If you live in Ontario and money lands in your account on the 10th of the month labelled "Ontario Trillium Benefit," or you keep hearing about it and receive nothing, this guide is for you. Seniors actually get the most generous version of this benefit, and a surprising number miss part of it by skipping one form at tax time.
Here is how the OTB works for the 2026 benefit year, what seniors specifically are entitled to, and the extra $500 grant that rides along on the same application.
What is the Ontario Trillium Benefit?
The Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB) is a tax-free payment that helps Ontarians with low to moderate incomes cover energy costs, sales tax, and property tax. It bundles three separate credits into one payment: the Ontario Sales Tax Credit (OSTC), the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit (OEPTC), and the Northern Ontario Energy Credit (NOEC). You qualify for the OTB if you qualify for at least one of the three.
Because it is tax-free, the OTB does not count as income. It will not raise your tax bill, and it will not reduce federal benefits like the Guaranteed Income Supplement.
Not to be confused with: the Trillium Drug Program, which is Ontario health coverage for people with high prescription costs relative to income, and the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which gives grants to community organizations, not individuals. Same flower, three completely different programs.
The three credits inside the OTB
| Credit | What it helps with | 2026 maximum (July 2026 to June 2027) |
|---|---|---|
| Ontario Sales Tax Credit (OSTC) | Sales tax | $378 per adult and per child under 19 |
| Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit (OEPTC) | Rent, property tax, energy | $1,307 (age 18 to 64) / $1,488 for seniors |
| Northern Ontario Energy Credit (NOEC) | Higher energy costs up north | $189 single / $290 per family |
The senior advantage sits in the middle row. If you turned 65 at any point during 2026 (technically, you were at least 64 on December 31, 2025), your OEPTC maximum is $1,488 rather than $1,307, and your income thresholds are more generous too.
The NOEC only applies if you live in Northern Ontario: the districts of Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Manitoulin, Nipissing, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury (including Greater Sudbury), Thunder Bay, or Timiskaming.
Who qualifies?
Broad strokes: you must have been an Ontario resident on December 31, 2025, file a 2025 tax return, and meet the income tests. For the OEPTC, at least one of these must also be true for 2025:
- you paid property tax on your Ontario home,
- you paid rent, and your landlord paid property tax,
- you paid home energy costs for a home on a reserve, or
- you paid accommodation costs in a public or non-profit long-term care home.
That last point surprises many families: if your parent moved into a public or non-profit long-term care home and pays accommodation charges, they may still qualify for the OEPTC. Twenty percent of those accommodation charges count toward the calculation, up to the $290 energy cap.
Does everyone get the OTB? No. It is income-tested, so higher incomes phase out of it. For a single senior, the OEPTC shrinks by 2% of adjusted family net income above $36,309. For a senior couple, the threshold is $43,571. The OSTC uses its own thresholds ($29,047 for a single person, higher for families), reducing at 4% above them.
Because the credit amount also depends on how much rent or property tax you actually paid, there is no single "cutoff income." Two seniors with identical pensions can receive different amounts. The only way to know your number is to file and let the CRA calculate it.
How do you apply? The ON-BEN form is the step people miss
Here is where the money gets left behind:
- The sales tax credit (OSTC) is automatic. File your return and the CRA works it out. No form.
- The energy and property tax credit (OEPTC) and the northern credit (NOEC) are not automatic. You must file Form ON-BEN with your return and tick the boxes: 61020 for the OEPTC, 61040 for the NOEC, plus the rent or property tax amounts you paid.
If you filed your 2025 return but forgot the ON-BEN, do not file a second return. Ask the CRA to adjust your return through CRA My Account or with Form T1-ADJ, including your rent or property tax details. The CRA generally accepts adjustments going back ten years, so if you have been skipping the ON-BEN for a while, it may be worth a look back.
When are the OTB payment dates in 2026?
Your annual OTB is divided by 12 and paid monthly on the 10th, or the last business day before the 10th when it falls on a weekend or holiday. Confirmed dates for the rest of 2026:
| Month | Payment date |
|---|---|
| August | August 10, 2026 |
| September | September 10, 2026 |
| October | October 9, 2026 |
| November | November 10, 2026 |
| December | December 10, 2026 |
Payments continue monthly through June 2027. Three payment-size rules to know:
- $500 or less for the year? You get it all as one lump sum in July instead of monthly. (This threshold rose from $360 to $500 as of July 1, 2026, so older articles quoting $360 are out of date.)
- More than $500? You can choose to wait and receive one single payment on June 10, 2027 by ticking box 61060 on the ON-BEN. Same total, one deposit.
- Between $2 and $10? It gets rounded up to $10. At $2 or under, no payment is issued.
If your return was assessed after June 19, 2026, your first payment (including any catch-up for missed months) typically arrives within four to eight weeks of assessment.
The extra $500 for senior homeowners: the OSHPTG
If you are 65 or older and own your home, the same ON-BEN form carries a second, separate benefit: the Ontario Senior Homeowners' Property Tax Grant (OSHPTG), worth up to $500 a year.
The essentials:
- You must have been at least 64 on December 31, 2025, an Ontario resident, and have owned and lived in your home (a life lease or a lease of at least ten years also counts). Renters are not eligible for this one.
- The grant equals your 2025 Ontario property tax, up to $500.
- Income limits: for a single senior, the grant shrinks above $35,000 of adjusted net income and is gone at $50,000. For couples, it shrinks above $45,000 and ends at $60,000.
- Claim it by ticking box 61070 on the ON-BEN and entering your property tax beside box 61120. Only one spouse applies.
- It arrives as its own payment, usually four to eight weeks after your notice of assessment, separate from the monthly OTB.
For a senior homeowner with a modest income, the OTB plus the OSHPTG can approach $2,000 a year, all from one tax return and one form.
Why am I not getting the Ontario Trillium Benefit?
The usual suspects, in order of how often we see them:
- You didn't file the ON-BEN, so you are getting the OSTC only, or nothing.
- Your income is above the phase-out range for every component.
- You didn't pay eligible rent or property tax in 2025 (for the OEPTC).
- Your return was assessed late, and the first payment is still in the four-to-eight-week window.
- Your entitlement is $500 or less, so it already arrived as a single July payment you may have missed in your statement.
How the OTB stacks with other Ontario senior benefits
The OTB is one layer of a bigger stack for Ontario seniors on modest incomes. If your income is low enough to receive the GIS, you likely also qualify for Ontario GAINS, the province's monthly top-up. If you pay for help to live independently at home, the Ontario Seniors Care at Home Tax Credit can refund up to 25% of eligible expenses. And because every one of these is driven by your tax return, the habit that protects them all is the same: file every year, on time, even with no income.
For the federal side of the picture, our OAS clawback guide explains the thresholds that matter at higher incomes.
OTB questions, answered quickly
Is the OTB taxable? No. It is tax-free and is not reported as income.
Will it reduce my GIS? No. Because it is not income, it does not enter the GIS calculation.
I live in a retirement residence. Do I qualify? Possibly, under the rent rules, if your residence pays property tax. Public and non-profit long-term care homes qualify under their own rule. Keep your statements and ask the residence how your fees are treated.
My spouse and I both qualify. Do we both apply? No, one spouse applies for the household's OEPTC and NOEC. If only one of you is a senior, the senior spouse should be the one who applies, to get the higher senior amounts.
When does the next benefit year start? July 2027, based on your 2026 tax return. Amounts are recalculated for each benefit year.
Amounts and dates come from Ontario Ministry of Finance and Canada Revenue Agency publications current as of August 2026. Your own entitlement depends on your income and housing costs; confirm the numbers in CRA My Account or with the CRA at tax time.
