CRA benefits: the full list of federal benefits and their payment dates

What are CRA benefits?

CRA benefits are federal and provincial payments that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) calculates from the income on your tax return and deposits on a fixed schedule. You do not claim most of them line by line. The CRA reads your return, checks your family situation, and sends a notice showing what you will get for the next benefit year, which runs from July to June.

The CRA benefits and credits system covers families with children, lower-income adults and working people with modest earnings. Public pensions are a separate system: Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Old Age Security (OAS) are run by Employment and Social Development Canada and paid by Service Canada. People often mix the two up because both calendars sit on the same Canada.ca page.

Which benefits does the CRA pay?

As of September 2026, the CRA pays five main groups of benefits. The table shows how often each is paid and the 2026 dates published by the CRA and Service Canada (Canada.ca, benefit payment dates).

Several smaller amounts ride along inside these deposits. The Child Disability Benefit, up to $3,480 a year per eligible child, is added to the CCB. Provincial child benefits in BC, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, PEI and Newfoundland and Labrador arrive in the same CCB deposit, and provincial sales tax and low-income credits arrive with the CGEB. Each province's amounts are listed in our provincial benefits section.

Is the GST/HST credit still a CRA benefit?

Not under that name. The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit replaced the GST/HST credit in July 2026, with the same eligibility rules and amounts 25% higher for five years. The last payment under the old name was April 2, 2026. The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit guide explains the switch.

Which benefits does Service Canada pay instead of the CRA?

Service Canada pays the public pensions and the Canada Disability Benefit. These use your tax return to test income, but the CRA does not issue them, so a CRA agent cannot tell you why a CPP or OAS deposit is late.

• CPP retirement, disability and survivor benefits: paid late in the month. The 2026 maximum retirement pension at 65 is $1,507.65 a month.
• OAS, Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) and the Allowance: paid on the same day as CPP. For October to December 2026, full OAS is $762.50 a month at 65 to 74 and $838.75 at 75 and older.
• Canada Disability Benefit (CDB): paid around the third Thursday of the month, up to $204.20 a month from July 2026. Details are in the Canada Disability Benefit guide.
• Veterans Affairs disability pension: paid by Veterans Affairs Canada near the end of each month.

The remaining 2026 CPP and OAS dates are October 28, November 26 and December 22. The full month-by-month view, with CRA and Service Canada payments side by side, is on the CRA payment dates calendar.

How do I get CRA benefits and credits?

You get CRA benefits by filing an income tax and benefit return every year, even with no income, because each payment is based on the previous year's return. The July 2026 to June 2027 payments use your 2025 return. If you have a spouse or common-law partner, both of you must file.

1. File your return by April 30 so the CRA can recalculate your benefits for July.
2. Keep your marital status, address and number of children current with the CRA; a change can raise or lower every payment.
3. Sign up for direct deposit so payments land on the issue date rather than days later by mail.
4. Read the notice the CRA sends each summer; it lists your amounts for the new July to June year.
5. Check deposits in CRA My Account, which shows each payment and the next scheduled date.

Which benefits need an application?

Which CRA benefits ended?

The Canada Carbon Rebate is the largest program to close. The federal government stopped the fuel charge and the rebate for individuals on March 15, 2025, and April 2025 was the last quarterly payment (CRA, Canada Carbon Rebate). People who never filed a return for 2021 to 2024 can still collect what they were owed, and the guide below explains how.

The BC climate action tax credit also ended, with its last payment in April 2025, after BC removed its consumer carbon tax on April 1, 2025. The one-time Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit top-up, worth 50% of a person's 2025-26 GST/HST credit, was paid once on June 5, 2026 and is not recurring.

What is new for CRA benefits in 2026 and 2027?

Four changes matter most for the 2027 season. None of the 2027 payment dates have been published yet; Canada.ca showed only 2026 dates as of October 20, 2026.

• Pre-filled returns: starting with the 2026 tax year, the CRA plans to offer pre-filled returns to about 1 million lower-income people with simple tax situations, with the service starting in March 2027, according to the CRA. Automatic filing for non-filers still needs Bill C-31 to pass; see automatic tax filing in Canada.
• CGEB January 2027 payment: expected under the quarterly schedule, but the exact day is not yet announced.
• CPP and OAS January 2027 increase: the CPP indexation rate is not yet announced and is normally published in late autumn.
• PEI Essentials Benefit: PEI's sales tax credit becomes the Prince Edward Island Essentials Benefit from November 2026, with a $175 minimum for every eligible resident.

Guides in this section

These pages cover the questions that come up most often once you know which benefits exist.

• Canada Carbon Rebate after 2025: why payments stopped and how late filers collect 2021 to 2024 amounts.
• Benefits for seniors in Canada: pensions, supplements and provincial top-ups to check at 64 and 65.
• CRA My Account benefits and credits: where to see each payment, the next date and your notices.
• Canadian Dental Care Plan eligibility: the $90,000 income limit and yearly renewal for a plan that pays dentists, not you.