Canadians may need to act soon to claim up to $1,800 from the CRA
Some Canadians may still have money sitting with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) that will need to be claimed soon.
Canadians who have yet to file previous tax returns could receive money from the CRA in the form of Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) payments, previously known as the Canada Climate Action Incentive Payment, but they could miss out on up to $1,800 in payments if a proposed deadline is approved.
In an email to Daily Hive, the CRA said eligible Canadians who haven’t filed their tax returns for 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 should do so soon, as they could receive CCR payments if they qualify once their returns have been filed and assessed. So if you still have to file your tax returns for any of those years, you might want to do that soon. The agency notes that Bill C-31 proposes Oct. 30 “as the deadline for eligible individuals to file outstanding returns in order to receive missing Canada Carbon Rebate payments.”
How much could you receive?
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Eligible Canadians who filed their income tax and benefit return for the tax years 2024, 2023, 2022, or 2021 would have already received their Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) payment. However, if you have yet to file your income tax and benefit return for the previous years, you could receive up to around $1,800 per household.
For 2024-25, the annual amount Canadians could receive depended on their province and household size. That means a family of four could receive a maximum of $1,779 in Alberta, $1,193 in Manitoba, $1,124 in Ontario, $1,505 in Saskatchewan, $719 in New Brunswick, $766 in Nova Scotia, $801 in Prince Edward Island, and $1,162 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
For single adults, the annual amount comes out to $900 in Alberta, $600 in Manitoba, $560 in Ontario, $752 in Saskatchewan, $380 in New Brunswick, $412 in Nova Scotia, $440 in Prince Edward Island, and $596 in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Families living in rural communities are also eligible for a rural top-up.
Are you eligible?
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The federal government put a price on pollution in provinces that don’t have their own carbon pricing system.
That means that Canadians in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island, and Ontario can still file a tax return for prior years to receive the carbon rebate. Payments are not available for residents in British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec, and Yukon.
To be eligible, residents in those provinces must be at least 19 years old in the month before the CRA makes a payment. Or if you were under 19 and have or had a spouse or common-law partner, or if you are or were a parent, and live or lived with your child.
The amount you receive could also depend on whether you have children and whether your child was already registered for the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) or Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) payments.
Your child is eligible if all the following conditions are met at the beginning of the payment month:
- Your child is under 19 years of age
- Your child lives with you
- You are primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of your child
- Your child is registered for the CCR (or already registered for the CCB or GST/HST credit)
How can you check if you’re still eligible for payments?
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The CRA advises Canadians to check that all of their applicable 2021 to 2024 tax returns have been filed and assessed, “as eligibility for CCR was determined through the tax filing process.”
And make sure to do that soon — if the proposed deadline is approved, eligible Canadians will have only until Oct. 30 to file any outstanding returns in order to receive missing CCR payments.
Visit the CRA website for more information.
With files from Isabelle Docto