The Surroundup

ONTARIO STAYCATION CREDIT: HOW IS GILLIAN USING IT?

  • by Gillian Stovel Rivers, MA, CFP®, CEA
  • July 27, 2022

Cottage lake

For clients who live here in Ontario, this is a nice little perk in the 2022 personal tax year that I am definitely taking advantage of. Having tried out some international travel via airports earlier this year, I find myself craving something easy to access, that doesn’t require the hassle of an airport, and allows me to contribute to our economy with my vacation dollars.

After some careful searching on various apps including VRBO, AirBnB and Expedia, I finally found us the perfect cottage to rent on VRBO. Turns out that it meets the criteria outlined to claim the Ontario Staycation Tax Credit.

The temporary Ontario Staycation Tax Credit is a personal income tax credit for eligible Ontario residents to claim 20% of qualified accommodation expenses for vacations taken between January 1-December 31, 2022 in Ontario, up to a maximum of $1,000 for an individual and $2,000 for a family.

In my case, the cottage rental will cost me $4,700 plus HST (the vacation must charge HST to be legit!). The value of the credit to me is 20% of the total, or about $1,170. In simple terms, spending this amount in my home province this year will save me $1,170 in taxes AND my kids can tell me to go jump in the lake 😉 That’s a win-win if you ask me.

For more information here is the link to details on the Ontario Staycation Tax Credit