Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB): Amounts, Eligibility and How It Is Calculated

The Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB) is one payment that combines three Ontario credits: the Ontario energy and property tax credit (OEPTC), the Ontario sales tax credit (OSTC) and the Northern Ontario energy credit (NOEC). The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) runs it for Ontario, and it is worked out from your tax return. This page explains each credit, who qualifies and how income reduces it. For when the money arrives, see the OTB payment dates. The government benefits guide lists the other programs.

Looking for help with prescription drug costs? That’s Ontario’s Trillium Drug Program, a separate program run by the Ministry of Health.

The three OTB credits (2026 benefit year (July 2026 - June 2027))

All three use adjusted family net income: your net income plus your spouse’s or common-law partner’s. The 2026 benefit year (July 2026 - June 2027) amounts are based on your 2025 return and your situation on December 31, 2025.

Ontario energy and property tax credit (OEPTC)

Source: Ontario.ca – Ontario Trillium Benefit component pages (OEPTC, OSTC, NOEC), for the 2026 benefit year (July 2026 - June 2027). Eligibility is based on Ontario residency on December 31, 2025. View source

The OEPTC isn’t a flat amount. It is built from your occupancy cost: 20% of the rent you paid for your main residence in Ontario (rent counts only if the building was subject to property tax) plus the property tax you paid on your main residence. The credit has an energy component of up to $290 and a property tax component, and both grow with your occupancy cost. A renter with low rent can get well under the maximum even with a low income, and the OEPTC applies only if you paid property tax, rented where the landlord had to pay property tax, lived on a reserve and paid home energy costs, or lived in a public long-term care home and paid for accommodation.

The credit is then reduced by 2% of adjusted family net income above a threshold that depends on your situation. These are the thresholds for the 2026 benefit year (July 2026 - June 2027), applied to 2025 income:

Because the result depends on housing costs as well as income, CRA publishes OEPTC calculation sheets for each family type. Its benefits calculator covers the Ontario Trillium Benefit, including the OEPTC.

Ontario sales tax credit (OSTC)

Source: Ontario.ca – Ontario Trillium Benefit component pages (OEPTC, OSTC, NOEC), for the 2026 benefit year (July 2026 - June 2027). View source

Unlike the OEPTC, the OSTC doesn’t depend on housing costs: it depends on your income, family size and, for some seniors, age. It is reduced by 4% of adjusted family net income above $29,047 for a single person, or $36,309 for a family (a couple or a single parent). A senior (64 or older on December 31) with a spouse or partner, a qualified dependant or both uses a higher threshold of $37,273.

Northern Ontario energy credit (NOEC)

Source: Ontario.ca – Ontario Trillium Benefit component pages (OEPTC, OSTC, NOEC), for the 2026 benefit year (July 2026 - June 2027). Available only to residents of eligible Northern Ontario districts. View source

The NOEC is for people who lived in Northern Ontario on December 31, 2025 and paid rent or property tax, paid home energy costs on a reserve, or lived in a public long-term care home. Northern Ontario means the districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay and Timiskaming.

The credit is reduced by 1% of adjusted family net income above $50,833 for a single person and $65,356 for a family. A single person keeps some NOEC until about $69,733 of income, and a family until about $94,356.

Who qualifies

*Or you have or had a spouse or common-law partner, or you are a parent who lives or lived with your child. You need to meet one of these at some time before June 1 at the end of the benefit year: if you turn 18 during it, file your return with Form ON-BEN, and if you qualify, payments start with the next scheduled payment after your birthday. If you move out of Ontario (or out of Northern Ontario, for the NOEC), payments stop after the month you move.

How to apply

Fill in Form ON-BEN, the Application for the Ontario Trillium Benefit and Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant, with your return. It asks for:

• the rent you paid in Ontario and your landlord’s name, for each address you rented
• the property tax you paid on your main residence
• whether you lived on a reserve, in a public long-term care home or in a designated student residence
• whether you lived in Northern Ontario on December 31

Enter only rent or property tax paid for your main residence in Ontario, with the number of months you lived at each address. You don’t need ON-BEN for the sales tax credit: CRA works it out from your return. You have to file a return every year, even with no income to report.

If you have a spouse or common-law partner, the OSTC is paid to whichever of you has their return assessed first (or, if only one of you is 64 or older on December 31, to that spouse), and the OEPTC and NOEC to the one who applied on Form ON-BEN; the amount is the same either way.

How and when it’s paid

OTB payments run from July to June. A small annual entitlement of up to $500 is paid in one payment in July; above that you get monthly payments or can choose a single payment in June instead. OTB payment dates has this year’s schedule and the rules for small amounts.

OTB payments are not taxable. They don’t affect your payments of the federal Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, formerly the GST/HST credit. The Ontario Child Benefit is a separate program paid with the CCB, not part of the OTB.

Related pages

• OTB payment dates
• Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit
• Ontario Works
• ODSP
• Ontario income tax
• Property tax calculator