CRA Rolls Out Third Instalment of Carbon Tax Rebate

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) headquarters Connaught Building is pictured in Ottawa on Aug. 17, 2020. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The third instalment of a carbon tax rebate is set to be delivered to residents in some Canadian provinces over the coming days.

The climate action incentive (CAI) credit is a tax-free benefit that aims to help individuals and families offset the cost of federal carbon pollution pricing. It is available to residents of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. The quarterly payment is expected to go to eligible recipients on Oct. 15, according to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA).

The amount an individual receives can vary, depending on his or her family situation and their province of residence.

In Alberta, the program provides an annual credit of $539 for an individual and $270 for a spouse or common-law partner. Those under the age of 19 will receive $135. For a single-parent family, the first child will also be paid $270.

For Ontarians, the program pays an annual credit of $373 for an individual and $186 to a spouse. Each household will receive $93 per child under 19, while a single-parent family will receive $186 for the first child.

Families in Manitoba will be paid $416 for the first adult, while his or her spouse will receive $208. Each child under 19 will be getting $104. The first child in a single-parent family will receive $208.

The payments are highest for those in Saskatchewan. An individual will receive $550, while $275 will be paid to their spouse, or the first child in a single-parent household. Any other children under 19 will be paid $138.

Those who get their tax returns by direct deposit will also receive their CAI payment this way. For those who have a tax debt with the CRA, the rebate will be applied to amounts owed to other federal or provincial government programs.

The government made the first CAI payment in July, which also included the retroactive payment for April. The fourth and final benefit is scheduled to be delivered in January 2023.

Those who have not received their CAI rebate on the expected payment date are asked to wait 10 working days before contacting the CRA.

Under the federal government’s carbon pollution pricing system, a price is slapped on provinces that do not have their own system that meets the federal benchmark—specifically Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan.

The federal government will return proceeds of the pollution pricing to the province of origin through the CAI payment; about 90 percent of the direct proceeds will be rebated to residents, while the other 10 percent is being used to support small businesses, farmers, and indigenous groups, according to the Finance Department.

The federal carbon tax is currently $50 per tonne in Canada, and is set to gradually increase by $15 per year to $170 per tonne by 2030. Right now, Canadians pay about 11 cents in the tax per litre of gasoline and 13 cents per litre of diesel.