Canadian Government Benefits Guide (2026): Every Major Program and Who Qualifies
This is the hub for the government-benefits cluster. The month-by-month calendar is 2026 benefit payment dates. The order of income tests, once more than one cheque is live, is the existing stacking map. This page names the programs and the September 2026 figures. It does not replace the notice in your CRA account.
- For July 2026 to June 2027, the Canada Child Benefit maximum is $8,157 per child under 6 and $6,883 per child aged 6 to 17, with no reduction when adjusted family net income is under $38,237.
- The GST/HST credit was renamed the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit in July 2026. CRA says the calculation is the same structure, with a 25% increase that remains for five years, through 2031.
- A CPP retirement pension beginning in January 2026 maxes at $1,507.65 a month at age 65. The average for new beneficiaries is $877.01. Your estimate is in My Service Canada Account.
- For July to September 2026, full OAS is $751.97 a month from 65 to 74 and $827.17 from 75. Deferral adds 0.6% a month, up to 36% at 70.
- The Canada Disability Benefit maximum for July 2026 to June 2027 is $204.20 a month, and only with an approved Disability Tax Credit. The Canadian Dental Care Plan requires adjusted family net income under $90,000 and no private dental coverage.
Which programs pay you for filing, and which need an application?
File a return even when you owe nothing. CRA uses that return for the Canada Child Benefit, the child disability benefit inside it, and the Groceries and Essentials Benefit. Service Canada uses it for the Canada Disability Benefit. The dental plan also requires the prior-year return and a notice of assessment, and then a separate application. CPP and OAS are Service Canada pensions. You apply, unless Service Canada has already enrolled you for OAS and sent the letter.
| Program | Who it is for | What you do | Figure reviewed in September 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Child Benefit | A resident who is primarily responsible for a child under 18. | Apply once, then file every year. The CCB optimization guide is the July reset. | Up to $8,157 under age 6, or $6,883 from 6 to 17, for July 2026 to June 2027. Full amounts if adjusted family net income is under $38,237. |
| Child disability benefit | The same family, for a child under 18 with an approved Disability Tax Credit. CRA abbreviates this child amount as CDB. It is not the Canada Disability Benefit. | The T2201 approval is the gate. The amount is added to the CCB payment. The credit itself is the Disability Tax Credit guide. | Up to $3,480 a year ($290 a month) per eligible child for the same payment period. It starts to fall once adjusted family net income is over $82,847. |
| Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit | Low- and modest-income residents, generally 19 or older. | File. Newcomers in their first year use Form RC151. Amounts are the Groceries and Essentials Benefit guide. | For July 2026 to June 2027, up to $679 single, $890 for a couple, and $234 per child under 19. Quarterly. Not taxable. |
| Canadian Dental Care Plan | A tax resident with adjusted family net income under $90,000 and no access to private dental coverage. | Apply. Applications for the benefit year July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 are open. Details are the dental plan guide. | No co-payment under $70,000 of adjusted family net income. A 40% co-payment from $70,000 to $79,999. A 60% co-payment from $80,000 to $89,999. Those shares are of the plan's fees, not of every dentist's bill. |
| CPP retirement pension | Anyone with at least one valid CPP contribution. Quebec contributors use the QPP. | Apply, from 60 to 70. The estimate is how much CPP will I get. The start-date collision with other cheques is CPP timing, and the retirement version is when to take CPP. | Maximum at 65 for a pension beginning in January 2026: $1,507.65 a month. Average for new beneficiaries: $877.01. Later start months can have a higher maximum because of the enhancement. |
| Old Age Security | Age 65, legal status, and enough years in Canada after 18. Ten years if you live in Canada. Forty years for a full pension. | Apply, or wait for an automatic-enrolment letter if you qualify for one. Rules and the age-75 increase are OAS eligibility and deferral. | July to September 2026: $751.97 a month at 65 to 74, $827.17 at 75 and over, for a full pension. Deferral to 70 reaches $1,022.68 on that same quarter's age-65 maximum. |
| Guaranteed Income Supplement and the Allowances | Low-income people who receive OAS, plus some spouses and survivors aged 60 to 64. | File, and apply where Service Canada requires it. Household income tests are OAS and GIS income stacking. The retirement write-up is OAS clawback and GIS. | July to September 2026: GIS up to $1,123.17 a month for a single OAS pensioner, with an income cut-off of $22,800 on that table. A couple who both receive OAS: up to $676.09 each, cut-off $30,096. |
| Canada Disability Benefit | Working-age residents, 18 to 64, with an approved Disability Tax Credit. | Apply to Service Canada, and keep filing. The interaction with the credit is the Canada Disability Benefit guide. | Maximum $204.20 a month for July 2026 to June 2027, from 2025 income. Not taxable. A $150 supplement toward Disability Tax Credit certification costs is scheduled from fall 2026. |
| Employment Insurance | People with insurable hours who lost work, or who qualify for a special benefit. | Apply to Service Canada. Quebec parental benefits are the QPIP, not EI. The split is EI benefits. | Weekly maximums are republished with the premium year. This page does not copy a weekly rate. Read the current Service Canada page before you budget one. |
| Canada Carbon Rebate for individuals | It was for residents of provinces where the federal fuel charge applied. | Nothing quarterly remains to apply for. What ended, and what did not replace it, is the carbon rebate has ended. | The federal fuel charge stopped effective April 1, 2025. The final quarterly payment was April 2025. There is no 2026 payment date. |
Table as of September 2026. Provincial income assistance, drug plans, and housing rebates use different statutes. The way to read those tests is provincial benefits. Housing pipes that are not a monthly benefit — the Home Buyers' Plan, the new-housing rebate, land-transfer relief — are beyond the FHSA.
How do the income tests differ?
A dollar is not the same dollar to every program. Adjusted family net income, for the child benefit and the dental plan, starts from line 23600 of both spouses and then adjusts for the universal child care benefit and RDSP income. OAS recovery looks at one person's net world income. GIS looks at a household and exempts a slice of employment earnings. The Canada Disability Benefit exempts a working-income amount and then reduces the benefit by 20 cents on the dollar, or 10 cents each when both partners are beneficiaries. CPP itself is taxable income on several of those tests.
| Test | Whose income | Which year | The threshold in force for this article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada Child Benefit | Adjusted family net income | 2025 return, for payments from July 2026 to June 2027 | No reduction under $38,237. A second bend at $82,847. |
| Groceries and Essentials Benefit | Adjusted family net income | Same July-to-June pattern. July and October 2026 use the 2025 return. | Phase-out begins above $46,432. The CRA chart drops 5 cents per dollar above that line. |
| OAS recovery tax | The pensioner's own net world income | 2025 income, recovered from July 2026 to June 2027 | 15% of income above $93,454. The upper end of that range is $152,062 at ages 65 to 74 and $157,923 at 75 and over. |
| Canadian Dental Care Plan | Adjusted family net income | The prior return, assessed before you apply | Ineligible at $90,000 and above. Co-payment steps at $70,000 and $80,000. |
Nora and Sam have adjusted family net income of $50,000 and two children, one under 6 and one aged 9. They live in a province and they have filed. On the child benefit, the maximums add to $8,157 plus $6,883, which is $15,040. Income above $38,237 is $11,763. For two children the first-band reduction is 13.5%, and 13.5% of $11,763 is $1,588.01. The illustrated annual CCB is $15,040 minus $1,588.01, or $13,451.99, about $1,121 a month. On the Groceries and Essentials Benefit, CRA's payments chart lists $1,179.60 a year for a couple with two children at $50,000. That is the chart's number, not a second guess. A December bonus in 2026 does not change either cheque until the next July. The CCB guide is that lag. This illustration ignores provincial supplements that can ride inside the deposit, and it ignores the child disability benefit because neither child is assumed to have a Disability Tax Credit.
What should you read next?
Use the spoke that matches the cheque, then come back to the stacking map if two tests are live at once. Payment days for the rest of 2026 are the calendar. Seniors who are choosing a start month should read the CPP estimate and OAS deferral before they read a breakeven article. A Disability Tax Credit that never gets filed blocks both the child disability benefit and the Canada Disability Benefit. A private dental plan, even one you declined, blocks the federal dental plan.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to apply for every benefit?
No. The Canada Child Benefit needs an application the first time a child is in your care, and then a return each year. The Groceries and Essentials Benefit is automatic once you file, unless you are a newcomer using Form RC151. CPP needs an application. OAS needs one unless Service Canada enrolls you. The dental plan and the Canada Disability Benefit need applications even after the return is assessed.
Are these payments taxable?
CRA's child-benefit guide calls the Canada Child Benefit a non-taxable amount. The Groceries and Essentials Benefit page says those payments are not taxable. The Canada Disability Benefit payments page says the benefit is non-taxable. CPP retirement payments are taxable. OAS is included in the income that the recovery tax reads. Do not treat one rule as the rule for the cheque beside it.
Why does my deposit not match the maximum?
Maximums are the top of a formula, not the typical payment. Income above the threshold reduces the child benefit and the groceries benefit. A partial OAS pension is years of residence divided by 40. CPP is your record, and the average new retirement pension is $877.01 against a January 2026 maximum of $1,507.65. Provincial amounts can also make a deposit larger than the federal line.
What happened to the GST/HST credit and the carbon rebate?
The GST/HST credit was renamed the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit in July 2026. January and April 2026 were still paid under the old name. The Canada Carbon Rebate for individuals stopped after the April 2025 payment, when the federal fuel charge ended. It was not renamed into the groceries benefit. The closed page and the April 2025 amounts are the carbon rebate article.
I live in Quebec. Which of these are federal?
OAS, the Canada Child Benefit, the Groceries and Essentials Benefit, the dental plan, and the Canada Disability Benefit are federal. The retirement pension for Quebec workers is the QPP, administered by Retraite Québec, not CPP. Parental benefits are the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan. Use the Quebec estimate. Do not paste a CPP illustration onto a QPP record.
Where do provincial credits show up?
Several provincial sales-tax and income supplements are calculated by CRA and paid with the Groceries and Essentials Benefit. Ontario's sales tax credit is the exception in that guide: it is part of the Ontario Trillium Benefit and is issued separately. The federal calendar is not the provincial statute. Start with provincial benefits when the program is not on this table.
Sources
- CRA, Canada Child Benefit guide (T4114), July 2026 to June 2027 amounts
- CRA, how much you can get, Canada Child Benefit
- CRA, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit
- ESDC, Canada Pension Plan monthly payment amounts
- ESDC, OAS and GIS amounts, July to September 2026
- Canada.ca, Canadian Dental Care Plan, do you qualify
- Canada.ca, Canada Disability Benefit, how much you could receive
The benefit year is built from the return.
File it, then read the notice. The 2026 tax guide is the filing companion for the lines these programs read.
Get the 2026 Tax Guide — $49 CAD
