax document, which outlines the effective date of when and how assets are transferred from individual tax filer name(s) into the corporation. If a Section 85 has not been completed or filed with CRA, then we will need a legal agreement (i.e. sales agreement) that includes details such as effective date of the transaction, seller/purchaser names, and assets/inventories sold.
Changing circumstances due to death of a participant
The executor/beneficiary is responsible to ensure the estate meets AgriStability deadlines and requirements.
To help explain the steps that need to be followed when handling estate issues for AgriStability claims, refer to Technical Information Circular (TIC) #2 – Estates and Deceased Individuals.
AgriStability and AgriInvest are tax-based programs. If you are ready to submit your information to AFSC prior to a Statement A being available, you can use the most recent Statement A available and adjust the year on the top of the form.
For example, if the farm’s fiscal year end is April 30, 2023, then the fiscal year reported would be May 1, 2022 – April 30, 2023, and both the tax year and AgriStability program year would be 2023. Your tax year and program year reflect the same year that the fiscal period ends in. That is, if the fiscal year ends in 2023, then the program year is also 2023.
Want to keep up to date with AFSC?
Sign up for one of our email subscriptions. Please be sure to select Client Notifications if you are interested in receiving information about deadlines, changes, branch information and other notifications.
Sign up for AFSC communications (opens in a new window)
