CANADA and ONTARIO CHILD BENEFIT
Summary:
The Canada and Ontario Child Benefits are tax-free monthly payments that help families with the cost of raising children under 18. The amount is reduced for higher-income families. Refugee claimants are not eligible. Temporary residents are eligible once they have lived in Canada for 18 months.
Who is eligible?
All of the following must apply to a benefit applicant:
Who is considered the primary caregiver?
This is the person mainly responsible for the child’s day-to-day care, such as supervising activities, meeting medical needs, and arranging child care.
Payment Amounts (2025 base tax year, paid July 2026–June 2027):
Basic amounts before any reduction for incomes exceeding thresholds:
Payments are gradually reduced if family net income exceeds certain thresholds:
Net family income includes the income of the applicant, and their spouse if they have one.[1]
Applying for the benefit:
Applications can be made through:
For children born in Ontario, birth registration must occur within 30 days. The process often combines birth registration, child benefit application, and SIN registration (the “5-in-1 bundle”).[2] If the benefit is not applied for at birth, it can be done later via My Account or Form RC66.
The primary caregiver applies for the benefit. By default, if parents are of opposite sexes, the mother is presumed the primary caregiver. A father must provide a signed letter from the mother to claim the benefit, declaring that the father is the primary caregiver.
Annual Filing Requirement:
Applicants and their spouses must file tax returns each year.
What if an applicant’s spouse is a non-resident for all or part of the year?
The applicant is required to report the worldwide net income of their non-resident spouse using Form CTB9. Although the spouse is not a resident of Canada, their net income should be calculated in the same way that net income is determined in Canada.
What if spouses separate and one has sole custody or is the primary caregiver?
The CRA must be notified of the separation. Starting 90 days after the separation, the benefit is recalculated using the income of the custodial parent in the base year. If, for example, a mother and father separate where the father had substantial income and the mother’s income was low, and the mother has sole custody after separation, the mother’s benefit starting 90 days after separation may significantly increase.
What if spouses separate and share custody?
Each of the two “shared-custody parents” is entitled to 50% of the calculated Canada Child Benefit.[3] For the purposes of calculating each parent’s benefit, the net family income is determined using that parent’s net income plus the net income of any new spouse or common-law partner they may have.
A “shared-custody parent” is one of the two parents of a child who:[4]
The CRA should be notified of the separation by the end of the month following the end of 90 days of separation. For example, if a couple separate and 90 days pass as of mid-April, then the CRA should be advised of the separation by the end of May. The CRA can be advised through My Account, by phone, or by sending Form RC65.
How do protected persons and 18-month temporary residents apply?
A reminder: Refugee claimants cannot apply until they get protected person status, and temporary residents cannot apply until they’ve been in Canada for 18 months.
They need to apply for the child benefit by completing
These forms are also an application for the GST/HST credit.
For more information about these forms, see the document for the RC151 and RC66 forms. For more information about refugees and the CCB, see the document for refugees.
UFile Notes:
No special entries are required in UFile. UFile’s calculation of the Canada Child Benefit is inclusive of the Ontario Child Benefit and Child Disability Benefit.
If a father provides only basic information for his spouse, UFile will calculate the benefit for the father even if the benefits will actually be paid to the mother.
If a person provides complete information for their spouse, UFile will always assign the benefit to the spouse if no genders are specified. If genders are added the benefit will be assigned to the female parent as the presumed applicant. This can be changed using a UFile Control option. But the important point is that regardless of what UFile may show, the CRA will pay the child benefit to the applicant of the benefit, and a request to change the applicant cannot be done through UFile.
References:
[1] A complication arises if the spouse of the CCB recipient dies, and the recipient’s income prior to the death includes the social assistance income of the deceased spouse. See O’Brien v. K (2023 Tax Court)
[2] 1 register the birth; 2 apply for birth certificate; 3 apply for SIN; 4 apply for CCB; 5 request an Education Savings Referral. Ontario webpage - Register a birth
[3] Income Tax Act, s.122.61(1.1)