Banks to start identifying carbon tax rebates as the 'Canada Carbon Rebate' starting today

Starting today, most banks are expected to start clearly identifying quarterly direct deposits of carbon tax rebates as the Canada Carbon Rebate.

Many eligible Canadians will receive another quarterly rebate from the federal government today to compensate them for paying the federal fuel charge, commonly known as the carbon tax.

In the past, these rebates appeared in consumers' accounts under generic labels like "federal payment" or "EFT Canada," leaving recipients clueless about the source.

Recent changes to the Financial Administration Act compel banks to label government payments accepted for deposit. Carbon tax rebates are to appear in personal bank accounts as the "Canada Carbon Rebate" or "CdaCarbonRebate".

A senior federal government source with knowledge of the move said internal government polling shows roughly half of Canadians who are eligible for the rebate don't know it exists. CBC News has not viewed the polling data or results. 

The source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said that most banks are expected to use the government's labelling starting today. CIBC, the source said, is expected to adopt the labelling in October.

Carbon pricing works differently in Quebec, British Columbia and the three territories — these jurisdictions have their own carbon pricing systems, or their residents do not receive federal rebates. Everywhere else — the Prairies, Ontario and Atlantic Canada — Canadians receive the federal rebates and pay the federal carbon tax.

Since Ottawa's fuel levy was introduced in 2019, the carbon tax has added 17.6 cents to the cost of a litre of gasoline. The levies for other fuels can be found online. Conservatives have long argued the tax also raises the cost of other goods and services upon which families rely.

In places where the federal government delivers rebates, the payments arrive every three months on the 15th.

Here are the amounts a single adult person can expect to receive quarterly:

Here are the amounts a family of four can expect to receive quarterly:

Small businesses are now eligible for the Canada Carbon Rebate as well. The government says the measure will return $2.5 billion to an estimated 600,000 eligible small businesses.

But in a news release, Environment Canada said today is the final day for small businesses to file their tax returns to receive the rebate. The government has yet to say how large the rebate will be for small businesses, or when they will receive it. But the government said the rebate amount will be equal to the number employees multiplied by the payment rate for the province for the corresponding years. 

Canadians eligible for the rural top up will see it double from 10 to 20 per cent. But Canadians, the government said, won't see the doubled rural supplement until Oct. 15.