How payments are applied to offset debt

Since October 2022, the Canada Revenue Agency has resumed its activities aimed at offsetting taxpayers' debt. Offsetting involves proactively applying tax refunds and benefit payments (such as the GST/HST credit) to tax and other government debts.

The chart below outlines how government payments can be applied to specific debts.

How benefits and credits can be applied to your government debt
Government debt Credit from Individual tax return (2022 tax year) Credit from Individual tax return (before 2022) CRA’s COVID-19 benefits (for example, Canada Emergency and Recovery Benefit or CERB) Child benefits: national, provincial, and territorial CRA benefits and credits (for example GST/HST credit)
Individual tax return (2022 tax year) N/A Yes No No Yes
Individual tax return (before 2022) Yes Yes No No Yes
CRA’s COVID-19 benefits (for example, Canada Emergency and Recovery Benefit or CERB) Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Child benefits: national, provincial, and territorial Yes Yes No Yes Yes
CRA benefits and credits (for example GST/HST credit) Yes Yes No No Yes
Family Orders and Agreements Yes Yes No No Yes
Other government debtFootnote 1 Yes Yes No No Yes

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