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CRA OTB almost always means the Ontario Trillium Benefit, the payment the CRA runs for Ontario residents. If you meant something else, this page won’t help. The OTB is paid on the 10th of each month. For the 2026 to 2027 benefit year the payments started on 10 July 2026, provided your 2025 return had been assessed in time.
What is the CRA OTB made of?
Three Ontario credits get rolled into one payment: the energy and property tax credit, the Northern Ontario energy credit and the sales tax credit. Qualifying for a single one is enough, and the CRA does the adding up for you.
You don’t apply for the sales tax credit. The CRA uses your return. The other two need Form ON-BEN attached to your return, which comes in the Ontario tax package.
Do you have to file to get it?
Yes, every year, even if you earned nothing. The CRA’s Ontario Trillium Benefit questions and answers page is blunt about it.
You must file your income tax return each year to continue to get the OTB, even if you don’t have any income to report.
Ontario Trillium Benefit Questions and Answers, Canada Revenue Agency, canada.ca
That catches students and retirees with very little income more than anyone. It’s also why a filing you’d otherwise think pointless can be worth doing. Say Aisha, a first-year student in Hamilton, earned a few hundred dollars at a summer job and never filed because she owed nothing. She skipped a return and, with it, a monthly deposit she might have had. So if you’ve never bothered, ask yourself whether a small annual filing is costing you a monthly cheque.
When does the money arrive?
| Situation | What the CRA does |
|---|---|
| Yearly entitlement over $500 | Paid monthly on the 10th, July 2026 to June 2027, or one lump sum in June 2027 if you choose it |
| Yearly entitlement of $500 or less | One lump sum in the first payment month, usually July |
| Yearly entitlement of $2 or less | No payment |
| Over $2 but under $10 | Raised to $10 |
When the 10th is a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, expect the money one working day earlier. To take the lump sum, tick box 61060 on Form ON-BEN. You have to make that choice again each year.
The next benefit year, from July 2027, will rest on your 2026 return, and the CRA hasn’t published those dates yet, so check its page once the 2026 tax season is under way. A return filed late may hold up the start of your payments. If your return is assessed after the usual cut-off, the first payment typically comes within four to eight weeks of the assessment.
If you already get refunds or other benefits by direct deposit, the OTB goes to the same account. Otherwise a cheque arrives in the mail.
Monthly or one lump sum?
Take a yearly entitlement of $900, a made-up figure to show the choice. Monthly, that’s $75 on the 10th for twelve months. As a lump sum, it’s $900 in June 2027, eleven months after you could have started getting it. Most households with tight budgets are better off with the monthly stream, since the lump sum only means waiting. The choice is real only above $500.
The CRA doesn’t publish a fixed dollar amount for everyone, because your income, your family and your housing costs all change it. For that reason we don’t quote a maximum here. Your own number is on your notice of assessment or in your CRA account.
What if the payment doesn’t show up?
First check that your return has actually been assessed, because the OTB can’t start before that. Then look at your CRA account for the payment date, and confirm your address and bank details are current. A moved house with an old mailing address is the classic reason a cheque goes missing. If it’s still not there after the date has passed, call the CRA benefits line listed on its contact page.
What about income tax and other benefits?
The federal side of the same return is a different story. To see what the return itself might give back, use the tax refund calculator. The GST/HST credit calculator covers the federal quarterly credit, which is a separate payment from the OTB. And if you have children, the Canada Child Benefit calculator gives an estimate of that one. None of them calculates the OTB itself.
What this page is based on
The dates, the $500 line, the $2 and $10 minimums and the yearly filing rule all come from the CRA‘s Ontario Trillium Benefit pages for the 2026 to 2027 payment year, read in October 2026. No government body has reviewed or endorsed what you read here.
Frequently asked questions
What does CRA OTB stand for?
We read it as the Ontario Trillium Benefit. It combines the Ontario energy and property tax credit, the Northern Ontario energy credit and the Ontario sales tax credit.
When is the OTB paid?
On the 10th of each month, from July 2026 to June 2027, if your 2025 return was assessed in time. If the 10th is a weekend or holiday, you're paid the last working day before.
Can I get the OTB as one payment?
If your yearly amount is over $500, you can ask for one payment in June 2027 by ticking box 61060 on Form ON-BEN. Amounts of $500 or less are paid as a single sum in the first payment month.
Do I need to file if I have no income?
Yes. The CRA says you must file a return each year to keep getting the OTB, even if you have no income to report.
Is there a minimum payment?
If your yearly amount is $2 or less, nothing is paid. Above $2 but under $10, the CRA pays $10.
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