Discussions

I've heard on the news about a 1 time GST enhancement due to covid-19....will this be automatic on the next gst cheque or do you have to apply for it...thanks

I'm hearing the policies that was signed in parliament have to be re-done. The liberals were changing them once they were signed which is illegal so who knows what.

I was just reading on the government site and it looks like the GST boost will be automatically given to people who receive the GST rebate. I saw nothing that indicates you have to apply. It won't be on the next cheque (which is paid April 3rd)-sounds like the host is a one time thing that will be paid in early May. If you have My Account set up with CRA you can sign in and check. No one in my family has set up My Account yet so I cannot find our anything that way. I do not qualify for the rebate but someone else in the family does, so hopefully...

I dont get GST anymore, but my CRA account shows that I get a GST cresit on April 9, same with my spouse.  
 
My roommate shows on his CRA account that he gets his normal GST on April 3, and then a higher amount on April 9.  
 
Unsure if they are boosting GST this month instead of next month.

Maybe they have moved it up from May to April 9th? They do keep changing things up, so maybe they decided sooner was better.

this is correct. I saw that also.  
Anyone who logs into their CRA account can click on "Benefits and Credits" tab and see that there will be another deposit on April the 9th (on top of the GST payment this Friday).

April 3 2020 says issued. April 9th it says I'm getting $290.  
 
I owe the government of Canada student loans. Will I still get my GST this year? As I saw that student loans will be forgiven for the next 6 months is that true?

Yea you are correct BUT it changes daily so basically fingers crossed the 9 th you get it.

If you can figure out the math on your extra payment. I read somewhere it would be 400 for an individual or 600 for a couple. And then another website says it was just double the normal amount. The amount on my cra account for April 9th doesn't match either of those.

My spouses is his normal amount that he got before we became common-law. Mine is more than doubled than what I used to get. My roommate is double what he usually gets. It looks like it might be different for everyone with no set formula.  
 
Unless there is still something coming in May that leans towards what the government has been saying.  
 
Some people on FB showee screenshots of theirs and one person was almost getting $1000 April 9.

I wish for once I would see some tax money back. I checked and as usual I am not eligible for a refund.

I’m a nurse in long term care and my husband is a farmer. We have a child in kindergarten. Of course my CRA account shows that I am not eligible. Why would I expect any different? Kinda sucks considering I lose more than 1/4 of my paycheck to taxes.

Like are you behind on payments? I have about a year of payments left and I got an email from nslsc and it said they were automatically pausing all payments and you didn't have to apply. They aren't forgiving them. They just aren't making you pay right now and aren't charging interest. You still owe the same amount of money.  
 
Edited by Jen3030, 2020-04-01 22:44:22

and getting $290 also. ( I currently reside in BC).  
I didn't make over $20K last year.  
I posted some pictures if people want to know how to navigate the CRA website.

To a previous poster about student loans:  
You should have received an email stating that repayment on student loans is on hold for six months automatically.

Since ive been working after i graduated I dont believe ive ever had a gst cheque come to me. Net income whether as single or family was greater than 50k.  
 
Same goes with the CCB, we used to get more around $500 for 2 children, now we get around $300.  
 
And I lose 1/4 of my pay cheque to taxes.

For those who are common law GST should only be coming to 1 of you. If one has increased and the other not that would be why.

Two weeks ago or so, CRA reassessed my 2018 taxes and said I owe 399.01. It shows that my GST is being taken to go toward that amount(when I look at my CRA Account is just shows question marks beside the GST payment so I called). The amount of the extra GST payment exceeds what I owe. Anyone know when the extra will be issued?  
 
I had actually read that they were stopping all collections? The amount I owe isn’t actually due until April 6 according to their website.

Not in my case. Both my partner and I are getting GST april 9 but not April 3. Its weird.  
 
When I look at April 9, it says that it is a credit for underpayment in Jan and Oct (same with my spouse and my roommate when we look at our CRA accounts). Which is weird to me because 2 weeks ago my spouse and I owed Jan GST as we got paid it in Jan but were common law in Nov (guess they missed when I changed our CRA to that).  
 
So who knows. Everything is chaning every day regarding credits and benefits that the gov keeps talking about.

Will release the same day as the rest

Stopping collections isn't the same as stopping offsets. Offsets is when they transfer money from one program to another to pay a debt. Collections is when they harass you for money. I'm not sure if offsets are being halted.  
 
If they don't refund you the residual with everyone else's, it will refund during a supplementary run usually a week or so later. They payments are not processed daily, but rather on set "run days" (usually once or twice a week), and would need to be manually released by a person who will double-check it.

Your GST credit is based on your marital status for the quarter. So, if the last issuance is October (normally it's issued Jan, April, July & Oct), you were still "single" for purposes of issuing the credit. Your status changed in November, meaning that starting January, your benefit is calculated as "common-law". Depending on when you informed the CRA (did you fill out a declaration back in November like you were supposed to, or did you wait until you filled out your income tax return?), they likely didn't have the information when they calculated your January issuance, which they can do up to 4 weeks before the actual payment.  
 
If you both received in January and one or both of you owe money, your April payment would be adjusted, so you may not receive the April 3 payment, which is the regular payment.  
 
April 9 is the special additional payment. It's purpose is the double the amount of GST credit you receive for the current benefit year (July-June). I don't know the details of how they're doing the calculation/issuing, but my educated guess would be that you would both get the equivalent of your July & Oct payments separately (as you were both single for the purposes of payment), and your spouse will get for Jan & Apr for the two of you together (who ever's 2018 income tax return was assessed first gets it for the family).  
 
Edited by Abbysmum, 2020-04-02 16:22:47

It's not random. There will be a set calculation based on your individual circumstances, same as any other income-tested benefit.  
 
The published information states that the purpose of the payment is to double what a person/family will receive over the course of the current benefit year (July-June). So, if you receive $25 each quarter, for example, you'd receive $100/year. With this new funding, that would double to $200, to use our example numbers.  
 
What it unclear from the publically available information is if that money is issued all at once, or over several payments. Normally, April is the last regular payment for the benefit year, so it's possible it will all be issued at once.  
 
Don't forget everyone's situation is different, and everyone gets a different amount based on their family size and income. Also, if you had any changes mid-benefit year (such as marital status, income taxes, or changes in dependents), it will also impact your calculation.

1. Did you apply? Are you not eligible or not entitled, because those are different things. Did you or your spouse apply on your 2018 return? If you both applied, only the person who's return was assessed first is eligible.  
 
2. As I often pointed out to clients who called complaining they aren't entitled to GSTC, that's actually a good thing. It's supposed to be for the very lowest income earners, to refund the amount of GST they pay for goods and services. If you don't qualify, that means your are not in the lowest tax brackets.  
 
It sucks, yeah. We don't qualify either, but when you realize what the payment is actually intended for, it makes sense.

I know how GST works, and was expecting us to not get GST as our combined income would be too much for it.  
 
Yes I updated our CRA accounts in proper timing. I have had my CRA account for over 13 years, and have gone through many changes, both marital and living locations, phone numbers, ect.

I'm glad you know how it works. Many people still do not. There is much greater awareness about obligations in reporting changes, but lots still don't in a timely manner which only confuses them down the road.  
 
You would still get for the period prior to you being common-law, based on my guesses. I don't work there anymore so I only have publically available information to make educated guesses off of.

I checked and mine was deposited. That will help!

My husband and I got $798.20 on April 9th. We never get a GST credit normally so I have put it away in case it’s a mistake and we have to pay it back!