How to Apply for the Ontario Trillium Benefit

The Ontario Trillium Benefit is a tax-free monthly payment from the Ontario government that helps low- to moderate-income Ontario residents pay for energy costs, sales tax, and property tax. It is not one benefit you sign up for: it is the combined payment of three Ontario tax credits, issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on behalf of the Ontario provincial government. This guide covers the application mechanics only: how to claim each of the three credits, when payments arrive, and what to do if something goes wrong. It gives no tax advice. All facts below come from the CRA's Ontario Trillium Benefit Questions and Answers, the CRA's Ontario energy and property tax credit Questions and Answers, the CRA's Northern Ontario energy credit Questions and Answers, and the Ontario 2026 Taxation Transparency Report provisions.

Step 1: Understand the three credits inside the payment

The Ontario Trillium Benefit combines three credits into one monthly payment:

• Ontario energy and property tax credit (OEPTC) — helps with the sales tax on energy and with property taxes for your principal residence. The maximum 2026 OEPTC is $1,307 for non-seniors ($290 for the energy component plus $1,017 for the property tax component) and $1,488 for seniors ($290 for the energy component plus $1,198 for the property tax component). The amount depends on your age, marital status, the rent or property tax paid by or for you, energy costs on a reserve, accommodation costs in a public or non-profit long-term care home, whether you lived in a designated university, college, or private school residence, and your adjusted family net income.
• Northern Ontario energy credit (NOEC) — extra help with the higher energy costs of living in Northern Ontario. The maximum 2026 NOEC is $189 for single individuals with no children and $290 for couples and single parents. It is reduced by 1% of your adjusted net income over $50,833 for a single individual with no children, and by 1% of your adjusted family net income over $65,356 for a family.
• Ontario sales tax credit (OSTC) — helps with the sales tax you pay on everyday purchases. For the 2026-27 benefit year it provides up to $378 in annual relief for a single eligible person and up to $378 per eligible adult and child in a family. It is reduced by 4% of adjusted family net income over $29,047 for a single person, over $36,309 for a non-senior family (including a single parent), or over $37,273 for a senior family.

You only have to be entitled to one of the three credits to get a payment. The benefit is not taxable, and no interest is charged or paid on overpayments or underpayments.

Step 2: Check the residency and age conditions

For the 2026 benefit year, the credits are based on your 2025 income tax and benefit return and your situation on December 31, 2025.

For the energy and property tax credit, you may be eligible if you were a resident of Ontario on December 31, 2025, and one of the following applies: you will be 18 years of age or older before June 1, 2027; you had a spouse or common-law partner on or before December 31, 2025; or you are a parent who lives or previously lived with your child. For 2025, at least one of the following must also apply: rent for your principal residence, which was subject to Ontario municipal or school property tax, was paid by or for you; property tax for your principal residence in Ontario was paid by or for you; you lived on a reserve in Ontario and home energy costs for your principal residence on the reserve were paid by or for you; or you lived in a public or non-profit long-term care home in Ontario and an amount for accommodation was paid by or for you.

For the Northern Ontario energy credit, you must have lived in Northern Ontario on December 31, 2025. For this credit, Northern Ontario means the districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury (including the City of Greater Sudbury), Thunder Bay, and Timiskaming.

You must be a resident of Ontario at the beginning of a month to receive that month's payment. You are not eligible for a particular monthly payment if you were confined to a prison or a similar institution for 90 days or more that includes the first day of the payment month.

Step 3: File your 2025 tax return and complete Form ON-BEN

To get the 2026 Ontario Trillium Benefit, you must file your 2025 income tax and benefit return. You must file your return each year to keep receiving the benefit, even if you have no income to report. If you have not filed your 2025 return, you will not receive the benefit.

You do not need to apply for the sales tax credit component. The CRA will use the information from your 2025 return to determine your eligibility and entitlement. In families, the sales tax credit component is paid to the person whose return is assessed first, unless only one spouse is a senior (64 years old or older on December 31 of the applicable tax year), in which case it is paid to that spouse.

To apply for the energy and property tax credit and the Northern Ontario energy credit on your 2025 return, fill out the applicable areas of Form ON-BEN, Application for the 2026 Ontario Trillium Benefit and Ontario Senior Homeowners' Property Tax Grant, and attach the completed form to your return. The form is included in the tax package for residents of Ontario. When completing it:

• tick box 61020 in the section called "Application for the Ontario energy and property tax credit (OEPTC)" and complete Parts A and B, and Part C on the back if it applies
• tick box 61040 in the section called "Application for the Northern Ontario energy credit (NOEC)" if you are claiming that credit
• enter the rent paid by or for you for your principal residence in Ontario for 2025 beside box 61100
• enter the property tax paid by or for you for your principal residence in Ontario for 2025 beside box 61120
• enter home energy costs paid for your principal residence on a reserve in Ontario for 2025 beside box 61210, or accommodation costs for living in a public or non-profit long-term care home in Ontario for 2025 beside box 61230, if either applies

Keep your receipts in case the CRA asks to see them later; do not send them with your return. You do not have to calculate your entitlement yourself: the CRA calculates it for you. To estimate it, use the CRA's Child and family benefits calculator.

If you are married or living in a common-law relationship, the same spouse or partner has to apply for the energy and property tax credit and the Northern Ontario energy credit. If only one spouse or partner is 64 years of age or older on December 31, 2025, that spouse or partner must apply for both of you.

Step 4: Receive your payments

The annual entitlement is usually divided by 12 and the payments are issued on the 10th of each month. The 2026 payments, based on your 2025 return, will be issued monthly from July 2026 to June 2027. If you qualify and your 2025 return is assessed by June 19, 2026, in most cases your payments start on July 10, 2026. If the 10th of the month falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the payment is issued on the last working day before the 10th.

If your 2025 return is assessed after June 19, 2026, in most cases your first payment will be issued within four to eight weeks after your return is assessed, and on the 10th of each month thereafter.

If you already receive your income tax refund or other benefits or credits by direct deposit, you will also receive your Ontario Trillium Benefit payments by direct deposit. Otherwise, you will get your payments by cheque. The CRA will send you a notice if you are entitled to receive the benefit.

If you have an outstanding debt with the CRA, your payment will first be used to pay off any debt you owe to the CRA or its external partners, including family support orders that are in arrears. If any amount remains, it will be issued to you.

Step 5: Monthly payments or one lump sum

If your annual 2026 entitlement is more than $500, you can choose to wait to get your entitlement in one payment at the end of the benefit year, in June 2027, instead of receiving monthly payments. To make this choice on your 2025 return, tick box 61060 in the area called "Choice for delayed single OTB payment" on Form ON-BEN, and complete the other parts of the form that apply to you. You have to make this choice each year when you file your return if you want to keep receiving your annual entitlement in one payment.

You can make this choice only when you initially file your income tax and benefit return for the year, and only by December 31, 2026. If you forgot to make the choice when you first filed your 2025 return, you will not be able to make the election for this year's benefit payments.

If you chose the single payment and change your mind part way through the year, call the CRA at 1-877-627-6645 or write a letter to your tax centre. Within four to eight weeks after your request has been processed, you will receive any amounts owed to you up to that date, then monthly payments for the rest of the benefit year.

Your election will be revoked if, during the benefit year, you move outside Ontario, become bankrupt, die, or become incarcerated for 90 days or more. If your election is revoked, you or your estate will be issued a notice explaining this.

What this guide could not verify

The CRA has published Ontario Trillium Benefit payment dates up to December 2026; the January to June 2027 payment dates were not published on the CRA pages, so this guide states only the payment rule (the 10th of each month, or the last working day before it) and not the 2027 dates. The CRA's energy and property tax credit page states that the credit is reduced by 2% of adjusted family net income above published thresholds but does not list the thresholds on that page, so this guide states no OEPTC income threshold; use the CRA's 2026 calculation sheets or the Child and family benefits calculator for your own figure. The Ontario senior homeowners' property tax grant, which shares Form ON-BEN, is not covered here: its amount was not verified on the pages. Confirm all three points with the CRA at 1-877-627-6645 or in CRA My Account before relying on them.

Related guides:

• How to Apply for the Canada Child Benefit — the federal child benefit, which is also claimed through your tax return and CRA My Account.
• How to Apply for ODSP in Ontario — Ontario disability support, a separate Ontario benefit with its own two-stage application.
• How to Apply for Ontario Works — Ontario's social assistance program, for Ontario residents who need income support.
• How to Start Filing Your First Canadian Tax Return as a Newcomer — filing a first return, which is the step that triggers the Ontario Trillium Benefit.

Sources

• Canada Revenue Agency, Ontario Trillium Benefit Questions and Answers — the three combined credits, how to apply for the 2026 benefit, payment timing, the $500 single-payment choice and its December 31, 2026 deadline, the $2 and $10 minimums, couples rules, missed prior years, and contacts.
• Canada Revenue Agency, Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit Questions and Answers — the 2026 maximums of $1,307 for non-seniors and $1,488 for seniors, eligibility conditions, and the Form ON-BEN boxes 61020, 61100, 61120, 61210, and 61230.
• Canada Revenue Agency, Northern Ontario Energy Credit Questions and Answers — the Northern Ontario districts, the 2026 maximums of $189 for a single person and $290 for a family, the $50,833 and $65,356 income thresholds, and Form ON-BEN box 61040.
• Government of Ontario, Descriptions of the Tax Provisions Listed in the Taxation Transparency Report, 2026 — the Ontario sales tax credit maximum of $378 per person for the 2026-27 benefit year and its 4% reduction over $29,047 for a single person, $36,309 for a non-senior family, and $37,273 for a senior family.