Advanced Canada Workers Benefit: how the advance is set, paid and reported

What is the Advanced Canada Workers Benefit?

The Advanced Canada Workers Benefit (ACWB) is the part of the Canada Workers Benefit that the CRA pays before you file, instead of waiting for your tax refund. If you are entitled to the CWB, you can receive up to 50% of it in advance (CRA, how much you can get). The same 50% share applies to the disability supplement.

The advance became automatic in July 2023. Since then, the Department of Finance says advances go automatically to anyone whose prior-year return shows CWB entitlement (Finance Canada, July 2023).

How much is the Advanced Canada Workers Benefit?

The ACWB is up to half of the CWB your last return says you would get. On 2026 figures, that caps the advance at $832.50 for a single worker and $1,434.50 for a family, plus up to $430 for someone who also gets the full disability supplement. These are our calculations from the CRA's 2026 maximums (CRA indexation table).

Most people get less than these caps because their income sits in the phase-in or phase-out range. Take a single worker whose 2025 return shows working income and net income of $30,000. Their 2025-based estimate of the 2026 CWB is $1,665 minus 15% of the income above $27,392, or $1,273.80, so the three advances total up to $636.90. The full method is on how much is the Canada Workers Benefit.

Do you need to apply for CWB advance payments?

No. The CRA states that you do not need to apply for the advanced payments; it works out your eligibility when it assesses your return and starts paying automatically (CRA, how to claim). The one thing you control is timing: the CRA must receive your return before November 1 of the benefit period for you to get that period's advances.

The benefit period runs from July to June. For July 2026 to June 2027, the advances are paid on July 10, 2026, October 9, 2026, and a January 2027 date not yet announced, all sized from your 2025 return. A 2025 return filed in December 2026 is too late for these advances, but you still receive the full 2026 CWB when you file your 2026 return.

The cut-off for the July 2026 to June 2027 period is close: the CRA must receive your 2025 return before November 1, 2026. If you have a lower income and a simple tax situation, the CRA's free SimpleFile service or a free tax clinic run by the Community Volunteer Income Tax Program can help you file in time.

How do you report the ACWB on line 41500 and the RC210?

Each winter the CRA sends Form RC210, Advanced Canada Workers Benefit Statement, showing the advances issued for the tax year. Box 10 holds the basic advance and box 11 holds the disability supplement advance (CRA, RC210).

1. Find your RC210, either in the mail or among your tax slips in CRA My Account.
2. Enter box 10 on line 38120 of your Schedule 6 (or line 38121 if the slip is in your spouse's name), and box 11 on line 38122.
3. Complete Schedule 6 for your province or territory; there are separate versions for Quebec, Alberta and Nunavut.
4. Carry the Step 4 result of Schedule 6 to line 41500 of your return, as the CRA's line 41500 instructions direct.
5. Claim your full-year CWB on line 45300; line 41500 adds back the advances, so the net effect is the part of your CWB not yet paid.

If you received more than one RC210 for the year, add all of them together. Certified tax software imports the slip through Auto-fill my return, which helps you avoid leaving the advance off your return.

Which ACWB deposits are on which RC210?

The January deposit therefore belongs with the advances that began the previous July: the January 12, 2026 payment was the last advance of the 2025 CWB, and the October 9, 2026 deposit is the second of three advances of the 2026 CWB. When you file your 2026 return, the CRA subtracts all three 2026 advances from your full 2026 CWB and pays the difference. Questions about an RC210 go to the CRA at 1-800-959-8281.

What if the ACWB paid you more than your final CWB?

A higher income this year does not make you repay advances. When the automatic advances started, Finance Canada said they are a minimum entitlement for the year that will not decrease even if income rises compared with the previous year (Finance Canada).

The picture is different if the prior-year return itself was wrong or is reassessed, or if you were never eligible, for example because you studied full time for more than 13 weeks without a dependant. In those cases the CRA can reassess and ask for money back. If you get a notice saying you owe, read what to do about a benefit overpayment and check the notice against your RC210 before paying.

What changes can stop or reduce your advances?

• Not filing, or filing your prior-year return on or after November 1 of the benefit period.
• A reassessment of that return that raises your net income above the cut-off.
• Separating from or starting to live with a spouse, which changes you from a single to a family calculation; report it to the CRA as explained under marital status changes.
• Leaving Canada, since you must be resident for the whole year.
• A revoked Disability Tax Credit, which ends the disability supplement share of the advance.

Dates for each deposit are listed on CWB payment dates, and the rules that decide whether you can claim at all are on Canada Workers Benefit eligibility.