The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is a monthly payment made by the Government of Canada to eligible families with children. Given the high costs of raising a child, this payment is a welcome boost to most family bank accounts.
How do I get the Canada Child Benefit (CCB)?
When you have a child and register their birth, you will be automatically assessed for the Canada Child Benefit. If you regularly file your income taxes, it will be calculated and disbursed to you automatically. If you are new to Canada, you may need to fill out the RC66 Canada Child Benefits Application.
Canada Child Tax Benefit Dates
The Canada Child Tax Benefit is paid on the 20th of each month. If you sign up for direct deposit, you’ll receive your payment automatically directly into your bank account. If the Child Tax Benefit date lands on a weekend, you’ll receive your CCB payment the Friday before.
Typically your first CCB payment will arrive the month following your child’s birth month. For example, my daughter was born in August and I received my first CCB payment in September. You will then continue to receive the CCB on a monthly basis.
The CCB is completely tax-free, and deposited directly into your bank account or mailed as a cheque to your home. I find my CCB payments are typically deposited in my bank account on the 20th of every month.
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Once you receive your CCB, one of the best things you can do with it is to invest it in an RESP. I recommend opening an RESP with Wealthsimple to earn the best return on your money by putting it to work in the stock market.
How is the Canada Child Benefit calculated?
The Canada Child Benefit is income-dependent, but most families with incomes below $200,000 will receive at least some money. The amount you receive is based on your adjusted family net income. This is your net household income after allowable deductions, like RRSP contributions.
Household incomes below $31,711 will receive the full amount of CCB. Those with incomes above $31,711 will experience a percentage of clawback per child.
There is an additional percentage clawback on the CCB per child for incomes above $68,708. The clawback percentages per child based on household income are listed in detail on the Canada Revenue Agency website.
How much is the Canada Child Benefit per month?
The maximum Canada Child Benefit is $563.75 per month for a child under age 6, and $475.67 per month for a child age 6 to 17. If you have more than one child, you will receive a CCB payment for each of them.
This works out to $6,765 per child per year under the age of 6, and up to $5,708 per child per year aged 6 to 17.
Want to quickly calculate how much Canada Child Benefit your family may qualify for? This awesome CCB calculator will give you an estimate!
How to use your RRSP to increase your CCB payments
Want to receive a higher monthly CCB payment? There’s an easy way to do so while saving more for your financial future.
Because the CCB is calculated based on your net household income, you can use RRSP contributions to lower your net household income and qualify for a higher CCB payment.
Use your RRSP to increase your CCB payments step-by-step:
- First, open an RRSP. We recommend Wealthsimple for your RRSP and your child’s RESP!
- Set up a regular monthly deposit to your RRSP.
- When you file your income taxes, claim your total RRSP contributions for the year. This will lower your taxable income, and increase the amount of CCB you qualify.
The Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) is a tax-deferred investment vehicle that lets you save money for retirement. The RRSP lets you pay less income tax now, because you will pay income taxes in retirement when you withdraw your savings from the account.
When you make contributions to your RRSP, you can claim that contribution when you file your income taxes. This effectively lowers your taxable income, which can help you qualify for a higher CCB payment.
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- Maximizing Your Income Tax Refund With RRSP Contributions
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This strategy makes the most sense for higher-earning families with household incomes above $65,000 because that is the threshold at which they begin to experience the largest clawbacks on the benefit.
Now, a family making $65,000 is running a shoestring budget to support themselves as is so they may not have much money to put in an RRSP. However, even a small amount can help reduce their overall income tax burden and increase their CCB payment by a few dollars each month.
A family earning $72,000 per year might have some wiggle room. If they can put $8,000 in an RRSP, they’ll drop their household income below the $65,000 income threshold and thus increase their CCB payments and reduce the income taxes they pay.
What can you spend the Canada Child Benefit on?
The CCB can be spent or saved however you choose. Families can determine how to best use the funds in their own household. Many choose to put it into savings, but others use it towards household expenses. You know where your family needs extra money the most!
Here are some ways you might use the Canada Child Benefit:
- Save it in your child’s RESP
- Spend it on household expenses during your maternity or parental leave
- Use it towards childcare expenses
- Use it towards child-related expenses like diapers or clothing
I’ve heard many Canadian parents in online baby forums say that if it weren’t for the CCB, they wouldn’t be able to afford to stay at home with their children. The Canada Child Benefit is an incredible help to the budgets of families that choose to have one parent stay at home full-time with their children.
You are entitled to the CCB whether you work or stay home and whether you are in a two-parent household or a single parent.
How I use the Canada Child Benefit in my monthly budget
I personally use my CCB payments towards childcare expenses. That is the biggest hit to my household budget with a baby. The Canada Child Benefit makes this expense much more manageable. This lets me free up money to contribute to my daughter’s RESP.
If it weren’t for the CCB, I wouldn’t be able to afford as many childcare hours and might even have to skip RESP contributions, which would be terrible for both me and my daughter.
The Canada Child Benefit is an awesome boost to Canadian family bank accounts. Parenting is stressful enough without worrying about finances! Make sure to factor the CCB into your household budget if you’re expecting a bundle of joy. It might help you even more than you think!
16 Comments. Leave new
In a 2 parent household, where one parent takes Mat Leave, how do you do calculate for their income for purposes of calculating CBB benefit? Is it the income they receive through EI?
Yes it is! Your EI payments during parental leave still count as taxable income (many parents actually find they owe taxes after their maternity/paternity leave, so prepare yourself!!). The household income will be the working parents’ income + EI income for the parent taking leave. CCB will be calculated based on that total!
Hi so my child father had my daughter for years and now she is back living with me . She 14 and will be with me now till she 18 i apply for child tax will i recive it now she is with me and not with her father.
Hey Bridget,
Excellent article, I am always surprised that many new parents are not aware of these benefits (or the RRSP trick).
Thanks for writing this easy to understand piece.
You’re very welcome!! The RRSP hack is such a useful one. I’m glad I learned about it early to take advantage!
What about retroactive payments? My son was born in March but I didn’t get approved for the first payment until September.
You definitely are entitled to retroactive payments! It’s based on your son’s birthday, so your September payment should be for the full amount from April to September. If it is not, you need to contact the CRA and get what they owe you!
Do the payments stop immediately as soon as the child turns 18 or does it still go on until the next tax return or at the end of the tax year? For example my son was born in January.
The CCB payments stop when the child turns 18! So you will receive your last CCB payment for January the year your child turns 18, and no payment for February onward of that year.
i have my sons friend living with me since begining of feb i was getting baby bonus and was told by ontario works to apply for student welfare child would get more that way and i would still be intitled to the ctb but i didnt receive itfor him this month
My daughter is now 18, but enrolled at University and living at home. It seems there are no benefits even though it still costs me the same.
But the difference is that at 18, your daughter is legally an adult and you can ask her to move out and have her support herself — not something you can do with children under 18!
Legally an adult at 18…. and yet an 18 year old can’t even buy a lottery ticket.
I would never ask an 18 year old to move out, especially when they’re furthering their education.
My child was born in march 2020 but i move back to mu country im planning on migrating to canada can i apply fornmy child reactive ccb money
Hi Bridget:
My daughter is 24 now,, I have been a single mom since 2011,, she is still living with me since her dad had left,, I was a homemaker and still is , her baby of 2 years lives with me as well, my ex used to file my income tax when I was married to him and used to collect CTB till 2008, can I apply for CTB for my daughter now since last received it 2008 till when she reached 18 which I believe to be 2014 , I mean backdated to that period and get a lum sum , I really need the money to help my expenses, and need your expert advise. Thanks
Is there anyway to get it extended til end of school yr? My son turns 18 in April..still financially dependent on me til he grads in June..if not longer due to his disabilities.