Ottawa sets New Brunswick carbon tax rebate at $736 per year for family of 4

New Brunswickers will start receiving quarterly federal carbon tax rebates in October, with a family of four set to get a total of $736 per year.

The rebates are the results of the Higgs government's decision to eliminate its own provincial carbon tax starting July 1 and allow the federal government to impose its version.

"People can expect more money back through rebate payments every three months, all while there's less pollution in the air," Steven Guilbeault, the federal environment and climate change minister, said in a news release.

The quarterly amounts of $184 for a family of four and $92 for a single adult are less than other Atlantic provinces.

That's because New Brunswick's economy emits less carbon than those provinces, mainly because of wood and electricity-based heating that are not taxed directly, the release said.

Residents of small and rural communities are entitled to an extra 10 per cent on top of the basic rebate amount, and Indigenous groups and small businesses will get extra support through federal programs, it said.

Premier Blaine Higgs said in February that abandoning his own carbon tax, which has no direct rebates, in favour of Ottawa's system would get more money into the pockets of people dealing with rising prices.

"How do we get relief to people who want it right now, in their homes, at a time when inflation is higher than they've experienced, maybe in their lifetime? This will do that." 

The provincial carbon tax, at 11 cents on a litre of gasoline, will remain in place until Canada Day.

At that point, the federal version will apply at 14.3 cents. 

Normally, New Brunswickers would receive their first rebate in July, but because federal officials needed time to calculate the amount after Higgs's announcement, payments will only start in October.

The first rebate in the fall will be double the normal amount — $368 for a family of four and $184 for a single adult — to cover the carbon tax revenue collected since July.

People who file tax returns electronically will get the money through direct deposit, and others will get a cheque in the mail.

"The majority of households in New Brunswick will receive more money back than they pay as a result of the federal pollution pricing system, with low- and middle-income families benefiting the most," the release said.