I was confined to a prison or similar institution for a period of at least 90 days during the year

If you were confined to a prison (such as a federal penitentiary) or a similar institution* for 90 days or more during the year, you won’t be able to receive certain benefits such as the GST/HST credit and Canada Working Benefit (CWB).

If you spent more than six months in a prison or a similar institution during the year, in addition to the GST/HST credit and CWB, you won’t be able to claim any of the following:

• Old Age Security (OAS) (if you’re incarcerated for two years or more)
• Provincial tax credits such as the British Columbia Sales Tax Credit or Ontario Property and Sales Tax Credit or
• Any of the Québec tax credits related to work premium

Remember that while you’re confined to a prison, jail, or another similar institution, you also lose your entitlement to Employment Insurance (EI) and the Solidarity Tax Credit (for Québec residents).

*Note: A similar institution can be:

• A jail or provincial penitentiary
• A psychiatric institution (if you were sent to one as part of your prison sentence)
• Confinement to a certain residence such as in the case of a house arrest/halfway house, home detention, or electronic monitoring