Language selection

Government of Canada / Gouvernement du Canada

Search

Sign in

Sign in

Climate Action Incentive Payment

For the 2023‑2024 payment period

RC4215(E) Rev. 07/23

The CRA’s publications and personalized correspondence are available in braille, large print, e-text, and MP3. For more information, go to Order alternate formats for persons with disabilities or call 1‑800‑387‑1193.

La version française de ce guide est intitulée Paiement de l’incitatif à agir pour le climat.

Find out if this guide is for you

This guide gives information about the climate action incentive payment, such as:

This guide uses plain language to explain most common tax situations. It is provided for information only and does not replace the law.

New measures for the 2023-2024 payment period

Four more provinces to receive the climate action incentive payment

Starting in July 2023, the climate action incentive payment is available to eligible residents of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. For more information, see How much you can expect to receive.

Definitions

Common-law partner – a person to whom you are not married, with whom you are living in a conjugal relationship, and to whom one of the following situations applies. They:

Kinship or close relationship programs – programs of the Government of Canada, a provincial or territorial government, or an Indigenous governing body for the care and upbringing, on a temporary basis, of a child in need of protection.

Unlike other foster care arrangements, the child is generally placed in the care of a grand-parent, an extended family member, or a close friend without being brought into the legal custody and guardianship of the province or territory. Certain jurisdictions may offer financial assistance to help individuals cover the expenses in caring for the child.

Married – you are legally married to someone.

Separated – you have been living apart from your spouse or common-law partner because of a breakdown in the relationship for a period of at least 90 days and you have not reconciled.

Once you have been separated for 90 days (because of a breakdown in the relationship), the effective day of your separation is the date you started living apart.

You would still be considered to have a spouse or common-law partner if there is no breakdown in the relationship and you were living apart for reasons such as:

Note

Generally, you are not considered separated if your spouse or common-law partner is incarcerated or does not live in Canada, as long as there is no breakdown in your relationship. However, you may not get the climate action incentive payment for your spouse or common-law partner if the eligibility criteria are not met.

Single – you are single, and no other marital status applies to you.

Spouse – the person to whom you are legally married.

Climate action incentive payment

The climate action incentive payment (CAIP) is a tax-free amount paid to help individuals and families offset the cost of the federal pollution pricing. The quarterly CAIP is available to eligible residents of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. Residents of New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island are eligible for payments beginning July 1, 2023 because the federal fuel charge will only apply to these provinces as of that date. The CAIP consists of a basic amount and a 10% supplement for residents of small and rural communities.

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible, you must be a resident of Canada for income tax purposes and reside in a relevant province at the beginning of the month in which the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) makes a payment.

In the month before the CRA makes a quarterly payment, you must also be at least 19 years old. If you are under 19 years old, you must meet at least one of the following conditions during the same period:

Generally, you are not eligible for the CAIP if, at the beginning of the month in which the CRA makes a quarterly payment, any of the following apply:

Notes

You cannot get the CAIP for a spouse, common law partner, or child who meets any of the above conditions at the beginning of the month in which the CRA makes a quarterly payment.

An individual is not eligible to receive the CAIP for a deceased person.

If you have children who are under 19 years of age

You can get the CAIP for each of your children if all of the following conditions apply at the beginning of the month in which the CRA makes a payment. The child:

If you are eligible for the Canada child benefit, an amount for each eligible child will be included in the calculation of the CAIP.

Note

You cannot get the CAIP for a child if, at the beginning of the month in which the CRA makes a payment, the child is not living with you because they are maintained by an agency or are in foster care. Also, you cannot get the CAIP for a foster child in your care. However, if you live with a child that you care for under a kinship or close relationship program, you can get the payment for that child.

If you share custody of a child

If you share custody of a child and are eligible for the CAIP, each individual will get 50% of the amounts they would have received if the child lived with them all of the time.

How to register your children

Your child is automatically registered for the CAIP if you are currently eligible for the Canada child benefit. If you become primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of another child, you can register them for the CAIP by using one of the following methods:

If you turn 19 years of age before January 2024

Generally, you have to be 19 years of age or older to get the CAIP. If you turn 19 years of age before January 2024, make sure that you file your 2022 income tax and benefit return. The CRA will automatically determine your eligibility for the CAIP and, if you are eligible, your first payment will be issued in the quarterly payment after your 19th birthday. For more information, see When your CAIP is paid.

If you are a new resident of Canada

If you are a new resident of Canada, fill out one of the following forms to apply for the CAIP:

Mail the completed form to your tax centre (see Tax centre addresses).

How much you can expect to receive

The amount you will receive depends on your family situation and your province of residence.

Quarterly climate action incentive payment amounts
 

AB

MB

ON

SK

NL

NS

PEI*

NB

For an individual

$193

$132

$122

$170

$164

$124

$120

$92

For a spouse or common-law partner

$96.50

$66

$61

$85

$82

$62

$60

$46

For the first child in a single‑parent family

$96.50

$66

$61

$85

$82

$62

$60

$46

For each child under 19 years of age

$48.25

$33

$30.50

$42.50

$41

$31

$30

$23

Payment dates

April 2023, July 2023, October 2023, and January 2024

July 2023, October 2023, and January 2024

 October 2023 and
January 2024

*The amount for PEI includes the 10% rural supplement, as all residents are eligible. Rural residents in other provinces will also receive the 10% rural supplement, which is not reflected in this table.

The CAIP is not subject to a reduction based on income.

To get the quarterly payments, you and your spouse or common-law partner, if you have one, must file an income tax and benefit return. The payment will be paid to the spouse or common-law partner whose tax return is filed first. No matter which one of you receives the payment, the amount will be the same.

You have to file a tax return every year to continue receiving the CAIP.

The CAIP includes a rural supplement of 10% of the base amount for residents of small and rural communities. To be eligible for the rural supplement, you must reside outside of a census metropolitan area (CMA). If you do, you must tick the box on page 2 of your tax return. If both you and your spouse or common-law partner reside outside of a CMA, you should both tick the box. To find out if you qualify for the rural supplement, go to Find out if you qualify for the supplement for residents of small and rural communities.

Notes

Residents of Prince Edward Island do not need to apply for the 10% rural supplement, as all residents are eligible.

For residents of New Brunswick, the eligibility for the 10% rural supplement will be confirmed when they file their 2023 income tax and benefit return with retroactive payments issued next year.

You can use our online calculator to get an estimate of your payment at Child and family benefits calculator.

Base year and payment period

The base year is the year of the tax return from which information is taken to calculate the CAIP amount for the payment period. The payment period is the 12-month period during which the CAIP is paid, which runs from April 1 of the year following the base year to March 30 of the next year.

When your CAIP is paid

The CRA normally sends payments on the 15th of April, July, October, and January. For the 2022 base year, once your 2022 income tax and benefit return is filed and if you are eligible, the first payment will be issued on April 14, 2023.

Note

When the 15th falls on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a federal statutory holiday, the payment will be made on the last business day before the 15th.

Residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island will receive three equal payments (July 2023, October 2023, and January 2024) in the 2023-2024 payment period, and four payments in the 2024-2025 payment period.

The first CAIP for New Brunswick residents will be issued in October 2023. This payment will be a double payment, which will include both the July and October 2023 payments. The January 2024 payment will be a single quarterly payment.

If you get your T1 refund by direct deposit, you will also get your CAIP by direct deposit.

If you do not receive your payment on the scheduled day, wait 10 business days before calling 1-800-387-1193.

When you should contact the CRA

You should tell the CRA immediately about certain changes, as well as the date they happened or will happen. This section explains what the changes are and how you should tell the CRA about them.

If the number of children in your care has changed

The CRA may need to recalculate your CAIP based on new information when any of the following situations apply:

If your marital status has changed

If your marital status changes, let the CRA know by the end of the month following the month in which your status changed. This could affect the amount of your CAIP. You can tell the CRA by using one of the following methods:

Only one payment for the CAIP is allowed per family for each quarter. If you were both getting payments as individuals before you were married or became common-law partners, and you both continued to get payments after your marital status changed, one of you will have to repay the amounts you got after your status changed. Either your payment or your spouse or common-law partner's payment will be adjusted to include the payment for both of you.

Do not tell the CRA of your separation until you have been separated for a period of at least 90 days.

Example

Zachary and Kim separated on July 15, 2023. They have no children. They advised the CRA of their new marital status by sending Form RC65, Marital Status Change, on October 15, 2023. They entered July 15, 2023 as the date their new marital status began. They will both get their own CAIP for the rest of the payment period following the separation date.

If the recipient has died

An individual is not eligible to get the CAIP after they die. The CRA may send out a payment after the date of death if the CRA is not aware of the situation. If this happens, you have to return the payment and let the CRA know the date of the death of the recipient so that the information can be updated. See Tax centre addresses.

If the deceased recipient was married or living common-law

If the deceased recipient's CAIP included an amount for a spouse or common-law partner, the CRA will automatically determine the spouse or common-law partner's eligibility for the remaining payments for themselves and for any of their children. If the surviving spouse or common-law partner did not file a tax return, they have to do so to get the payments.

If the deceased recipient was single, separated, divorced, or widowed

If the recipient died before the month in which the CRA makes a payment, any more payments cannot be made in that person's name or to that person's estate.

If the recipient died during or after the month in which the CRA issues the CAIP and the payment has not been cashed, return it so that the CRA can send the payment to the person's estate.

If the recipient was getting a payment for a child, the child's new caregiver should contact the CRA to request the CAIP for that child.

Example 1

Jessie, a CAIP recipient, died on July 1, 2023. Jessie's sister Judy called the CRA after she got Jessie's July 2023 payment to find out if the estate is eligible for the CAIP. Since Jessie was alive on the first day of the month in which the CRA issued the payment, the estate is eligible for the July 2023 payment. However, no more payments will be issued.

The CRA told Judy to return the cheque so that it can be reissued to Jessie's estate.

Example 2

Pat is a divorced CAIP recipient who has no eligible children. Pat died on November 28, 2023. Pat's mother called to tell the CRA of her child's death and wanted to know if the estate would continue to get Pat's payments. The estate is not eligible for the CAIP for periods after Pat's death.

If you are moving

If you move, let the CRA know your new address immediately. Otherwise, your payments may stop, even if you use direct deposit and your bank account does not change. You can change your address by using one of the following methods:

Other changes

Call 1-800-387-1193 to tell the CRA, if:

Tax centre addresses

Send your letter and any documents to the tax centre that serves your area.

Tax centre addresses
If your province of residence is: Send your correspondence to the following address:
Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan Winnipeg Tax Centre
Post Office Box 14005, Station Main
Winnipeg MB  R3C 0E3
New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, or Prince Edward Island Sudbury Tax Centre
Post Office Box 20000, Station A
Sudbury ON  P3A 5C1

Digital services for individuals

The CRA's digital services are fast, easy, and secure!

My Account

My Account lets you view and manage your personal income tax and benefit information online.

Use My Account throughout the year to:

To sign in to or register for the CRA's digital services, go to:

Receive your CRA mail online

Set your correspondence preference to "Electronic mail" to receive email notifications when CRA mail, like your notice of assessment, is available in your account.

For more information, go to Email notifications from the CRA.

MyBenefits CRA mobile web application

Get your benefit information on the go!

Benefit recipients can access the MyBenefits CRA mobile web application throughout the year to quickly view their benefit and credit payment details, eligibility information and application status.

For more information, go to Mobile apps.

For more information

If you need help

If you need more information after reading this guide, go to Climate action incentive payment or call 1-800-959-8281.

Direct deposit

Direct deposit is a fast, convenient, and secure way to receive your CRA payments directly in your account at a financial institution in Canada. For more information and ways to enrol, go to Direct deposit or contact your financial institution.

Forms and publications

The CRA encourages you to file your return electronically. If you need a paper version of the CRA's forms and publications, go to Forms and publications or call 1-800-959-8281.

Electronic mailing lists

The CRA can send you an email when new information on a subject of interest to you is available on the website. To subscribe to the electronic mailing lists, go to Electronic mailing lists.

Tax Information Phone Service (TIPS)

For tax information by telephone, use the CRA's automated service, TIPS, by calling 1-800-267-6999.

Teletypewriter (TTY) users

If you use a TTY for a hearing or speech impairment, call 1-800-665-0354.

If you use an operator-assisted relay service, call our regular telephone numbers instead of the TTY number.

Formal disputes (objections and appeals)

You have the right to file an objection if you disagree with an assessment, determination, or decision.

For more information, go to File an objection.

CRA service feedback program

Service complaints

You can expect to be treated fairly under clear and established rules, and get a high level of service each time you deal with the CRA. For more information about the Taxpayer Bill of Rights, go to Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

You may provide compliments or suggestions, and if you are not satisfied with the service you received:

  1. Try to resolve the matter with the employee you have been dealing with or call the telephone number provided in the correspondence you received from the CRA. If you do not have contact information for the CRA, go to Contact the CRA.
  2. If you have not been able to resolve your service-related issue, you can ask to discuss the matter with the employee's supervisor.
  3. If the problem is still not resolved, you can file a service complaint by filling out Form RC193, Service Feedback. For more information and to learn how to file a complaint, go to Submit a service feedback.

If you are not satisfied with how the CRA has handled your service-related complaint, you can submit a complaint with the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson.

Reprisal complaints

If you have received a response regarding a previously submitted service complaint or a formal review of a CRA decision and feel you were not treated impartially by a CRA employee, you can submit a reprisal complaint by filling out Form RC459, Reprisal Complaint.

For more information about complaints and disputes, go to Reprisal Complaints.

Page details

Report a problem on this page
Date modified: