Closed - One-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit

Status: Closed

You may be looking for: Housing benefits

The last day to apply for the one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit was March 31, 2023.

You can no longer apply for this benefit.

On this page

• Disinformation and scams
• What this benefit was
• Impacts on taxes and other benefits
• Verifying your eligibility

Disinformation and scams

False information (or disinformation) is being shared online about a new one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit (Rent Relief) payment. This information is not true. There is no new one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit payment.

Find real and current housing benefits provided by the government: Housing benefits

Learn about the warning signs of a scam and the latest scam alerts: Recognize a scam

What this benefit was

The one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit helped low-income renters with the cost of renting. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administered this one-time payment.

If your income and the amount you paid on rent qualified, you may have been eligible to apply for a tax-free one-time payment of $500.

Applications were open from December 12, 2022, to March 31, 2023.

You can no longer apply for this benefit.

Impacts on taxes and other benefits

The payment was not taxable. This means you did not need to report the one-time payment on your income tax return.

The one-time top-up to the Canada Housing Benefit did not reduce other federal income-tested benefits such as the Canada Workers Benefit, Canada Child Benefit, Goods and Services Tax Credit, and Guaranteed Income Supplement. Impacts on provincial or territorial benefits were determined at the discretion of each province or territory.

Verifying your eligibility

The CRA routinely checks to confirm that recipients were entitled to the payment they received.

If you received a payment and are later found to be ineligible, you will be contacted to make arrangements to return the payment. If you are found to have misrepresented or concealed information to make a fraudulent claim, additional consequences and penalties may also be applied.

You can report suspected misuse through the CRA's Leads program.