Ontario Trillium Benefit and Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant (ON-BEN)

The Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB) is a refundable tax credit that helps Ontarians with their energy costs and provides relief from sales and property tax. The OTB is made up of three tax credits:

• Ontario Sales Tax Credit
• Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit
• Northern Ontario Energy Credit

In order to receive the OTB, you’ll need to:

• meet the eligibility criteria for at least one of the three benefits of the OTB (see below)
• file your tax return each year and
• apply for the OTB each year by completing and filing form ON-BEN with your return

Ontario Sales Tax Credit

You don’t need to apply for the Ontario Sales Tax Credit. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will use the information from your return to see if you’re eligible for this tax credit and inform you accordingly.

Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit

You can claim the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit if you lived in Ontario on December 31, 2020 and:

• You or someone on your behalf paid:
  • rent or property tax for your home
  • accommodation costs for living in a public long-term care home
  • home energy costs (for example, electricity, heat) for your home on a reserve OR
• You lived in a designated university, college, or private school residence. Here is a list of designated universities, colleges, or private school residences. If your school is on this list, answer Yes to the question Did you live in a designated university, college, or private school residence in Ontario in 2020?, on the ON-BEN page in the tax software.)

Note: Any residence that isn’t subject to municipal and school tax doesn’t qualify for this benefit. If you paid rent for a subsidized housing unit, check with the landlord to find out if property tax was paid for the unit before you enter the rent you paid for 2020 on the ON-BEN page in the software. If you paid rent for a private long-term care home and your receipt doesn’t break down the cost of the room and board (example, meals and laundering), you can claim up to 75% of your total rent.

Northern Ontario Energy Credit

You can claim the Northern Ontario Energy Credit if:

• You lived in Northern Ontario (Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, or Timiskaming) on December 31, 2020
• At the beginning of the payment month, you’re at least 18 years of age, or have or previously had a spouse, or are a parent who lives or previously lived with your child, and
• You or someone on your behalf paid:
  • Rent or property tax for your home
  • Accommodation costs for living in a public long-term care home
  • Home energy costs (for example, electricity, heat) for your home on a reserve

Note: Any residence that isn’t subject to municipal and school tax doesn’t qualify for this benefit. If you paid rent for a subsidized housing unit, check with the landlord to find out if property tax was paid for the unit before you enter the rent you paid for 2020 on the ON-BEN page in the software. If you paid rent for a private long-term care home and your receipt doesn’t break down the cost of the room and board (example, meals and laundering), you can claim up to 75% of your total rent.

OTB payments are based on your previous year’s income and depend on your:

• Age
• Income
• Residence location
• Marital status and family size
• Amount of property tax or rent you paid

Note:  Your OTB payments are separate from your tax refund. You can use this tax credit calculator to see how much money you can get.

For the 2021 benefit year, if:

• You’re entitled to an annual amount of $360 or more, you can choose to receive the benefit either in monthly payments starting July 2021 or get a single payment at the end of the benefit year in June 2022.
• If you’re entitled to an amount of less than $360, you will receive a single payment in July 2021. Keep in mind, you won’t receive a payment if your annual OTB amount is $2 or less.

You can claim up to $500 (depending on your adjusted family income) in the Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant (OSHPTG) if:

• You or your spouse paid Ontario property tax in the previous year
• You meet the income requirements and
• As of December 31 of the previous year, you:
  • were 64 years of age or older
  • were a resident of Ontario and
  • owned and lived in your home (or your spouse did)

Note: You might also qualify for the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit. Refer to the Ontario Trillium Benefit section above for more information.

Your marital status and how you choose to file your return will determine if you will be able to apply for these credits.

If you are filing a coupled return with your spouse and:

• You are both under the age of 64, only one spouse can apply for the Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB). The filer who wants to apply for the credit should be the one to add it to their return. Since this benefit payment is separate from your tax refund, it doesn’t matter which one of you applies for it.

• Only one of you is over the age of 64 years, that filer is the one who would see the ON-BEN page in their return and will be able to claim both the OTB and Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant (OSHPTG).

• You are both over the age of 64 years, only one of you can apply for these benefits. The filer who wants to apply for the credit should be the one to add it to their return. Since this benefit payment is separate from your tax refund, it doesn’t matter which one of you applies for it.

• You were separated for medical reasons during the tax year, both you and your spouse can apply for these benefits.

If you’re filing an uncoupled return (preparing a return separate from your spouse) and you indicated that your spouse is 64 years of age or older, you won’t be able to access the ON-BEN page in your return. Your spouse will be able to apply for the OTB and OSHPTG on their return.

If you and your spouse were separated or divorced on December 31, 2020, you’ll need to apply separately for the credits.

Before you begin, make sure you tell us you lived in Ontario on December 31, 2020.

1. Under the PREPARE tab, click the COMMONLY CLAIMED icon. You’ll find yourself here:
   
   
   
   
2. Under the OTHER DEDUCTIONS heading, select the checkbox labelled Ontario trillium benefit and Ontario senior homeowners’ property tax grant (ON-BEN) then click Continue
   
   
3. When you arrive at the ON-BEN page, answer the questions that apply to you and provide a few details about your principal residence in the designated fields of the tax software.

Note: To save you time, our software doesn’t require you to enter to whom you paid rent or your address, because that information is not required to be transmitted to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) with your tax return. However, if the CRA asks you for this information at a later date, you have to provide it to them by completing and returning the ON-BEN portion on the Ontario Trillium Benefit and Ontario Senior Homeowners' Property Tax Grant form.