Province Outlines 2011-12 Home Heating Rebate

The Home Heating Rebate Program, which helps many residents pay for rising energy costs, will continue for 2011-12. Eligibility requirements will remain the same as last year. Residents of the province whose adjusted family income for the 2010 taxation year was $40,000 or less will qualify for a rebate of between $100 and $250. The maximum rebate is increased to $500 for those in coastal Labrador. Further details on the program can be found in the backgrounder below.

“We recognize that heating accounts for a significant portion of a household’s budget and that many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians rely on the home heating rebate to help offset costs,” said the Honourable Tom Marshall, Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board. “That’s why we are continuing the Home Heating Rebate Program and have implemented the new Residential Energy Rebate that sees residents save even more. Both programs are examples of how this government continues to ease the financial burden for people in the province.”

This year, the Provincial Government also introduced a new Residential Energy Rebate that sees all consumers, regardless of income, reimbursed for the eight per cent provincial portion of the HST that is paid on home heating and electricity. Those who qualify for the Home Heating Rebate Program also benefit from the Residential Energy Rebate. For example, a household with an annual income of $35,000 that purchases $3,000 in residential energy would now save $490 on heating costs as opposed to $250 last year.

More than 66,000 home heating rebates were issued through the Home Heating Rebate Program office in Grand Falls-Windsor last year. When combined with the Residential Energy Rebate, residents of Newfoundland and Labrador will save approximately $55 million this year when heating their homes.

Complete details of the Home Heating Rebate Program, including the application form, can be found online at www.gov.nl.ca/fin/homeheating, by calling toll-free at 1-855-223-7432 or by e-mail at homeheatprogram@gov.nl.ca.

Application forms will also be available in provincial newspapers, at regional offices of the Department of Advanced Education and Skills (formerly Human Resources, Labour and Employment), Service NL centres, and the Seniors’ Resource Centre in St. John’s.

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Media contact:
Luke Joyce
Director of Communications
Department of Finance
709-729-6830, 725-4165
lukejoyce@gov.nl.ca 

BACKGROUNDER
Home Heating Rebate Program

The home heating rebate is available to residents of the province who directly incur costs to heat their home and whose adjusted family income for the 2010 taxation year was $40,000 or less, regardless of the primary source of heat.

For most people, adjusted family income is the net income (Line 236 of the income tax return) of the applicant plus, if applicable, the net income of that applicant’s spouse or partner. If you had a child under the age of six in 2010, adjusted income does not include net Universal Child Care Benefit payments received. If you received income from a Registered Disability Savings Plan in 2010, your adjusted income does not include the net amount of payments received from that plan.

Rebate Amounts
Eligible households are those which have an adjusted family income of $40,000 or less for the 2010 taxation year. Regardless of the energy source purchased to heat the home, eligible households will receive a maximum rebate of $250, where adjusted family income for 2010 is $35,000 or less. Eligible households in Coastal Labrador communities will receive a maximum rebate of $500. A partial rebate is available to households with adjusted family income for 2010 above $35,000 but less than $40,000, with a minimum rebate of $100. See the table below for examples of rebate amounts, based on a sliding scale.

Residents who qualify for the Home Heating Rebate Program also benefit from the Residential Energy Rebate that was announced earlier this year that sees all consumers, regardless of income, reimbursed for the eight per cent provincial portion of the HST that is paid on home heating and electricity.

How to Apply
Eligible individuals or families must apply for the rebate. In addition to a completed application form, applicants must provide an invoice for any month from September 2011 to April 30, 2012, for either an electricity, wood or heating fuel purchase, as well as a cutting permit for wood (if applicable), depending on which is the primary heat source. The invoice should demonstrate that the individual or family directly incurs costs to heat the home. Only one person per household may apply for the rebate. Rental properties with heat included in the rent do not qualify for the rebate.

The deadline for submitting applications is September 30, 2012. Most applications will be processed within 10 weeks of when they are received by the department.

Home heating rebate application forms are available through the following:

• Department of Finance website – www.gov.nl.ca/fin/homeheating
• Department of Finance and the Seniors’ Resource Centre in St. John’s
• Throughout the province at the regional Department of Advanced Education and Skills offices (formerly Human Resources, Labour and Employment) and Service NL centres
• Local newspapers

Applications must be sent to:

Home Heating Rebate
Department of Finance
Tax Administration Division
P.O. Box 6000, 32 Queensway
Grand Falls-Windsor, NL
A2A 0B8

For further information on the home heating rebate, please contact the Department of Finance toll-free at 1-855-223-7432 or by e-mail at homeheatprogram@gov.nl.ca.

2011 11 15                             3:10 p.m.