Northern Ontario Energy Credit Questions and Answers

The questions and answers below refer to claims for the 2024 NOEC, which you apply for on your 2023 income tax and benefit return. However, the eligibility rules for previous years are similar to the rules for the 2024 NOEC. If you need these rules, when reading the questions and answers below, replace current year references with the previous year(s). For example, for the 2023 NOEC, replace 2023 with 2022, 2024 with 2023 and 2025 with 2024.

  1. What is the Northern Ontario energy credit (NOEC)?
  2. What areas of Ontario are considered Northern Ontario for the NOEC?
  3. Am I eligible for the 2024 NOEC?
  4. How do I apply for the 2024 NOEC?
  5. I am married (or living in a common-law relationship). Who should apply for the 2024 NOEC?
  6. How much is the 2024 NOEC?
  7. Do I have to calculate the 2024 NOEC?
  8. When will I get my 2024 NOEC payments?
  9. Who will issue the 2024 NOEC payments?
  10. What is a principal residence?
  11. What is eligible rent paid and what should I enter beside box 61100 on Form ON-BEN ?
  12. What are eligible property taxes and what should I enter beside box 61120 on Form ON-BEN ?
  13. What amounts cannot be included as rent or property tax paid?
  14. What should I enter beside box 61210 on Form ON-BEN for my home energy costs paid on a reserve in Ontario for 2023?
  15. What should I enter beside box 61230 on Form ON-BEN for the amounts I paid for living in a public or non-profit long-term care home in Ontario for 2023?
  16. Do I have to provide my receipts with my 2023 return to prove the amounts I paid?
  17. My spouse owns our home but she is living in a nursing home. Are we entitled to the 2024 NOEC?
  18. My spouse and I pay property taxes on both our house and our cottage. When we calculate our property tax paid, can we add together the amounts we paid for both properties?
  19. In the year of death, is the estate eligible for any NOEC payments for that year?
  20. How will the Canada Revenue Agency determine if I am a single parent so that I will qualify for the family-based 2024 NOEC payment?
  21. My ex-spouse and I share custody of our child. Neither of us has remarried. Will I receive the 2024 NOEC payments for my child?
  22. I'm single and I applied for the 2024 NOEC on my 2023 tax return. I still live in Northern Ontario and I gave birth to my first child on August 2, 2024. I do not share the care of my child. Will I qualify for the family-based NOEC payments?
  23. How do I register my child for the Canada child benefit (CCB) so that I will get the family-based 2024 NOEC payments?
  24. I filed for bankruptcy in 2023. Can I apply for the 2024 NOEC payments?
  25. I immigrated from outside of Canada to Northern Ontario on June 15, 2023. Can I apply for the 2024 NOEC payments?
  26. I have not filed my 2023 income tax and benefit return. Will I receive a 2024 NOEC payment?
  27. I applied for the 2024 NOEC on my 2023 return and met all of the conditions to get these payments. However, I have not received any payments—what should I do?
  28. I am eligible for the 2024 NOEC payments but I forgot to apply when I filed my 2023 income tax and benefit return. Can I still apply for them?
  29. I moved to Northern Ontario on January 5, 2024. Am I eligible for the 2024 NOEC payments?
  30. I moved out of Northern Ontario on August 15, 2024. Am I eligible for the 2024 NOEC payments?
  31. Do I have to be a Canadian citizen in order to be eligible for the NOEC?
  32. We are planning to sell our home in 2024. Are we still eligible for the 2024 NOEC?
  33. Are secondary residences in Ontario, such as cottages, eligible for the NOEC?
  34. Can the NOEC be claimed on more than one principal residence in a tax year?
  35. My address recently changed—what should I do?
  36. I have an outstanding debt with the Canada Revenue Agency and didn't receive my goods and services tax credit because I owed money to the Government. Will I receive the NOEC?
  37. Is the NOEC a taxable benefit?
  38. Will there be interest paid or charged on any NOEC underpayments or overpayments?
  39. If my application for the NOEC is denied, can I appeal?
  40. Who should I contact if I have a question about the Ontario provincial government policy regarding the NOEC?

1. What is the Northern Ontario energy credit (NOEC)?

The NOEC is designed to help low- to moderate-income Northern Ontario residents with the higher home energy costs they face living in the north. The annual entitlement is usually divided by 12 and issued monthly as part of the Ontario trillium benefit (OTB) payment (see first two bullets of the note below for exceptions). The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) administers the 2011 and later years NOEC program for Ontario.

Note