Free guide · Ontario

ODSP monthly reporting, and what the rules say about overpayments

The reporting date, how the calculation works, and what the directive requires when ODSP says you were paid too much. This page explains the mechanism. It does not advise anyone on what or how to report.

The reporting date

If you or your family earn money, you must report it by the seventh day of the following month.

September earnings are reported by October 7. Working and earning money on ODSP →

Where the report goes

✓the MyBenefits online service
✓the automated telephone reporting line
✓the paper Employment and Training Income Report form

How the calculation works

These are the published rules for how earnings interact with income support. They are here so a change in a payment makes sense, not as something to plan around. What applies to your own file, and what your own numbers do, is a question for your caseworker or a community legal clinic, who can see the file itself.

The first $1,000 a month in net earnings does not reduce income support.
Above that, the deduction is three-quarters (75%) of net monthly earnings above the first $1,000.
A Work-Related Benefit of up to $100 is added for each family member in a month with earnings from a job, a training program, or a business.
For a non-disabled adult family member, the first $200 a month in net earnings does not reduce income support.
For a full-time postsecondary student, all earnings are exempt, including in the four months preceding attendance.

If ODSP says you were overpaid

An overpayment is established where a recipient received more than they were eligible to receive.

What the notice has to contain

The Director must give written notice of an overpayment decision, setting out the amount of the overpayment, the period for which it applies, the reason for which it was incurred, and the right to appeal.

The recovery rate

The system recovery rate is set at 5% of budgetary requirements, and the prescribed rate of recovery is 10% of budgetary requirements.

An overpayment recovery deduction must not exceed 10% of monthly budgetary requirements, unless the recipient agrees in writing to a greater amount.

When staff can set a lower rate

Staff may use their discretion to set a lower recovery rate where the following circumstances are present:

✓the client was not informed of their reporting requirements
✓the reason for the overpayment was an administrative error
✓factors beyond the individual’s control prevented reporting in a timely or accurate way
✓applying the rate would result in undue hardship, on evidence provided to the local office

The rate itself can be appealed

ODSP policy directive 11.1: Recovery of overpayments →

An overpayment decision is a decision, so the internal review clock applies to it. Which route a decision takes, and the clock on it →

Common Questions

When do I have to report my earnings to ODSP?

If you or your family earn money, you must report it by the seventh day of the following month. September earnings are reported by October 7.

How do I send the report?

Through the MyBenefits online service, the automated telephone reporting line, or the paper Employment and Training Income Report form.

ODSP says I was overpaid. What are they required to tell me?

How much can ODSP take back each month?

The system recovery rate is set at 5% of budgetary requirements, and the prescribed rate of recovery is 10% of budgetary requirements. A recovery deduction must not exceed 10% of monthly budgetary requirements, unless the recipient agrees in writing to a greater amount.

Can an overpayment be disputed?

Decisions about the correctness of an overpayment assessment and the rate of recovery of an overpayment can be appealed to the Social Benefits Tribunal, and the Tribunal can make a decision ordering that an overpayment not be recovered. Separately, staff have discretion to set a lower recovery rate in the circumstances listed on this page.