Update: Final carbon tax payments sent, starting in April 2025
Prime Minister Mark Carney terminated the consumer carbon tax on March 14, 2025. The final Canada Carbon Rebate payments were sent out beginning on April 22, 2025. In order to receive this payment, you must have filed your 2024 tax return. You will receive your payment after that tax return has been assessed.
If you’ve received an email about a Canada Carbon Rebate payment (or any other type of government payment), log into your Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) account to check for messages. There are many email scams circulating, so it’s best not to click any links in emails that appear to be from the government or the CRA.
For more information, read “Why Canada is ending the consumer price on carbon.”
What was the Canada Carbon Rebate?
When it existed, the Canada Carbon Rebate (formerly known as the climate action incentive payment) was distributed to residents of eight provinces—Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador—through direct deposit to a bank account or via a cheque in the mail. The rebate was a tax-free payment to help eligible individuals and families offset the cost of federal pollution pricing at gas pumps. The amount that individuals received was based on their family situation and place of residence. Residents of small and rural communities also received a supplement of 20% of the base amount. According to the Canadian government, eight in 10 families got back more than they pay into the carbon pollution pricing system.
To receive the Canada Carbon Rebate, you had to have filed an income tax return for the previous year, even if you had no income to report. The first payment of 2025 was based on 2023 income tax returns. The second payment was based on 2024 income tax returns, and the third and fourth were cancelled after the Liberal government ended the federal fuel charge and the rebates. For more information, read “Why Canada is ending the consumer price on carbon.”
When was the Canada Carbon Rebate paid out?
The Canada Carbon Rebate was distributed four times per year: January 15, April 15, July 15 and October 15.
Before 2021, the climate action incentive was a refundable tax credit claimed on personal income tax returns.
Why was there a carbon rebate?
Carbon rebates were paid out from money collected as part of Canada’s carbon pricing system. In 2019, the federal government put a price on carbon pollution, with the aim of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. At the time, the national minimum price was $20 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e). It went up to $50 in 2022, $65 in 2023 and $80 in 2024. The minimum price was planned to continue rising $15 every April, up to $170 per tonne in 2030.
Carbon prices were collected through fuel charges and an output-based pricing system for industry. Starting on April 1, 2023, drivers in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Yukon and Nunavut paid a fuel charge of $0.1431 per litre of gas. Starting July 1, 2023, this charge was also applied to drivers in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador. (Rates for other fuel types vary.) In April 2024, the fuel charge rate increased to $0.1761, and in 2025, it rose to $0.2091. Provincial and territorial governments could use the federal carbon pollution pricing system or develop their own carbon pricing model or cap-and-trade system, as long as it met or exceeded federal standards.
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Ottawa returned 90% of the carbon pricing money it collected back to the jurisdictions where it came from, either to the provincial and territorial governments or, in the case of the CCR, directly to residents. The other 10% was used to support schools, small and medium-sized businesses, hospitals and Indigenous programs.
Who received Canada Carbon Rebate payments?
Recipients of Canada Carbon Rebates had to be residents of Canada for income tax purposes at the beginning of the month in which the CRA made the payments. Recipients also had to be a resident of “an applicable CCR province” on the first day of the payment month, as well as be at least 19 years old in the month before the payments went out. Certain people under age 19 were also eligible, if they met requirements.
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What if you were eligible for the Canada Carbon Rebate but didn’t get it?
If your 2024 tax return has been assessed and you haven’t received the final Canada Carbon Rebate, you can contact the CRA to inquire. Note that if you owe taxes or other amounts to the government, the CCR amount will be applied to your debt first.
How much was the Canada Carbon Rebate?
The size of carbon rebates varied by province and family composition, and the amounts could change from year to year. Household income was not a factor.
Each province had a base amount, with additional amounts for a spouse/common-law partner, eligible children, and living in a small or rural community. Below are the quarterly base amounts for 2024–2025. The amounts for P.E.I. include the 10% rural supplement, since all residents are eligible. (See previous base years.)
| AB | SK | MB | ON | NB | NS | PEI | NL | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First adult | $225 | $188 | $150 | $140 | $95 | $103 | $110 | $149 |
| Second adult | $112.50 | $94 | $75 | $70 | $47.50 | $51.50 | $55 | $74.50 |
| Each eligible child | $56.25 | $47 | $37.50 | $35 | $23.75 | $25.75 | $27.50 | $37.25 |
| Family of four | $450 | $376 | $300 | $280 | $190 | $206 | $220 | $298 |
Are CCR payments taxable?
Nope! Canada Carbon Rebate payments are tax-free. To learn more about the CCR, including final payment information, visit the Government of Canada website.
Read more about climate and money:
- How climate change is affecting your home insurance
- Watch: Climate change in Canada and the rising cost of home insurance
- Why sustainable investing is important
- Greener days ahead: There’s a new global standard for climate-related disclosures
- How to invest more sustainably in crypto
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