GIS payment dates for 2026 and how the supplement reaches you

GIS payment dates for 2026

The Guaranteed Income Supplement has no schedule of its own. It is paid on the Old Age Security dates listed in the Government of Canada benefits calendar, one payment each month near the end of the month. The 2026 GIS payment dates are below.

The 2027 GIS payment dates are not yet announced. They will be the 2027 OAS dates, which Service Canada has usually posted late in the preceding year. Our OAS payment dates page will carry them once they are official.

Is GIS a separate deposit from OAS?

No. Service Canada adds your GIS to your OAS pension and pays the total as a single payment. If you look for two federal deposits on the same day, you will only find one, and that one amount includes both benefits.

Your first GIS payment arrives either the month after you turn 65 or on the date shown in your decision letter. Payments go by direct deposit to an account in Canada, the United States or another participating country. If you have not set up direct deposit, a cheque is mailed during the last three business days of the month.

GIS payment amount, October to December 2026

The maximum GIS payment amount depends on whether you have a spouse or common-law partner and what that partner receives. The table shows the ceilings for the current quarter; your own amount falls as your income rises.

These figures are 1.4% higher than in July to September 2026 and apply from the October 28 payment. For the income rules and how the supplement is worked out, see our GIS amount guide.

How GIS is renewed through your tax return

You do not reapply for GIS each year. Instead, Service Canada reviews your benefit every July using the federal tax return you filed for the previous year. For the July 2026 to June 2027 benefit year, that is your 2025 return, plus your partner's if you have one.

1. File your return, and make sure your partner files theirs, by April 30.
2. The CRA passes the income figures to Service Canada.
3. In July you get a letter saying your GIS is renewed with a new amount, stopped, starting or resuming, or that more income information is needed.
4. The new amount begins with the July payment, which in 2026 was issued on July 29.

If your income has dropped because you retired or a pension stopped or shrank, you do not have to wait a year for the GIS to catch up. Call Service Canada and ask them to set your benefit using an estimate of your current-year income instead of last year's.

Why did my GIS stop in July?

July is the month when GIS most often disappears from a deposit, because that is when the annual review takes effect. The usual causes are:

• You or your partner did not file a 2025 tax return, so Service Canada had no income to assess. Canada.ca warns that not filing can stop or reduce GIS.
• Your 2025 income was over the limit for your situation, for example over $22,800 for a single person at the July review ($23,112 from October 2026).
• Your marital status changed and Service Canada has not been told, or has now applied the couple rates.
• You were outside Canada for more than 6 months without telling Service Canada.
• You are under a sponsorship agreement, which bars GIS for its full length.

Income-based reductions and the gradual loss of GIS as income rises are covered on our GIS clawback page.

What to do if your GIS payment does not arrive

1. Check that the payment date has passed and allow a few business days, longer for a mailed cheque.
2. Look at the deposit amount. If OAS arrived but it is smaller, the GIS portion may be the part that stopped.
3. Read any July letter from Service Canada; it states whether the benefit was renewed or stopped and why.
4. If a tax return is missing, file it right away. The CRA's SimpleFile by Phone service is open to people who receive an invitation.
5. Contact Service Canada as soon as possible with your SIN and your and your partner's income for last year.

If you and your partner live apart for reasons beyond your control, such as long-term care, you may get a higher amount by sending form ISP-3040, Statement - Spouses or Common-law Partners Living Apart for Reasons beyond their Control. Travelling abroad for long periods has separate rules explained on our OAS outside Canada page.