The Canada child benefit

The Canada child benefit (CCB) is a tax-free payment the CRA sends every month to help families with the cost of raising children under 18. How much you get depends on how many children you have, how old they are, and your family’s net income from the year before.

Who can get it

You can get the CCB for a child if all of these are true:

• The child is under 18 and lives with you.
• You’re the person mainly responsible for the child’s care and upbringing: supervising their daily activities, making sure their medical needs are met, arranging child care when needed.
• You’re a resident of Canada for tax purposes.
• You or your spouse or common-law partner is a Canadian citizen, a permanent resident, a protected person, a person registered (or entitled to be registered) under the Indian Act, or a temporary resident who meets the CRA’s conditions.

When two parents live together with the child, the law presumes the female parent is primarily responsible, so she should apply. If the other parent is the one primarily responsible, that parent can apply with a signed letter from her saying so. Same-sex parents living together choose one of them to apply for all the children. Each household gets one payment, and the amount is the same whichever parent receives it.

Shared custody

If a child lives with you about equally with someone at another address (the CRA’s test is between 40% and 60% of the time with you), you have shared custody for CCB purposes. Both of you should apply. Each of you then gets half of what you would get with full custody, calculated on your own family income. The CRA won’t split it any other way.

If the child lives with you more than 60% of the time, you apply as if you had full custody. If it’s less than 40%, you’re not eligible for that child. If a child comes to live with you for a temporary period, such as the summer, you can apply for just that period; the other parent then reapplies when the child returns.

How the amount is worked out

The CRA recalculates your CCB every July using your adjusted family net income (AFNI) from the previous year’s tax return. For example, payments from July 2026 to June 2027 are based on 2025 income.

Your AFNI starts with your net income (line 23600 of your return) plus your spouse’s or common-law partner’s. Any Universal Child Care Benefit or registered disability savings plan (RDSP) income received is taken off, and any repayments of those amounts are added back.

Below a certain AFNI, you get the maximum amount for each eligible child. Above that level, the benefit is reduced by a percentage of the income over the threshold, and the percentage depends on how many children you have. Above a second, higher threshold, the reduction becomes a fixed amount plus a further percentage of the income over that threshold, both again based on the number of children. The CCB is indexed to inflation; for current amounts, use the CRA’s How much you can get page or its child and family benefits calculator.

A few more things to know:

• CCB payments are not taxable, and you don’t report them on your return.
• If your child is eligible for the disability tax credit, the CRA automatically adds the child disability benefit to your CCB.
• Your payment can also include related provincial or territorial child benefits that the CRA runs. You don’t need to apply for those separately.

How to apply

Apply as soon as you’re eligible, for example when a child is born, when a child starts living with you (or comes back after a stay with someone else), when you get custody, or when a shared custody arrangement starts, ends or changes. You can apply:

• when you register your newborn’s birth with your province or territory (this option isn’t available in Nunavut)
• online, through your CRA account, under Benefits and credits
• by mail, using Form RC66, if you can’t use the other options

If you apply online or by mail and the CRA has never paid benefits for the child, you need to send proof of birth, such as a birth certificate. Applying through birth registration skips this step.

Keep the payments coming

Your payments stop if you don’t file.

• File every year, by April 30. Do it even if you had no income or your income is tax-exempt (more on why filing pays even with no income). If you have a spouse or common-law partner, they need to file on time too. If you file late, payments can pause until your return is assessed; any amounts you were entitled to are then paid on the next payment date.
• Tell the CRA about changes as soon as possible: a new address or bank account, a change in marital status, a change in custody, or a child who moves in or out.
• Answer any CRA letters about your situation. Not responding can stop your payments.

In short

• The CCB is a tax-free monthly payment for children under 18 who live with you.
• It’s based on the number and ages of your children and last year’s family net income, and it’s recalculated each July.
• You and your partner must both file every year to keep it coming.