Government of Ontario – Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program
Description:
The new Ontario Business Costs Rebate Program support businesses that are most impacted by public health measures in response to the Omicron variant. Eligible businesses that are required to close or reduce capacity will receive rebate payments for a portion of the property tax and energy costs they incur while subject to these measures.
Comments on Funding:
Funding will take the form of a rebate and will cover:
- 50% of the property tax and energy costs businesses incur while required to reduce capacity to 50% due to the public health measures in response to the Omicron variant;
- 100% of the property tax and energy costs businesses incur while required to close for indoor activities, such as restaurants and gyms.
Eligibility:
Applicants must be businesses that meet the following criteria:
Landlords are not eligible for this program unless they own or operate an eligible business.
The following types of businesses are eligible for support:
Applications Steps:
Documentation Needed:
Applicants must submit:
- photograph of the exterior of the business. One can only upload one file to the system. Maximum file size is 6 MB. Allowed file types: JPG, PNG or PDF.
- a void cheque which needs to show either the legal business name or operating business name of the business.
- property tax and energy bills as follows:
- for the property tax component, submit a digital copy of the 2021 final commercial (non-residential) property tax bill or proof of costs associated with 2021 annual property taxes; and
- for the energy costs component, submit a digital copy of all pages of the energy bill(s) (i.e., electricity, natural gas, propane and/or heating oil) received on or after the day the business became subject to a provincially-mandated capacity limit of 50% or lower (for example, on or after December 19, 2021 for a restaurant business). Partial bills will not be accepted.
Other Things to Note:
Online applications for this program opened in mid-January 2022. Payments to eligible businesses are retroactive to December 19, 2021.
When It Ends:
Ongoing
Deadline:
Rolling deadline