Here's why you may not have received a grocery rebate

With July 5 passing us by a lot of Canadians did receive the one-time Grocery Rebate payment in their bank account. But what if you didn't get it?

The payment from the Government of Canada was meant to help Canadians with the rising costs of groceries and living expenses, but only approximately 11 million people were eligible to receive the payment.

The Grocery Rebate was one of five federal benefit payments issued throughout the month of July, including the GST/HST credit and the Canada Child Benefit.

As for the Grocery Rebate what an individual or family could have received depended on the family situation in 2023

For Canadians who are single, they could have received:

$234 (with no children)
$387 (with 1 child)
$467 (with 2 children)
$548 (with 3 children)
$628 (with 4 children)

For those married or  common-law:

$306 (with no children)
$387 (with 1 child)
$467 (with 2 children)
$548 (with 3 children)
$628 (with 4 children)

Many Canadians who were expecting to receive this rebate and haven't may now be left wondering why.

On the Government of Canada's website it stated there was no need to apply for the Grocery Rebate but there could be one of a few reasons many Canadians did not receive it even though it was applicable to Canadians over the age of 19 and with no outstanding balance with CRA.

Whether you received this payment or not depended on your previous year's tax filings, and if you had not filed your tax return in 2021 you will not have received the rebate. 

Canadians who are up to date on their taxes are still left confused, the statement on the government's website says "The Grocery Rebate will be double the amount of your GST/HST credit payment from January 2023. The amount is calculated based on your family situation in January 2023 and your 2021 adjusted family net income."

For those who did file their 2021 taxes, there are other reasons that could apply as to why you may not have received your payment. 

The statement on the government website goes on to say, "It is possible you may be entitled to the Grocery Rebate, but not the July GST/HST credit or vice versa. The Grocery Rebate is calculated based on your 2021 tax return, but the next quarterly GST/HST credit payment in July 2023 is calculated based on your 2022 tax return."

It also states that to be eligible you and your spouse or common-law partner must meet the criteria "for the 2021 base year", and recommends Canadians check their MY CRA account for more specific information. 

The government has created a chart showing what level of income makes you eligible for the Grocery Rebate. 

Simply put a single Canadian without children would not be eligible for the Grocery Rebate if they made more than $49,166 in 2021, while a family with four children would not eligible if they earned more than $64,946 that year.

For those who still may be confused as to why they haven't received the Grocery Rebate, Canadians are being urged to wait 10 business days before contacting the CRA about missing payments.

Across social media, #GroceryRebate is now trending after July 5th and has many Canadians have expressed their frustrations with what they thought was a payment they should have received.