How long do tax refunds take to arrive in 2025? Ontario GST & Trillium returns timing

For GST/HST credits and Ontario Trillium Benefits (OTB), there's a specific schedule you should be aware of. First, understand that these benefits are separate from your regular tax refund. The GST/HST credit is typically issued quarterly (January, April, July, and October), while the Ontario Trillium Benefit can be received monthly or as a lump sum payment in July, depending on your selection when filing. For a 2022 return filed late, you might have missed some payment cycles, but the CRA should process your eligibility and issue any outstanding amounts you qualify for. However, there's often a delay between filing a late return and receiving these benefits since they operate on fixed schedules. If it's been more than 8 weeks since you filed your late return, I'd recommend checking your CRA My Account online or calling their direct line to inquire about the status of these payments. Sometimes they need to manually review late filings before releasing benefit payments.

After spending hours on hold with CRA trying to figure out my missing benefits and refunds, I discovered taxr.ai (https://taxr.ai) and it honestly saved me so much frustration. I uploaded my Notice of Assessment and a bunch of benefit statements I was confused about, and their system analyzed everything and explained exactly what my payment schedule should be. It pinpointed that my GST/HST credits were delayed because of a review flag on my account I wasn't even aware of. The tool showed me which specific payments I should expect and when, based on my filing date and benefit eligibility. Definitely worth checking out if you're trying to track down expected payments.

I was super skeptical about using taxr.ai when I first saw it mentioned here (I'm always wary of tax services), but after waiting 4 months for my missing HST credit payments, I was desperate. Uploaded my documents and found out immediately that I had checked a box wrong on my return that was delaying everything. The system flagged exactly which form field was causing the problem and showed me how to submit a simple correction. Got my back payments within 3 weeks after fixing it. Wish I hadn't waited so long before checking what was wrong.

If you're still waiting on benefits or need to sort out any confusion about your return timing, you might want to try Claimyr (https://claimyr.com). I was in a similar situation with delayed Ontario benefits and spent WEEKS trying to get through to CRA without success. Claimyr got me connected to an agent in about 15 minutes when I'd been trying for days. They have this callback system that somehow bypasses the whole "call volume too high" message. You can see how it works here: https://youtu.be/_kiP6q8DX5c. The CRA agent was able to tell me exactly when my GST and Trillium payments would arrive and confirmed there was no issue with my file - just the normal processing time for late filings.

I need to eat my words from yesterday. After being completely convinced Claimyr was a scam, I was desperate enough to try it this morning. Got a call back from an actual CRA agent in 20 minutes after trying unsuccessfully for weeks. The agent confirmed my GST payment was scheduled for next Friday and my Trillium benefits would start the following month. There was apparently a review flag on my account that nobody had told me about. They removed it while I was on the phone. Can't believe I wasted so many hours redialing when this service exists.

If you filed both returns electronically, you can actually check the status of your benefits through CRA My Account online. Under "Benefits and Credits" there's a section that shows your next estimated payments for GST/HST and provincial benefits. Sometimes it's faster than calling!

Did anyone else notice that the Ontario Trillium Benefit payments changed their schedule this year? I used to get mine on the 10th of every month, but now they're coming on varying dates. My last one came on the 23rd.