Apply for a heating assistance rebate: Heating Assistance Rebate Program

The Heating Assistance Rebate Program helps low-income Nova Scotians with the cost of home heating. Rebates range from $100 to $200. You can apply until 31 March 2020.

Apply to the Heating Assistance Rebate Program for help with the cost of home heating. You can receive up to $200 if you qualify for the Heating Assistance Rebate Program.

Rebate amount

Your rebate amount is based on your income, as reported to Canada Revenue Agency.

Household income if you live alone	Household income if you live with kids, dependents, or other adults	Rebate
Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) or Income Assistance	Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) or Income Assistance	$200
$27,000 or less	$42,000 or less	$200
$27,001 - $27,500	$42,001 - $42,500	$175
$27,501 - $28,000	$42,501 - $43,000	$150
$28,001 - $28,500	$43,001 - $43,500	$125
$28,501 - $29,000	$43,501 - $44,000	$100

Eligibility

To qualify for the rebate, you need to pay for your own home heat and meet 1 of the following criteria:

have a net income of $29,000 or less and live alone with no kids or dependents
have a combined net income of $44,000 or less and live with kids, dependents, or other adults
receive Income Assistance from the Department of Community Services
receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) or the Allowance from Service Canada

If your personal or financial situation has changed since last year, you still may qualify. Examples of changes include becoming widowed, getting divorced or legally separated, losing your job, turning 18, recently arriving in Canada, or having the custody of your children change. Contact Service Nova Scotia to find out if you qualify.

How to apply

Apply online for the rebate.
Check the application for details on all required supporting documents.
Submit your completed application and any supporting documents.
Check your application status online (if you apply online).
If your income tax refund is direct deposited, your heating assistance rebate is too. If not, your rebate is mailed to you.

How long it takes

It should take 8 weeks to get your rebate. It can take longer if more information is needed or if your application hasn’t been filled in correctly. If additional information is required to process your rebate, we may contact you by email.

Cost

There is no cost to apply for the rebate.

Before you start

Make sure you have:

all adults on the application available to sign the form
social insurance numbers and dates of birth of all adults in your home

You may need to provide additional supporting documents including:

2018 Canada Revenue Agency Notice of Assessment for you and any other adults in your home
proof of change in marital status
Canada Child Benefit Form
citizenship application
GST/HST payment information form

The Heating Assistance Rebate Program may contact you and ask you to provide a heating bill or receipt for oil, electricity, natural gas, wood, wood pellets, coal or other heating source dated between 01 January 2019 and 31 March 2020. If you don’t have a heating bill or receipt, you need to complete 1 of the following forms:

Landlord Declaration Form if you rent and pay for your own electric heat
Firewood Declaration Form if you harvest your own firewood to heat your home
Wood Invoice Form if you use wood to heat your home

Apply online

When you apply online you need to upload any supporting documents. You can do this by scanning the documents or taking pictures of them. You also need to provide the signatures of all adults in the application.

Start now

Other ways to apply

You can use the Heating Assistance Rebate Application Form if you’re unable to apply online. Send your completed application (both sides of the application) and any supporting documents by mail or fax. If you’d like to receive a paper application by mail, contact us.