Canadian parents are set to receive a top-up in child benefits on Friday amid growing cost-of-living concerns.
July payments of the Canada child benefit (CCB) are recalculated annually based on a family’s net income and adjusted for inflation.
The tax-free monthly payments go to eligible families who have children under the age of 18 years residing in Canada.
Starting July 19, parents will receive a maximum monthly payment of $648.91 for each child under the age of six years. That is an annual increase of 4.7 per cent compared to 2023.
For every child aged six to 17 years, the maximum CCB payment will be $547.5 per month, amounting to an annual payment of up to $6,570 – a 4.7 per cent increase from last year.
The payments are calculated based on the adjusted family net income (AFNI), as reported in the previous year’s tax return, the number of children and their ages, according to the Canada Revenue Agency.
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Families will get the maximum amount for each child if their AFNI is under $36,502.
“The payments gradually start decreasing when the adjusted family net income is over $36,502,” CRA states on its website.
The boosted benefits will likely be well-received by Canadian families, who are feeling more stressed out financially than two years ago, according to recent polling.
Higher grocery prices, inflation broadly and housing costs are among the key financial concerns facing Canadians, surveys show.
Canada’s annual inflation rate slowed to 2.7 per cent last month, Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday. But the pace of price hikes at the grocery store picked up for the second month in a row, rising 2.1 per cent year-over-year.
To be eligible for the CCB payments, a person must reside in Canada with a child who is under the age of 18 years and must be their primary caregiver.
CCB can also be paid out for a foster child as long as the children’s special allowances (CSA) are not payable in a given month, the CRA says.
To get child benefits, parents can apply in one of three ways.
This can be done either through registering the birth of the child, which usually happens at the hospital.
If the birth registration isn’t done, other options are applying for the CCB online through a CRA account or by mailing a form.
Benefits go directly into bank accounts or cheques are mailed out.
Next month’s CCB payment will go out on Aug. 20.
To help families, the federal government has set a target of establishing $10-a-day child care by 2025-26.
— with files from Global News’ Craig Lord.
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