Benefits & credits
Most Canadian benefits are not something you apply for separately — they are calculated from the tax return you file, every year. That is why filing matters even at low or no income, and why a late return can quietly stop payments that were already arriving. The main ones for a household in Ontario are the Canada Child Benefit if you have children under 18, the Ontario Trillium Benefit, the quarterly credit for low and modest incomes, and the Canada Workers Benefit if you are working but earning modestly. What you receive depends on your family income, your marital status and your address on 31 December.
Book a Free Consultation Send us your details
A monthly, tax-free payment for families with children under 18. The amount depends on your family net income, the number of children and their ages, so it falls as income rises. It is recalculated each July from the return you filed that spring.
This is the one that most often catches people out after a separation or a new arrival in Canada, because both change who should be claiming and how much. Both parents generally need to file for it to be calculated correctly.
Three credits paid together, usually monthly: the Ontario Sales Tax Credit, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, and the Northern Ontario Energy Credit. The property tax and energy portions are driven by the rent or property tax you paid during the year.
Rent is the number people leave blank. If you rented in Ontario, tell us what you paid and who you paid it to — it is one of the most commonly missed entries on a return, and it has real money attached.
A tax-free payment issued every three months to individuals and families with low or modest incomes. You do not apply — filing your return is the application, and it is recalculated each July.
Note the name has changed: the CRA now calls this the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, having previously called it the GST/HST credit. Both names refer to the same payment, and you may still see the older one on letters and other websites.
A refundable credit for people who are working but earning a modest income, with an additional amount for those eligible for the disability tax credit. Part of it can be paid in advance during the year rather than as a lump sum at filing.
It is one of the more commonly missed credits, particularly by people working part time or picking up gig work alongside another job.
Benefits are calculated from your household situation, not just your income. Anything on this list can change what you are owed, and all of it belongs on your return:
Benefits are recalculated every July from the return you filed that spring. Miss the filing and payments stop, even if nothing about your situation changed. This is the single most common reason a family's child benefit suddenly halts.
Filing the outstanding return restarts them, and in most cases the missed months are paid retroactively within the CRA's limits.
What it costs. We do not charge separately to work out your benefits — it is part of preparing your return properly. An application for benefits on its own is $30. What you are entitled to depends on your own circumstances, so we will not quote a figure without looking at your situation.
See the full price listGenerally no. For most benefits, filing your return is the application — the CRA calculates what you receive from it. Some, such as registering a newborn for the child benefit, do have a separate step.
The most common reason by far is an unfiled return. Benefits are recalculated each July from the return filed that spring, so a missing return stops payments even when nothing else has changed.
Yes, and it is frequently missed. Rent paid in Ontario feeds the Ontario Trillium Benefit. Tell us what you paid and to whom.
Yes. It is the same quarterly payment under a newer name. Older letters and websites may still use the previous name.
Tell us, and tell the CRA. Marital status on 31 December changes how the child benefit and most income-tested credits are calculated, and getting it wrong in either direction causes problems later.
Not from a website. What you receive depends on family income, marital status, children and where you live, so any figure quoted in the abstract would be misleading. We work it out with your actual numbers when we prepare your return.
A free, no-obligation consultation — in person in Kitchener-Waterloo, or entirely online from anywhere in Canada. Complete information means we can start the same day.
Book a Free Consultation Filing your first return Ask us about your situation