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The short answer
You claim the Ontario Trillium Benefit by filing your tax return with Form ON-BEN attached. If you lived in Ontario on 31 December and paid rent or property tax that year, your first return can set up monthly payments from the following July. The sales tax part needs no application, but the energy and property tax part does, and newcomers often miss ON-BEN or leave out the rent they paid after arriving.
What the Ontario Trillium Benefit pays
The Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB) bundles three provincial credits into one payment. Ontario's page (updated 27 April 2026) and the CRA's Ontario programmes page (modified 30 July 2026) give the figures for the 2026 benefit year, July 2026 to June 2027, based on the 2025 return:
| Credit | Who it is for | Maximum |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit (OEPTC) | People who paid rent or property tax on their main home | $1,307 (ages 18 to 64); $1,488 (65+); $25 in a designated student residence |
| Ontario Sales Tax Credit (OSTC) | Low- and moderate-income residents | $378 per adult, plus $378 for a spouse and each child under 19 |
| Northern Ontario Energy Credit (NOEC) | Residents of listed northern districts | $189 single; $290 families |
You need to qualify for at least one part. The amounts are adjusted for inflation each year.
Who qualifies in the arrival year
The tests are about where you lived and what you paid, not how long you have been in Canada. For the 2026 benefit year, you needed to live in Ontario on 31 December 2025 and, for the OEPTC, to have paid rent or property tax for your main home in Ontario in 2025 (or one of the other listed costs, such as a public long-term care home or a designated student residence). Generally you must be 18 or older, or a parent living with your child; for the OSTC the age is 19.
So a family that landed in Toronto in September 2025 and rented from then can qualify on its 2025 return, using the rent paid from September to December. The CRA's newcomers page (dated 3 August 2026) lists the OTB among the provincial benefits newcomers may receive.
How to claim it: Form ON-BEN
- File your income tax return by 30 April, even if you had no income. Ontario's page says late filers still qualify but payments may be delayed.
- Attach Form ON-BEN, the Application for the 2025 Ontario Trillium Benefit and Ontario Senior Homeowners' Property Tax Grant (form 5006-TG on the CRA page). This is the application for the OEPTC and NOEC.
- Enter the rent or property tax you paid for your principal residence in Ontario during the year, and the address. Keep receipts or a landlord letter in case the CRA asks.
- The OSTC needs no application. The CRA works it out from your return.
For couples, Ontario says the OSTC goes to whichever spouse's return is assessed first, and the OEPTC and NOEC to the spouse who applied on ON-BEN. The household total is the same either way.
What newcomers miss on the first return
- Leaving ON-BEN off. Without it, the property tax and energy parts are not assessed.
- Forgetting rent from the arrival months. Rent paid in Ontario between your arrival and 31 December counts. Rent paid in Lagos before you moved does not.
- Not filing for a low-income year. A first year with little Canadian income is exactly when the credits matter most.
- Filing late. If your return is assessed after 19 June, the CRA says the first payment comes four to eight weeks after assessment rather than in July.
- Responding to texts. Ontario says it will not text or instant message you for personal information, payment or a refund for this benefit.
A worked example of the sales tax credit
Example only, with invented figures. Kunle and his wife arrived in Ottawa in 2025 with two children aged 7 and 12. The CRA page says the OSTC is reduced by 4 per cent of adjusted family net income over $36,309 for couples and single parents.
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Maximum OSTC: 4 people x $378 | $1,512 |
| Adjusted family net income (example) | $46,309 |
| Excess over $36,309 | $10,000 |
| Reduction: 4% x $10,000 | $400 |
| OSTC for the year | $1,112 |
Their OEPTC is worked out separately from the rent they enter on ON-BEN. Because the total OTB would be over $500, they can take it monthly from July or as one payment in June 2027. Ontario says amounts of $500 or less are paid in one sum in July.
When the money arrives
Payments are issued on the 10th of each month from July (or the last working day before, if the 10th is a weekend or holiday). Ontario's page says to contact the CRA if a payment has not arrived by the 24th of the month. For the other benefits newcomers can apply for before their first return, see the RC151 credit and the Ontario Child Benefit.
Where Pryme fits
The OTB is paid in Canadian dollars. If you also keep naira for family costs or rent at home, a Pryme account holds NGN alongside USD, GBP and EUR, and Swap shows the rate and fee before you convert. Naira savings held in Nigeria can go into Savings Boxes.
Questions people ask
How do I apply for the Ontario Trillium Benefit?
File your tax return and include Form ON-BEN. The CRA assesses the energy and property tax credit from ON-BEN and the sales tax credit from the return itself.
Can I get the Ontario Trillium Benefit in my first year in Canada?
Yes, if you lived in Ontario on 31 December and meet the other conditions, such as paying rent for your main home there. The test is residence and costs, not time in Canada.
When is the Ontario Trillium Benefit paid?
On the 10th of each month from July, based on the previous year's return. If the yearly total is $500 or less, it is paid in one sum in July.
What is the maximum Ontario sales tax credit?
For payments based on the 2025 return, $378 per adult and per child under 19, reduced by 4% of adjusted net income above $29,047 (single, no children) or $36,309 (couples and single parents).
Sources
- Government of Ontario: Ontario Trillium Benefit (updated 27 April 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- CRA: Ontario provincial programmes (modified 30 July 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
- CRA: Newcomers to Canada (dated 3 August 2026) · accessed Oct 2026
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