Ontario's credits for lower incomes

Ontario has three income-tested credits that matter at modest incomes. One lowers income tax and two are paid out as cash. Each shrinks as income rises, so they matter most near the bottom of the range and are nil above it. The federal side of family benefits is covered in benefits tested on family income.

The rules (2026)

LIFT, the Low-income Individuals and Families Tax credit. 5.05% of employment income, up to $875. It is reduced by 5% of the amount by which adjusted individual net income exceeds $32,500 (nil at $50,000) or adjusted family net income exceeds $65,000 (nil at $82,500), whichever reduction is greater. It reduces Ontario tax and cannot be paid beyond it.
Ontario sales tax credit. $378 for each adult and each child under 19, reduced by 4% of adjusted family net income over $29,047 for a single person, or $36,309 with a spouse or children.
Ontario energy and property tax credit. Based on occupancy cost, which is 20% of rent paid plus property tax paid. The energy part is the occupancy cost up to $290. The property tax part is 10% of occupancy cost up to $944 plus $73 (at 64 and over, up to $581 plus $617). It is reduced by 2% of adjusted family net income above $29,047 for a single person under 64, $36,309 for couples under 64, single parents and single seniors, or $43,571 for senior couples.
Ontario Trillium Benefit. The sales tax credit and the energy and property tax credit are paid together under this name, from a return filed for the base year. An entitlement of $500 or less is paid in one July payment. Larger entitlements are paid monthly from July. Under $2 nothing is paid, and between $2 and $10 it is paid as $10.

What the engine does

Calculates LIFT in the annual assessment, after the Ontario tax reduction and before the health premium, limited to the Ontario tax left to offset. It uses adjusted family net income where the household has one, otherwise the person's own; see income tax brackets.
Can calculate the sales tax credit and the energy and property tax credit from the base year's family income and pay the Trillium Benefit on the schedule above, but only when a plan carries the household details these credits are tested on. The planner does not ask for those yet, so a plan built here receives no Trillium Benefit; see benefits tested on family income.
Treats the receipts as cash, not income.

What it deliberately does not

The June lump-sum election for the Trillium Benefit is not modelled.
The Northern Ontario energy credit is not modelled.
Long-term-care and on-reserve energy costs are left out of the energy and property tax credit.
Adjusted family net income omits the UCCB and RDSP adjustments and split income.

Connected to

Benefits tested on family income · The Canada Child Benefit, the GST/HST credit and the Ontario Trillium Benefit are not projected. They are calculated on a family net income the plan never asks for, and a household with children will receive more than this shows.
Income tax brackets and your marginal rate · Federal and Ontario tax are each charged in slices of income at rising rates, then reduced by credits, with an Ontario surtax and health premium on top. The marginal rate is what the next dollar costs; the average rate is total tax over income.

Sources

ontario.ca — Low-Income Workers Tax Credit ("$875 or 5.05% of your employment income, whichever is lower"); Taxation Act, 2007 s.103.0.5 · Ontario LIFT credit maximum $875 (2022 and later) · effective 2022-01-01
ontario.ca — Low-Income Workers Tax Credit · LIFT: 5.05% of employment income, capped at the maximum · effective 2022-01-01
ontario.ca — Low-Income Workers Tax Credit · LIFT reduced by 5% of adjusted individual net income over $32,500 (nil at $50,000) · effective 2022-01-01
ontario.ca — Low-Income Workers Tax Credit · LIFT reduced by 5% of adjusted family net income over $65,000 (nil at $82,500); the greater of the two reductions applies · effective 2022-01-01
ontario.ca — Low-Income Workers Tax Credit · LIFT reduction rate 5% · effective 2022-01-01
CRA — Province of Ontario, OSTC; Taxation Act, 2007 s.104.11 · Ontario sales tax credit: $378 for each adult and each child under 19, July 2026–June 2027 · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — Province of Ontario, OSTC · OSTC reduced by 4% of adjusted net income over $29,047 (single, no children) · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — Province of Ontario, OSTC · OSTC reduced by 4% of adjusted family net income over $36,309 (with a spouse or children) · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — Province of Ontario, OSTC · OSTC reduction rate 4% · effective 2010-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheets, Step 1 · OEPTC occupancy cost: rent paid × 20% plus property tax paid (plus $25 for a student residence) · effective 2010-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheets, Step 2 ("D or $290.00, whichever is less") · OEPTC energy component: occupancy cost capped at $290 (2026) · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheets, Step 3 · OEPTC property tax component is 10% of occupancy cost before the cap and add-on · effective 2010-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheet, single individuals no children, Step 3 · OEPTC property tax component, under 64: 10% of occupancy cost capped at $944, plus $73, capped at the occupancy cost (max $1,017; total max $1,307) · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheet, Step 3 · OEPTC property tax add-on, under 64: $73 · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheet, single seniors no children, Step 3 · OEPTC property tax component, 64+ at December 31 of the base year: 10% of occupancy cost capped at $581, plus $617 (max $1,198; total max $1,488) · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheet, seniors, Step 3 · OEPTC property tax add-on, seniors: $617 · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheet, single individuals no children, Step 4 · OEPTC reduction threshold, single under 64 with no children: $29,047 · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheets (married/common-law; single with children; single seniors), Step 4 · OEPTC reduction threshold, couples under 64, single parents and single seniors: $36,309 · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheet, married or common-law seniors, Step 4 · OEPTC reduction threshold, married/common-law seniors: $43,571 · effective 2026-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheets, Step 4 · OEPTC reduction rate 2% of AFNI over the threshold · effective 2010-07-01
CRA — 2026 OEPTC calculation sheets ("64 or older on December 31, 2025") · OEPTC senior rules apply from age 64 at December 31 of the base year · effective 2010-07-01
ontario.ca — Ontario Trillium Benefit, "How you get the OTB" · OTB payment schedule: $500 or less in one July payment, more than $500 monthly from July (a June lump-sum election exists and is not modelled); the $2 floor and $10 minimum are their own rows · effective 2026-07-01
ontario.ca — Ontario Trillium Benefit · OTB entitlements of $500 or less are paid in one July payment · effective 2026-07-01
ontario.ca — Ontario Trillium Benefit · OTB entitlements over $2 and under $10 are paid as $10 · effective 2010-07-01
ontario.ca — Ontario Trillium Benefit · OTB entitlement of $2 or less is not paid · effective 2010-07-01