Samira paid rent by e-transfer every month. Her banking app proves that money left her account, but the transfers alone do not clearly identify the rental address or the period covered.
She prepares a rent record before completing the Ontario benefit application with her tax return.
List each place you lived
For each Ontario principal residence, record the address, months of occupancy, rent paid and landlord's name. Keep receipts and payment evidence together. If you moved, separate the addresses instead of giving one unexplained annual total.
The Ontario energy and property tax credit has eligibility and qualifying-occupancy rules. The 2026 credit application on the 2025 return uses the relevant 2025 amounts; a 2026 rent increase does not replace those figures.
Report your actual eligible share
Where unrelated roommates share a rental, each generally reports their own share of eligible rent. Samira does not claim her roommate's payments simply because she sent the combined transfer to the landlord.
Spouses or common-law partners have different application rules and should coordinate the claim. Student residences, subsidized accommodation and other living arrangements may also require special treatment rather than using the ordinary private-rental calculation.
A deposit should be identified separately with the period it ultimately covers. Do not automatically count the same money when paid and again when applied to the last month's rent.
Complete the application, not just the income lines
The relevant ON-BEN information is part of requesting the property and energy components. Filing with little or no income can still matter, but eligibility and payment size depend on the benefit rules and family circumstances.
Rent is not a general federal deduction for living expenses, and the benefit is not a dollar-for-dollar rent refund. Samira's organized record supports the appropriate application without overstating what the rent payments produce.
