The federal carbon pollution pricing system was implemented in Alberta on January 1, 2020. A charge on fossil fuels is part of the Canadian government’s climate change action plan to help lower carbon emissions. The fuel charge rates reflect a carbon pollution price of $65 per tonne of carbon dioxide and will continue to rise by $15 per tonne annually to reach $170 per tonne in 2030. You will notice a line item on your gas bill to reflect the rate per GJ of natural gas consumed. The amount collected is remitted to the Federal Government monthly by your utility company.
Effective Date Federal Fuel Charge per GJ
January 1, 2020 $1.05/GJ
April 1, 2020 $1.58GJ
April 1, 2021 $2.10/GJ
April 1, 2022 $2.63/GJ
April 1, 2023 $3.33/GJ
April 1, 2024 $4.10/GJ < We are here
Canada Carbon Rebate payments
To help pay for the charge, Albertan’s over the age of 19 will automatically receive rebate payments four times per year on the 15th (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct) by direct deposit or cheque, whatever you are signed up for on the CRA website. If you have a spouse or common-law partner, only one of you can get the credit for the family. The credit will be paid to the spouse or common-law partner whose tax return was assessed first. No matter which one of you receives the credit, the amount will be the same. Please see below for an example of how much your family could receive split over 4 payments throughout the year.
- $1080 for a single adult or the first adult in a couple
- $540 for the second adult in a couple
- $270 for each child in the family
- Above includes the 20% extra for residents of small and rural communities (outside of Edmonton, Calgary and Lethbridge)
*A rural family of four could get up to $2,160 ($540 quarterly).