Beware of grocery rebate scams, CRA warns

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is warning people to watch out for scammers pretending to offer them the new grocery rebate.

On Wednesday, the federal government began rolling out a temporary boost to the GST rebate to compensate for higher grocery prices. The CRA says scammers are already sending text and email messages falsely claiming to represent the agency.

"The CRA reminds all Canadians to beware of fraudulent telephone calls, emails, or text messages claiming to be from the CRA. These are scams that could result in identity and financial theft," the agency said in a media statement.

The government has billed the one-time rebate 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 CRA said eligible recipients will only receive payments by direct deposit or cheques in the mail.

"The CRA will never use text messages or instant messaging to start a conversation about taxes, refunds, benefits, or My Account, under any circumstances," its statement said.

The agency said it may call individuals in certain circumstances — if someone owes money or is late in filing their tax return, for example.

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?'

Rebate 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 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 CRA 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 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.