FEDERAL CARBON TAX: Costs and Rebates

On December 16, 2019, the Department of Finance announced the climate action incentive payment amounts for 2020. These payments are associated with the provinces that are subject to the federal backstop legislation. The following amounts may be claimed on the 2019 personal tax returns:

Category	Ontario	Manitoba	Saskatchewan	Alberta
Single adult/first adult in a couple	$224	$243	$405	$444
Second adult in a couple or first child of a single parent	$112	$121	$202	$222
Each child under 18 not already included above	$56	$61	$101	$111
Baseline example for family of four	$448	$486	$809	$888

A 10% supplement is available for those that live in rural areas (communities outside of census metropolitan areas, CMAs).

The 2020 climate action incentive payment payable to eligible Albertans will reflect fuel charge proceeds generated over a 15-month period. This consists of three months (January – March 2020) with a carbon price of $20 per tonne, plus 12 months (April 2020 – March 2021) with a carbon price of $30.

Also note that no federal incentive payments will be available for residents of New Brunswick this year since it will introduce a provincial program commencing on April 1, 2020 which removes the applicability of the federal backstop legislation.

ACTION ITEM: Ensure that changes in family status (marriage, new children etc.) are included in your 2019 personal tax return to get the full benefit of the program. Also note that most other provinces have similar rebate/incentive programs in place.

The preceding information is for educational purposes only. As it is impossible to include all situations, circumstances and exceptions in a newsletter such as this, a further review should be done by a qualified professional.

No individual or organization involved in either the preparation or distribution of this letter accepts any contractual, tortious, or any other form of liability for its contents or for any consequences arising from its use.