The final Canada Carbon Rebate payment is coming soon — but only if you do this first

If you've been tracking the carbon tax news in Canada, you might already know that the final Canada Carbon Rebate payment is coming soon — but there's an important deadline you won't want to blow past if you want to get your rebate as planned.

This last payout marks the end of an era for the Canada Carbon Rebate, and Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to axe the federal consumer carbon tax is changing how — and when — the money lands in your account.

Thanks to the tax cut that takes effect April 1, this quarter's carbon rebate cheque will be the very last one. But if you want to actually get it on time, you'll need to file your 2024 taxes way earlier than the April 30 deadline.

According to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), you have until Wednesday, April 2 to file your return electronically if you want the final carbon tax rebate to hit your bank account as scheduled on April 22. Otherwise, you'll still get the money — just not for another six to eight weeks, depending on when your return is processed.

That's because this final carbon tax rebate payment was set to be the first of the 2025 benefit year, which is based on your 2024 tax return. While your income isn't a factor, the government still needs information like your province (and even municipality) or residence in 2024 to determine your eligibility for the base payment and the rural supplement.

This final payment is part of the government's plan to officially wind down the rebate now that the consumer carbon tax is being removed. "There will be no further quarterly CCR payments after the April payment," reads a note on the CRA website — so once April's cash goes out, that's it.

The Canada Carbon Rebate — previously called the Climate Action Incentive Payment — was designed to return money from the federal fuel charge to Canadians in provinces using the federal carbon pricing system. That includes Alberta, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Ontario, P.E.I. and Saskatchewan. Meanwhile, B.C., Quebec and the Northwest Territories run their own programs and won't get this rebate, while Yukon and Nunavut manage theirs separately.

How much you'll get from the carbon rebate depends on your family situation and where you live, and the amounts are getting one last increase — as they normally do for the April payment. For a family of four, the base payment now ranges from $220 in P.E.I. to $456 in Alberta. Plus, if you live in a rural or small community, you could be eligible for a 20% top-up.

The 2024 Fall Economic Statement released late last year had proposed an eligibility expansion for the rural supplement that would make all population centres with less than 30,000 people eligible. In Ontario, for example, places like King, Uxbridge, Fort Erie and Rockland would be newly eligible for the 20% supplement.

But it's still unclear whether that planned expansion will actually happen for the final payment. A Finance Canada spokesperson told Narcity that "more information will be provided in due course" about those changes.

And yes, the April 22 deposit date is a week later than usual. A Department of Finance official confirmed to Narcity that while the original April 15 date still shows up on the CRA's online benefits calendar, the final Canada Carbon Rebate will now begin being issued one week later — but again, only if your taxes are in on time.

So if you've been procrastinating on filing your return, this might be the push you need. It's your last shot at claiming what you're owed under the federal consumer carbon tax — and once this final rebate goes out, that chapter officially closes.

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