The Staycation Tax Credit for Ontario is something you'll want to get familiar with if you're planning any day trips or weekend excursions from Toronto this summer.

As we look forward to some more warm weather, many people will likely be making travel plans in lieu of everything starting to open up once again after months of cancellations and closures. 

The Staycation Tax Credit for 2022 allows eligible recipients to save on local Ontario destinations at short-term accommodation or camping locations such as hotels, motels, lodges, bed and breakfasts and campgrounds, among others. 

The tax credit applies on leisure stays until the end of this year, regardless of when payments were made on the stay.

As long as you have paid for the accommodations and have the costs laid out on a detailed receipt by a supplier that is registered for the GST and HST, you can save on:

• single or multiple trips up to $1000 for an individual and up to $2000 for families
• stays booked either directly through the accommodation or through a website
• the portion of the expense that is necessary to have access to the accommodation
• the accommodation portion of a tour package expense

The receipts must include details on the location of the accommodation, the amount paid for the stay, the amount of GST/HST paid, the date of the stay and the name of the person who paid. 

Certain expenses do not qualify at all for the staycation tax credit, namely anything that "self propels" like time spent on a train or boat, travel expenses that are not for short-term accommodations such as car rentals and grocery purchases, reimbursed expenses, expenses incurred for educational purposes and expenses eligible for medical tax credit. 

You can get up to 20 per cent of your eligible 2022 accommodation expenses when you file your personal income tax next season.

You must be an Ontario resident on December 31, 2022 in order to qualify and only one person per family can make a claim for the year, although the expenses can include spouses and eligible children as well. 

The staycation tax credit can be claimed on your personal income tax and benefit return for 2022, and applies regardless of whether you owe taxes for 2022. 

It's predicted to provide about $270 million to residents across Ontario.