I called the CERB inquiries number 1-833-966-2099. But just warning you that they do NOT seem to have all their ducks in a row. The agent told me point blank that if I called 3 times I would get 3 completely different answers. It seems that I am not the only one confused with the whole net vs gross income thing.
In fact he told me with complete certainly that BOTH the $5000 requirement AND the $1000 monthly income maximum were both NET self employment income. Even after I pointed him to the Canada.ca website that says the $1000 is before deductions. He insisted that website was wrong and all his internal documentation stated that both requirements were “earned” income which by definition is NET take home pay. He insisted that “earned” income has to mean the same for both requirements and says he anticipates this ending up in tax court. 
So now I am slightly more confused. I feel bad for people who are close to those limits. But more importantly, how do we advise our clients when the communication is so unclear?
