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One-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit
The one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit aims to help low-income renters with the cost of renting. You may be eligible for a tax-free one-time payment of $500 if your income and the amount that you pay on rent qualify.The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administers this one-time payment. To apply for this new federal one-time payment, you do not need to receive other housing benefits such as the Canada Housing Benefit, which is co-funded and delivered by the provinces and territories.
Applications are open until Friday, March 31, 2023.
Who can apply
Ensure you are eligible before you apply for the one-time payment.
Eligibility criteria
You were born on or before December 1, 20 (at least 15 years old on December 1, 2022)
Your principal residence was in Canada on December 1, 2022.
What is a principal residence ?
For this benefit, your principal residence is the place where you normally live and pay rent.
This can be any abode, dwelling or other place rented. Examples of principal residence include a house, cottage, condominium, apartment in an apartment building, apartment in a duplex, college or university residence, trailer, mobile home, or houseboat.
Generally, you can only have one principal residence at a time, unless you’re living apart from a spouse or common-law partner.
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You were a resident of Canada in 2022 for tax purposesDetermine if you were a resident of Canada for tax purposes
You have filed your 2021 income tax return or statement of income
If you have a spouse or common-law partner, they have filed their 2021 income tax return or statement of income
If you didn’t yet file a 2021 tax return or statement of income
In 2021, you had an adjusted family net income of:
$35,000 or less for families
$20,000 or less for individuals
What is a family or individual
The 2022 eligible rent that you paid was:
paid in the 2022 calendar year
paid for any of your qualifying principal residences in 2022
equal to at least 30% of your 2021 adjusted family net income
Find out what you can include as eligible rent.
Find out if your rent payments are 30% of your adjusted family net income
Do you have CRA My Account or My Service Canada Account?
Yes – I can sign in to CRA My AccountYes – I can sign in to My Service Canada AccountNo – I need to estimate outside of My Account
You need all the above to be eligible
You must meet all the above criteria to be eligible for the one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit.
Applications cannot be made on behalf of someone else
The applicant must be alive on the day on which their application for the one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit is made.
You do not need other housing benefits to qualify
To apply for this new federal one-time payment, you do not need to receive other housing benefits such as the Canada Housing Benefit, which is co-funded and delivered by the provinces and territories.
Verifying your eligibility
Keep your records and receipts to support the amounts in your application. The CRA routinely checks to confirm that recipients were entitled to the payment they received.
If your application is selected for review.
CRA may ask you to provide additional information.
If you have received a payment and are later found to be ineligible, you will be contacted to make arrangements to return the payment. If you are found to have misrepresented or concealed information to make a fraudulent claim, additional consequences and penalties may also be applied.
You can report suspected misuse through the CRA’s Leads program.
How to apply
Application deadline
If you are eligible, applications are currently open.
The last day you can apply is Friday, March 31, 2023 (11:59 pm ET).
Apply through your account
Apply for the one-time payment through CRA My Account to get the payment as soon as possible. Make sure you’re ready to apply.
APPLY USING YOUR CRA MY ACCOUNT.
