Federal government starts rolling out grocery rebate payments

Grocery rebate payments from the federal government are expected to start landing in eligible Canadians' bank accounts today.

The government has billed the one-time payment as targeted inflation relief for some 11 million low- and modest-income households.

It repeats the temporary boost to the GST rebate the government offered last year to address growing cost-of-living concerns. Those eligible for the GST rebate as of January 2023 will be eligible for the one-time top up; no application is required.

The payment amounts are based on net income for the 2021 tax year. Single Canadians without children are no longer eligible for the rebate if they earn more than $49,166 a year, while families with four children continue to receive the payments until they earn more than $64,946.

The federal government has published a chart detailing the Grocery Rebate income cut-offs on its website. 

Eligible families of four could receive up to $628 by direct deposit or cheque from the Canada Revenue Agency. Single people without children will get up to $234. The rates depend on income and the number of children in a household.

The GST rebate is issued four times a year, the 2023 payment dates are Jan. 5,  April 5, July 5, 2023 and Oct. 5.

The Canada Revenue Agency has said some Canadians may be eligible for the July GST rebate but not for the grocery rebate, and vice versa. That's because the grocery rebate is calculated using 2021 income tax returns, while the GST rebate is based on 2022 tax returns.

The amount Canadians will get from the GST rebate annually depends on the level of family income and make up of the family. The federal government has published a chart detailing the different GST payments. 

WATCH | What you need to know about the grocery rebate:

What you need to know about the grocery rebate

1 year ago

Duration 1:58

Your top two questions are likely, 'Do I qualify and how much will I get?'

Speaking at a press conference Wednesday, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland acknowledged that the one-time payment won't fully address the rising cost of living. She said it will still have an impact for those who need it most.

"[The rebate] is real, meaningful support, and for the people who need it the most it's going to make a difference," she said. "Is it going to cover everything? No, and we have to be honest about that." 

Freeland added that offering more financial help to more Canadians likely would only push inflation higher.

"It was really important for us not to make things worse," she said.

Canada's inflation rate dropped to 3.4 per cent in May, Statistics Canada said last week. That's the lowest the country's inflation rate has been since June 2021.

Despite the overall slowdown, the price of food continued to rise at a fast pace in May. Grocery prices went up almost nine per cent on a year-over-year basis — barely lower than the 9.1 per cent rate clocked in April and still almost three times the overall inflation rate.

WATCH | The grocery rebate promised in the budget is here. CBC's About That looks at how it will work and who gets it: 

What is Canada’s new grocery rebate, really? | About That

2 years ago

Duration 7:49

When the federal budget was announced on Tuesday, it included what Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland called a ‘grocery rebate.’ CBC business correspondent Peter Armstrong joins Andrew Chang to break down what it is, who will get it and why it doesn't have much to do with groceries at all.