Ontario’s Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant pays up to $500 a year to older homeowners to help with property taxes on their principal residence. To meet the senior homeowners’ property tax grant eligibility rules, you must have been at least 64 on December 31 of the previous year, owned and occupied a home in Ontario on that date, paid Ontario property tax on it, and have an adjusted family net income below the program’s ceiling. You claim it by filing Form ON-BEN with your annual income tax return, and the Canada Revenue Agency calculates and issues the payment.
Who Qualifies
For the 2026 grant, you must have been 64 or older on December 31, 2025, and you or your spouse or common-law partner must have owned and occupied a principal residence in Ontario on that same date. Ontario property tax must have been paid on that residence for 2025. You don’t need to own the home outright. Seniors holding a life lease or a fully paid lease of 10 years or more also qualify.1Canada Revenue Agency. Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant (OSHPTG) Questions and Answers
The home has to be your principal residence, meaning where you live most of the year. If you share the home with a spouse or common-law partner, only one of you applies. Both incomes still count toward the adjusted family net income used to size the grant, which is why single and coupled seniors face different income limits.
Income Limits and How Much You Receive
The maximum is $500. What you actually get depends on your adjusted family net income from the previous year, and the thresholds depend on your marital status.2Government of Ontario. Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant
- Single, separated, divorced, or widowed: the full $500 at $35,000 or less. Between $35,000 and $50,000, the grant is reduced by 3.33% of every dollar above $35,000. At $50,000 or more, nothing.
- Married or common-law: the full $500 at $45,000 or less. Between $45,000 and $60,000, the grant is reduced by 3.33% of every dollar above $45,000. At $60,000 or more, nothing.
A worked example. A widowed senior with an adjusted family net income of $41,000 is $6,000 over the $35,000 threshold. Roughly 3.33% of $6,000 is about $200, so the grant works out to $500 minus $200, or about $300. The CRA runs this calculation after you file, so you don’t need to work out the exact figure yourself.1Canada Revenue Agency. Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant (OSHPTG) Questions and Answers
How to Claim the Grant
You claim the grant by completing Form ON-BEN, the “Application for the Ontario Trillium Benefit and Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant,” and filing it with your income tax and benefit return.3Canada Revenue Agency. 5006-TG ON-BEN Application for the 2026 Ontario Trillium Benefit and Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant Most certified tax software builds the form into the filing flow, so you answer a few extra questions rather than filling out a separate document. If you file on paper, the form comes in the Ontario tax package on the CRA website.
On the ON-BEN, report the total Ontario property tax you paid for the previous year on line 61120.2Government of Ontario. Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant Keep your property tax bill or receipt within reach when you file. Your net income from line 23600 of your T1 return feeds the adjusted family net income calculation, and tax software pulls that figure automatically. A spouse or common-law partner’s net income is included in the same way.
This is an annual claim. You have to file the ON-BEN every year you want the grant, even if nothing has changed since last year. Forgetting to apply is the most common reason eligible seniors miss out.
Claiming a Year You Missed
If you were eligible in a past year but didn’t apply, you can still recover the money. The CRA lets you request an adjustment to a prior return, and you generally have up to 10 previous calendar years to go back and claim the grant.1Canada Revenue Agency. Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant (OSHPTG) Questions and Answers Several missed years can add up to thousands of dollars. Request the adjustment through your CRA My Account, or mail a completed T1-ADJ form for each year you missed.
When the Payment Arrives
The grant is paid separately from the Ontario Trillium Benefit. The OTB is spread across monthly installments, while the OSHPTG comes as a single annual payment, using the same method as your tax refund. Direct deposit if you have it set up, otherwise a cheque by mail.1Canada Revenue Agency. Ontario Senior Homeowners’ Property Tax Grant (OSHPTG) Questions and Answers Processing generally takes four to eight weeks after filing, and electronic returns move faster than paper. You can track the status in CRA My Account.
Records to Keep
The CRA requires you to keep tax records and supporting documents for at least six years.4Canada Revenue Agency. How Long Should You Keep Your Income Tax Records? For this grant, that means holding on to your property tax bills, proof of payment, and any correspondence tied to your principal residence. If the CRA reviews your return and you can’t produce the property tax receipt, the grant can be reversed. Digital copies are fine as long as they are legible and you can produce them on request.