Canada Pro Deposit 2024 – Payment Dates, Eligibility & More

ByDylan Callaghan Published On:

Every now and then we get a random charge (or if you’re lucky a deposit) into our bank accounts that we really don’t know where it came from. In this article, we’re going to go over one of those lucky situations in the case of the Canada PRO Deposit.

What is Canada PRO?

If you looked at your bank statement and received a Canada PRO deposit lately, you reside in either Ontario or Alberta. How do we know this? Because a PRO deposit is the Government of Canada paying you on behalf of one of these provinces.

The government of Ontario also combines the Ontario energy and property tax credit, the Northern Ontario energy credit, and the Ontario sales tax credit into one lump-sum payment, called the Ontario trillium benefit. We will highlight each benefit in-depth below. But first, let’s go over the payment dates. Of note, if you do not have direct deposit set up on your My CRA account, the cheques will be sent to you via mail.

Canada PRO Deposit Dates 2022

Depending on what plans you are eligible for, your payment dates may vary. For example, the 3 plans in Ontario we will go over below will all be combined and paid out via the Ontario Trillium Benefit.

Ontario Trillium Benefit Payment Dates for 2022

  • January 10, 2022
  • February 10, 2022
  • March 10, 2022
  • April 8, 2022
  • May 10, 2022
  • June 10, 2022
  • July 8, 2022
  • August 10, 2022
  • September 9, 2022
  • October 7, 2022
  • November 10, 2022
  • December 9, 2022

Whereas if you qualify for the Alberta Child and Family Benefit, your payment dates will be below.

Alberta Child and Family Benefit Payment Dates for 2022

  • February 25, 2022
  • May 27, 2022
  • August 26, 2022
  • November 25, 2022

Is the Canada PRO Deposit taxable?

Fortunately, Canada PRO deposits are completely tax-free, meaning they will not impact your taxable income. 

Who is eligible for the Canada PRO deposit?

This is a difficult question to answer, as there is a multitude of programs that will be paid out as a Canada PRO deposit. In this case, it will be easier for us to simply go over each program and highlight the criteria needed to qualify. Let’s get started first with a single program from the province of Alberta.

1. The Alberta Child and Family Benefit

The Alberta Child and Family Benefit is a plan in the province of Alberta that aims to provide financial assistance to lower and middle-income families with children under 18 years of age. The program is fully funded by the Alberta provincial government, and available to Alberta residents.

What are the eligibility requirements for the Alberta Child and Family Benefit?

In order to qualify for this benefit, you need to have filed a tax return, be a resident of Alberta, be a parent to one or more children under the age of 18 years old, and meet the income criteria.

How much assistance will one get with the Alberta Child and Family Benefit?

According to the government of Alberta, there are two major components to the ACFB. Both of them depend on the number of children you have. To start, there is the base component, which includes the following maximum annual payouts:

  • 1 Child: $1,330
  • 2 Children: $1,995
  • 3 Children: $2,660
  • 4 Children: $3,325

Secondly, there is the working component, which is a unique benefit that actually increases as you work more. This is primarily to help those re-enter the workforce after having children. The maximum annual payout for this benefit is as follows:

  • 1 Child: $681
  • 2 Children: $1,301
  • 3 Children: $1,672
  • 4 Children: $1,795

In terms of eligibility, the government of Alberta has stated that the base component and working component are reduced once a family’s net income exceeds $24,467 and $41,000, respectively. 

Important things to know about the ACFB

Tax credits are nice, however, it’s important we understand that there are particular situations where we may not qualify or may have to pay back payments made to us. In the case of the ACFB, you may be forced to pay back some of the benefits if the following occurs:

  • If your family leaves Alberta, you may have to return some of the money received for the months you were not living in the province.
  • If your household qualifies for a smaller benefit, or no benefit, you will receive a letter from the CRA indicating that any amount received over your entitlement will have to be returned.

However, there are instances where you may qualify for a larger benefit than expected, including: 

  • If you have another child, your household may qualify for a greater benefit than you received.
  • If your family moves to Alberta, you will become eligible in the month after you become a resident.
  • If your household qualifies for a greater benefit than what was originally paid out, the CRA will issue an additional payment for the difference.

2. Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit

The OEPTC, or the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, is a tax credit used to help low to moderate-income Ontario residents with the sales tax on energy. Along with the savings in that regard, they also help with property taxes.

Who is eligible for the OEPTC?

The government segments each of the requirements on the energy side and property tax side. For the energy side, the government tells you to apply if one of the following applies to you and you are a resident of Ontario:

  • You will be 18 before June 1, 2023.
  • You had a spouse or common-law partnership on or before December 31, 2021.
  • You are a parent who lives or did live with your child.

If you aren’t a resident of Ontario, you may still be eligible if one of the following applies to you:

  • Rent for your main residence, which was subject to taxes in Ontario, 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 were paid by you.
  • You lived in a public long-term care home, or private care home in Ontario and costs were paid for by you.

On the property tax side of things, for the most part the above conditions are identical. However, if you’re not an Ontario resident there is one more condition, and that is you could qualify if you lived in a designated Ontario university, college, or private school residence.

Unfortunately, if you were in prison or a similar institution for a period of 90 days or more that includes the first day of the payment month, you are not eligible.

How much can you get with the OEPTC?

First off, this depends on a multitude of factors including age, marital status, whether you paid property taxes and rent, whether you paid the energy bills, and much more. So, make sure to double-check with the government’s website to see the criteria.

Otherwise, the maximum amount of 2022 OEPTC is $1,121 for non-seniors and $1,277 for seniors. The vast majority of this payment is from the property tax component. In fact, the energy portion is the same for seniors as it is for non-seniors, $249.

How do I apply?

It’s fairly easy to apply for the OEPTC. If you think you are eligible, head here and go to step 3 to learn how to submit an application. If you do not qualify, they’ll send you a letter stating why.

3. Northern Ontario Energy Credit

In northern Ontario, residents are faced with higher energy prices than the rest of the population. As a result, the government of Ontario introduced the Northern Ontario Energy Credit, or NOEC, to help them out.

Who is eligible for the NOEC?

For the purposes of NOEC, “Northern Ontario” means areas like Algoma, Cochrane, Kenora, Nipissing, Manitoulin, Parry Sound, Rainy River, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Timiskaming. If you lived in one of these areas on December 31, 2021, you may be eligible for the NOEC.

If you did live in one of these areas, there are some more requirements, however. And, they are much the same as the OEPTC. To save ourselves from repeating them, just click here to head to the government’s official website to learn the exact conditions.

How much can you get with the NOEC?

If you apply and are eligible for the NOEC, the government will take into account numerous factors such as your family’s income, marital status, and whether or not you have children.

From there, they’ll issue a benefit. The maximum allowed for single individuals with no children is $162. If you are a couple or you have children, the benefit bumps up to $249. If you are a single individual with no children, the benefit will reduce by 1% of your adjusted net income over $43,602. If you are a family, it is reduced by 1% of your adjusted family net income over $56,060.

How do you apply for the NOEC?

It’s fairly easy to apply for the NOEC. If you think you are eligible, head here and go to step 4 to learn how to submit an application. If you do not qualify, they’ll send you a letter stating why.

4. Ontario Sales Tax Credit

The final Canada PRO deposit is the Ontario Sales Tax Credit (OSTC). This is a tax-free payment designed to provide relief to low to moderate-income Ontario residents for the sales tax they pay.

The Ontario Sales Tax Credit is simple in the fact that you do not need to apply. The CRA will simply use your income tax return along with your benefit return to determine whether or not you are eligible. If you are, you will get a notice stating you are entitled to receive the credit.

How much will I get with the Ontario Sales Tax Credit?

For payments ranging from July 2022 to June 2023, which would be payments based on your 2021 income tax and benefit return (the previous year), the maximum benefit is $324 for each adult and each child in a family.

If you are a single individual and do not have kids, the credit will be lowered by 4% of your adjusted net income over $24,916. If you do have kids or are married/have a common-law partner, the credit is reduced by 4% of your adjusted family net income over $31,144.

These payments are made through the Ontario Trillium Benefit (OTB) payments every month as we’ve highlighted at the top of this article.

Overall, when you see Canada PRO payments, it is likely from one of these government credits

Whether it be the Alberta Child Benefit, the Ontario Sales Tax Credit, the Northern Ontario Energy Credit, or the Ontario Energy and Property Tax Credit, just know that a PRO payment hitting your bank account is from the government acting on behalf of one of these plans. Another payment to look out for in terms of income tax is the Canada RIT Deposit.

If you have any additional concerns about the payments, it would be best to contact a government official, as they will be able to look up your unique individual situation and come up with a solution. Although we try to keep these articles as up-to-date as possible, we cannot guarantee the information is 100% accurate at the time you are reading it. It is critically important to get official information from the government itself.