Key Takeaways
- For July 2026 to June 2027, the maximum Canada Child Benefit is $8,157 a year for each child under 6 and $6,883 for each child aged 6 to 17.
- The amount is based on your adjusted family net income from the previous year's tax return and starts shrinking once that income passes $38,237.
- Both you and your spouse or partner must file a tax return every year to keep the payments coming, even with no income.
The tax-free payment that runs on last year's tax return
The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is a tax-free monthly payment from the Canada Revenue Agency to help with the cost of raising children under 18. For the current benefit year — July 2026 to June 2027 — the maximum is $8,157 a year ($679.75 a month) for each child under 6 and $6,883 a year ($573.58 a month) for each child aged 6 to 17. If your child qualifies for the disability tax credit, the child disability benefit adds up to a further $3,480 a year per child, calculated automatically.
Whether you receive the maximum depends on one number: your adjusted family net income (AFNI) — essentially you and your spouse or partner's net incomes combined, with a few adjustments for the old universal child care benefit and registered disability savings plan income. Children are paid at the under-6 rate for the month they turn six, then at the older rate from the next month, and the last payment lands in the month a child turns 18.
How the clawback works
Households with an AFNI of $38,237 or less receive the full maximum. Above that, the benefit shrinks as a percentage of the income over the threshold — and the rate depends on how many children you have:
- One child: 7% of income above $38,237, then a fixed $3,123 plus 3.2% of income above $82,847
- Two children: 13.5%, then $6,022 plus 5.7%
- Three children: 19%, then $8,476 plus 8%
- Four or more: 23%, then $10,260 plus 9.5%
The CRA's own example shows what that means in practice: one child under six and an AFNI of $45,000 reduces the benefit by $473.41, to $7,683.59 a year. At an AFNI of $100,000, the same family receives $4,485.11. There is no hard cut-off — the benefit phases down gradually rather than switching off.
Who qualifies, and how to apply
You must live with the child, be primarily responsible for their care, and be a resident of Canada for tax purposes. You or your spouse or partner must be a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, a protected person, an eligible temporary resident (generally 18 months in Canada with a valid permit in the 19th month), or registered under the Indian Act. When both parents live with the child, the mother is presumed to be the primary caregiver and should apply. In shared custody — a child living with you roughly 40% to 60% of the time — each parent receives 50% of what they would get with full custody, based on their own income.
Most families apply at birth registration (the Automated Benefits Application at the hospital). You can also apply through CRA My Account, or by mailing Form RC66. Apply as soon as a child is born or starts living with you — the first payment typically arrives about eight weeks after an online application.
The two rules that catch people out
File every year, both of you. Amounts are recalculated every July from the previous year's tax return, so a raise you got in 2025 only touches your payments from July 2026. And if either partner skips a return, payments stop — even if you had no income to report. File late and the missed money is paid retroactively once the return is assessed. If your annual entitlement works out to under $240, you will not get monthly payments — you receive one lump sum in July instead.
Report changes promptly. A separation, a new partner or a custody change triggers a recalculation. If the CRA decides you were overpaid, it can hold back future CCB payments — and even tax refunds or groceries-benefit payments — until the balance is cleared. Payments are normally made on the 20th of the month, with December's arriving early (December 11 in 2026).
The CCB itself is never taxable: there is no slip, and you do not report it as income. Amounts and thresholds are indexed to inflation each July, which is why the maximums rise a little most years without any announcement.
The Twikup Take
The child benefit is the quiet giant of Canadian family finance — at the maximum it rivals a part-time job for a two-child family, and it phases out so gradually that most households receive something. Its one real trap is administrative: the payments die the moment a tax return goes unfiled. Treat the return as the renewal form it effectively is.
Image: Illustrative image.