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The monthly benefit is typically paid out on the 10th of each month; however, if the 10th of the month falls on a weekend or bank holiday, the Canada Revenue Agency will issue the payments on the last working day before then. 

The benefit is coming at a pivotal time for Canadians. 

More than one million Ontarians turned to food banks for help between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2024, a record number. Rent is still high for many, despite the national average annual asking price dropping for the seventh straight month. U.S. President Trump’sÌý·É¾±»å±ð²õ±è°ù±ð²¹»å tariffs are affecting several industries across the nation and could push

As an umbrella for three separate credits, all with different eligibility requirements, the program can be difficult to navigate. But here’s what you need to know and whether you’re eligible.

What is the Ontario Trillium Benefit?

The Ontario Trillium Benefit combines three provincial credits — the Northern Ontario Energy Credit, the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit and the Ontario Sales Tax Credit — into one benefit meant to help low- and middle-income Ontarians. The payment is meant to help alleviate everything from property taxes to energy costs and everyday expenses. 

Who is eligible?

To be eligible for the tax-free OTB, Ontarians must qualify for at least one of the three included credits.

Ontarians must’ve also filed their 2024 income tax and benefit return to get this year’s benefit. 

Meant to help alleviate higher home energy costs for northern Ontarians, the Northern Ontario Energy Credit only applies to those living in Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Timiskaming.

For the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, individuals will qualify if they paid rent or property tax for their principal residence in Ontario or home energy costs for their principal residence on a reserve in Ontario, or if they lived in a designated university, college or private school residence in Ontario or paid accommodation costs for living in a public or non-profit long-term-care home in Ontario in 2024.

The Ontario Sales Tax Credit is meant to help Ontarians with the sales tax they pay. It requires individuals to be either 19 or older — unlike the other credits — or currently or previously married or in a common-law relationship.

How much can I receive? 

Depending on your income, household size and the credits you qualify for, the amount you can receive from the OTB varies. The numbers will change in July, when payments for the 2025 benefit, based on the 2024 tax return, will start.

For the 2024 benefit year, based on the 2023 tax return, the Northern Ontario Energy Credit has a maximum amount of $180 for a single person, but it’s only for those who live in northern Ontario.

The Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit provides a maximum of:

• $1,248 if you’re between 18 and 64 years old;
• $1,421 if you’re 65 and older;
• $277 if you live on a reserve or in a public long-term-care home;
• or $25 if you live in a designated college, university or private school residence.

Individuals can receive up to $360 and an additional credit for spouses, common-law partners and dependants under 19 for the Ontario Sales Tax Credit. 

The benefit doesn’t affect your GST/HST credit payments. To calculate how much you could get, .

When can I expect the benefit?

Typically, the OTB is divided into consistent monthly benefits, issued on the 10th day of each month — unless it falls on a weekend or bank holiday.

Those who qualify for more than $360 from any of the three credits included in the Ontario Trillium Benefit in the 2025 benefit year can choose to have their benefit paid out in monthly instalments or all at once in a single payment in June 2026. If your total is $360 or less, your benefit will be issued in one payment — in July of this year. 

For May’s payment, eligible Ontarians should see the payment in their bank account on Friday if they chose to receive the benefit on a monthly basis.

For those married or with a common-law partner, the OTB payments go out to the person whose tax return is assessed first, and the payment will be the same no matter who applies.

The Ontario government warning of text message scams appearing to be OTB payments that ask people to click on a link to receive the money.

The government will never send texts asking for personal or business information, to receive a tax credit or benefit, to receive a tax refund or to make a payment.

How can I apply? 

To receive the OTB benefit for this year, Ontarians need to have filed their personal income tax and benefit return for 2024, including the ON-BEN form. For those who have done so, the CRA, on behalf of the Ontario government, will assess the OTB.

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OTB payment dates for 2025

The benefit will be paid out on the following dates for those who chose to have it paid out in monthly instalments:

• May 9, 2025
• June 10, 2025
• July 10, 2025
• Aug. 8, 2025
• Sept. 10, 2025
• Oct. 10, 2025
• Nov. 10, 2025
• Dec. 10, 2025

With files from Andy Takagi