Note: The name of the GST Credit has been revised to the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit
Is the Benefit Taxable Income?
Who is Eligible for the Benefit?
Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit - new for 2026
Provincial and Territorial Programs paid with the Benefit
Automatic Benefit Based on Tax Return
File an Income Tax Return at Age 18! - important!
Immigrants to Canada and the Benefit
Additional GST Payments in 2020 and 2022
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Resources
The benefit, paid to individuals and families with low or modest income, is non-taxable.
Generally, Canadian residents age 19 or older are eligible to receive the federal benefit, which is paid quarterly to eligible recipients. You will get the benefit for your spouse or common-law partner. The benefit will be paid to the spouse or common-law partner whose tax return is filed first.
Those under 19 may be eligible, if they have (or previously had) a spouse or common-law partner, or if they are a parent and they reside with their child.
A single person would receive the benefit for July 2024 to June 2025 if their 2023 adjusted family net income was $54,704 or less. A married/common-law couple with 2 children would receive the benefit if their adjusted family net income was $65,084 or less. These thresholds are increased for inflation each year in the same manner as personal income tax brackets and credits.
Adjusted family net income is line 23600 minus Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) income plus RDSP repayments. If you received split income, see the information sheet for Form T1206, Tax on Split Income (TOSI). Family net income does not include your child's net income.
See Eligibility Criteria and Income thresholds entitled to receive the benefit on the CRA website.
Based on the 2024 tax return, the annual amounts for July 2025 to June 2026, increased by 2.7% from the previous year, are a maximum of:
The supplement for a single person is the lesser of $184 and 2% of the person's income in excess of the phase-in threshold of $11,337.
The maximum that can be received is reduced by 5% of net income in excess of the phase-out threshold of $45,521.
The benefit amounts and the income threshold are increased for inflation every year in the same manner as personal income tax brackets and credits. The July 2026 to June 2027 amounts cannot be calculated until the September 2025 CPI is available to calculate 2026 indexation factors.
The current benefit amounts and thresholds are found on CRA's page Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit payment amounts (for July 2025 to June 2026).
On January 26, 2026, the government announced in a news release that the GST Credit would have a name change, and the amounts of the credit would be increased by 25% for five years beginning in July 2026. The proposed amounts of the benefit are included in the news release.
Bill C-19 Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Act received Royal Assent on February 12, 2026. For discussion of this benefit see the Video Tax News May 2026 Life in the Tax Lane.
In addition, a one-time payment will be made in the spring, no later than June 2026, equivalent to a 50% increase for the year.
See CRA's Tax credits and benefits for individuals.
When the quarterly benefit is paid, it is paid with any applicable provincial or territorial credits. See Provincial and territorial programs on the CRA website.
To apply for the benefit, you must file a personal income tax return. If you have a spouse, your tax return must provide information on your spouse's social insurance number, first name, and net income for tax purposes amount (even if it is zero).
For 2014 and later taxation years, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) automatically determines if an individual is eligible to receive the benefit. A notice of determination is sent to each individual who is eligible for the benefit. In the case of eligible couples, the benefit will be paid to the spouse or common-law partner whose tax return is assessed first. A notice will not be sent to ineligible individuals, but these people will be able to obtain a notice upon request, which will preserve their right to object to the determination that they are ineligible.
If you are 18 years of age or older, you should file a tax return even if you have no income, in order to automatically receive the benefit if you are eligible, based on your income. You must be 19 to receive the benefit, but you should file a tax return for the year that you turn 18, so that you will receive your first benefit payment on the first payment date following the month of your 19th birthday. Some provinces have benefits similar to the benefit. By filing your tax return, you are applying for these benefits.
See CRA's If you turn 19 years of age before April 2027.
Taxpayers can use Canada Revenue Agency's My Account for individuals to view their own personal benefit information.
New residents of Canada can apply for the benefit in the year that they become a resident of Canada, using the CRA Form RC151 - Benefit Application for Individuals Who Become Residents of Canada.
Non-residents are not eligible for the benefit.
The benefit is paid quarterly in at the beginning of January, April, July, and October. The amount of the benefit for July 1 to June 30 of any year is based on the income of the taxpayer as reported on the tax return for the previous taxation year.
See Six-month doubling of GST credit payment starts November 4, 2022.
A one-time special payment in April 2020 doubled the maximum annual payment amounts for the 2019-20 benefit year. The additional payment was made in April to individuals eligible for the GSTC, as well as to some who were not eligible for the regular GSTC. This was based on 2018 tax returns that have been filed.
File an income tax return even if you don't have taxable income.
File an income tax return at age 18!
Provincial tax credits paid in combination with the benefit.
GST/HST credit - No longer available
Income thresholds entitled to receive the credit
Child and Family Benefits Online Calculator - also calculates the credit amount you would receive
RC4210 Canada Goceries and Essentials Beneift
Tax credits and benefits for individuals
Getting benefits and credits when in an abusive or violent situation