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Canada Child Tax Benefit

The Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) is a tax-free monthly payment made to eligible families to help them with the cost of raising children under the age of 18.

What is the National Child Benefit Initiative?

The National Child Benefit Initiative is a federal, provincial, and territorial government program to help low-income families with children. It has three goals: to help prevent and reduce the depth of child poverty, to help families move from social assistance to work, and to reduce overlap and duplication of government programs and services. Through the CCTB, federal income support is increased for all children in low- and modest-income families. This means that as families leave social assistance for work, they continue to receive financial assistance for their children. As part of the National Child Benefit Initiative, provinces and territories also provide complementary benefit programs and services for children in low-income families, such as provincial and territorial child benefits, child care support, health benefits, and early prevention programs for children at risk.

More information on the National Child Benefit Initiative is available at www.nationalchildbenefit.ca.

Who can receive the CCTB?

To be eligible for the CCTB, you have to live with the child and be a resident of Canada for income tax purposes. In addition, you or your spouse or common-law partner has to be one of the following:

• a Canadian citizen;
• a permanent resident (as defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act);
• a protected person (as defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act); or
• a temporary resident (as defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act) who has lived in Canada throughout the previous 18 months.

You also have to be the person who is primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of the child. If the mother lives with the child, we usually consider her to be this person. However, it can be the father, a grandparent, or a guardian.

Do clients need to apply for the CCTB?

Clients have to apply to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) for the CCTB when they have a new child or when they become the primary caregiver of a child. Application kits are available by calling 1-800-959-2221 for service in English or 1-800-959-3376 for service in French.

How do we calculate the amount of your benefit?

Benefits are paid over a 12-month period from July of one year to June of the next year. To continue receiving the CCTB, you and your spouse or common-law partner (if you have one) have to file income tax and benefit returns each year, even if neither of you has any income to report. Your returns should be filed by April 30 to prevent any interruption in your benefits.

We calculate the amount of your CCTB based on the following factors, most of which we have on record from your and your spouse or common-law partner's previous income tax and benefit returns and from your CCTB application form:

• the number of children you have under the age of 18 and their ages;
• your province or territory of residence;
• your family net income (the total of net income from line 236 of your income tax and benefit return and net income from line 236 of your spouse or common-law partner's income tax and benefit return); and
• your or your spouse or common-law partner's deduction for child care expenses.

The CCTB includes a basic benefit and an additional benefit called the National Child Benefit Supplement for lower-income families. We calculate the benefits as described below.

Basic benefit

The basic benefit is the total of the following amounts:

• $1,151 a year ($95.91 a month) for each child (the amount is different for residents of Alberta);
• $80 a year ($6.66 a month) for the third and each additional child; and
• $228 a year ($19.00 a month) for each child under the age of seven. This amount is reduced by 25% of any amount claimed for child care expenses on your or your spouse or common-law partner's income tax and benefit return.

We reduce the basic benefit if family net income was more than $32,960. For a one-child family, the reduction is 2.5% of the amount of family net income that was more than $32,960. For families with two or more children, the reduction is 5%.

National Child Benefit Supplement

The National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS) is calculated as follows:

• First child: $1,293 a year ($107.75 a month)
• Second child: $1,087 a year ($90.58 a month)
• Third and each additional child: $1,009 a year ($84.08 a month) per child

The supplement is reduced at the following rates when the family net income exceeds $22,397:

• 12.2% for a family with one child
• 22.5% for a family with two children
• 32.1% for a family with three or more children

If you are on social assistance, the NCBS may affect the amount of your social assistance payments. Most provinces and territories will consider the NCBS you receive as income when they calculate the amount of your social assistance. Others may adjust the basic social assistance rates by using the maximum NCBS amount.

Child and Family Benefits Online Calculator

The CCRA continues to support the Government of Canada's commitment to provide access to government services on the Internet. A new service for this year is the Child and Family Benefits Online Calculator, available on the CCRA Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/benefits-calculator. Clients can use this calculator to determine how much their CCTB (and any related provincial or territorial benefit) payments will be by simply entering their marital status, family net income, province or territory of residence, and the number and ages of their children.

Children's Special Allowances

The Children's Special Allowances (CSA) program provides payments to federal and provincial agencies and institutions (e.g., children's aid societies) that care for children. Children's Special Allowances replace payments the CCRA would otherwise have made to parents under the CCTB program.

As part of the National Child Benefit Initiative, the amount of the CSA payable per child per month is $203.67.

Related provincial and territorial child benefit and credit programs

The CCRA administers the following provincial and territorial child benefit and credit programs:

• Alberta Family Employment Tax Credit (AFETC)
• BC Family Bonus, including the basic Family Bonus and the BC Earned Income Benefit
• New Brunswick Child Tax Benefit, including the New Brunswick Working Income Supplement
• Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit, including the new Mother Baby Nutrition Supplement (see below)
• Northwest Territories Child Benefit, including the Territorial Worker's Supplement
• Nova Scotia Child Benefit
• Nunavut Child Benefit, including the Territorial Worker's Supplement
• Saskatchewan Child Benefit
• Yukon Child Benefit

There is no need to apply separately to qualify under these related provincial and territorial child benefit and credit programs. The CCRA will use the information from your CCTB application to determine your eligibility. If you are eligible, the amount of any payments will be calculated automatically based on information from the income tax and benefit returns you and your spouse or common-law partner file. Benefits from these programs, except for the AFETC, are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. AFETC payments are issued twice a year, in January and July.

Mother Baby Nutrition Supplement

This new provincial program was launched in December 2001. Payments under the Mother Baby Nutrition Supplement (MBNS) program are included with the Newfoundland and Labrador Child Benefit. Funded entirely by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the MBNS is designed to provide monthly support to help ensure the health and well-being of expectant mothers and families with children under the age of one. The province administers the pre-natal portion of the program, while the CCRA administers the portion that covers payments to families with children up to the age of one.

What happens if your situation changes?

Individuals must advise the CCRA of any of the following changes as soon as possible:

• a change in their marital status;
• a child for whom they were receiving the benefit is no longer in their care, stops living with them, or dies;
• they or their spouse or common-law partner is no longer a resident in Canada;
• a change in their immigration status; or
• a change in their banking information.

Some changes may affect the amount of CCTB to which they are entitled.

What happens if you move?

Individuals who move must inform the CCRA immediately to ensure that their CCTB payments are not disrupted, even if they use direct deposit and their bank account information does not change. The CCRA's new Address Changes Online service makes changes of address easier for individuals. This service is available at http://www.cra.gc.ca/newaddress.

More information

More information is available in the pamphlet called Your Canada Child Tax Benefit, including information on related provincial and territorial child benefits and credits. The pamphlet is available on the CCRA's Web site at www.cra.gc.ca and at any tax services office or tax centre. Addresses and telephone numbers are listed in the government section of most telephone books.

Information on the CCTB can also be found on the CCRA's Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/benefits.

Canada Child Tax Benefit
Guideline table effective July 2002 - June 2003

Based on December 10, 2001, Budget

Notes:

1. These amounts assume that all children are seven years of age or older. There is an additional supplement of $228 for each child under the age of seven. This additional supplement for children under the age of seven is reduced by 25% of the amount of child care expenses claimed by the client or his or her spouse or common-law partner.
2. Slight variances exist for the basic benefit amount for residents of Alberta.
3. These amounts are for the federal CCTB program (basic benefit plus NCBS) and do not include any amount to which a client may be eligible under any existing provincial or territorial child benefit or credit program.
4. These amounts are only to be used as a guideline. All clients must keep the CCRA informed of any changes to their family income, marital status, number of dependent children, and current address, even if benefit payments are sent by direct deposit.

CCTB07/02

This document is also available for download in PDF format.

Date modified:

2002-07-19