Heritage Grants and Tax Refund Programs

We created a Heritage Incentive Program for properties in Kingston designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. This overall program consists of two connected programs to help eligible property owners in Kingston. The Heritage Grant Bylaw assists owners of Heritage properties with the cost of undertaking approved conservation or restoration projects.

Heritage Property Grant program 

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The City of Kingston’s Heritage Property Grant Program offers matching grants to help owners of protected heritage properties complete eligible conservation work. The program includes two grant options: a Large Project grant (up to $50,000) and a Small Project grant (up to $10,000). To be eligible, a property must be:

• Subject to a heritage conservation easement registered on title of the property under Part II or Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act; or 
• Designated under Part IV (individually) and/or Part V (Heritage Conservation District) of the Ontario Heritage Act 

Properties designated as part of Heritage Conservation Districts (Part V) must be classified as a contributing part of the heritage value of the district. 

A grant application must be associated with: 

• An active heritage permit issued under the Ontario Heritage Act; or  
• A new heritage permit application that has been submitted concurrently with the grant application. Submit an application through DASH for a Heritage Permit before submitting a grant application.  

Note: A protected heritage property is only eligible for one large grant every three (3) years or one small grant every calendar year. A property cannot receive both a large and small grant in the same calendar year. 

Large project: $50.000

Each calendar year, the program offers one matching grant of up to $50,000 to support a large eligible conservation project for a protected heritage property. The grant covers up to 50% of the total project cost, to a maximum of $50,000. Applications for 2026 are open until July 17, 2026.

Small project: $10,000 

Each calendar year, the program offers matching grants for eligible conservation work on protected heritage properties, up to $10,000 or 50% of the total project cost. Applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis starting January 1 each year.

Heritage Property Tax Refund program 

The Municipal Act, 2001, offers a 40 per cent tax refund per property (up to $5,000 of the total cost of conservation works with specific criteria) for properties with a heritage easement agreement. You can get this refund once every three years.  

You will receive this refund after you pay your taxes. You have until the end of February, the year after the tax year, to apply e.g., for the 2023 tax year, the deadline is Feb. 29, 2024. 

Create a MyKingston account to easily apply for a Heritage Property Tax Refund program online.