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Canada Child Tax Benefit

July 2003

The Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) is a non-taxable amount paid monthly to help eligible families with the cost of raising children under the age of 18.

What is the National Child Benefit Initiative?

The National Child Benefit (NCB) is a joint initiative of the federal, provincial, and territorial governments. This initiative is designed to:

• help prevent and reduce the depth of child poverty;
• ensure that families will always be better off as a result of parents working; and
• reduce overlap and duplication of government programs and services.

For more information, visit the NCB Web site at www.nationalchildbenefit.ca.

Who can receive the Canada Child Tax Benefit?

To get the CCTB, you must meet all the following conditions.

• You must live with the child and the child must be under the age of 18.
• You must be the person who is primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of the child.

This means you are responsible for such things as supervising the child's daily activities and needs, making sure the child's medical needs are met, and arranging for child care when necessary. If there is a female parent who lives with the child, we usually consider her to be this person. However, if the female parent does not live with the child, it could be the father, a grandparent, or a guardian.

• You must be a resident of Canada.

We consider you to be a resident of Canada when you establish sufficient residential ties in Canada.

You or your spouse or common-law partner must be:

• 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.

Do you need to apply for the CCTB?

You have to apply to the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA) for the CCTB when you have a new child or when you become the primary caregiver of a child. Application kits are available by calling 1 800 959-2221.

How do we calculate the amount of your benefit?

The CCRA calculates your CCTB based on:

• the number of children you have and their ages;
• your province or territory of residence;
• your family net income;
• your or your spouse or common-law partner's deduction for child care expenses; and
• the number of children who are eligible for the Child Disability Benefit.

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

Basic benefit

The basic benefit is the total of the following amounts:

• $1,169 per year ($97.41 per month) for each child (the amount is different for residents of Alberta);
• $82 per year ($6.83 per month) for the third and each additional child; and
• $232 per year ($19.33 per 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 $33,487. For a one-child family, the reduction is 2.5% of the amount of family net income that was more than $33,487. For families with two or more children, the reduction is 5%.

National Child Benefit Supplement (NCBS)

The NCBS is calculated as follows:

• first child: $1,463 per year ($121.91 per month)
• second child: $1,254 per year ($104.50 per month)
• third and each additional child: $1,176 per year ($98.00per month) per child

The supplement is reduced at the following rates when the family net income exceeds $21,529:

• 12.2% for a family with one child
• 22.7% for a family with two children
• 32.6% 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 Disability Benefit (CDB)

The CDB was announced in the February 2003 federal budget. The CDB is a non-taxable supplement of up to $133.33 per month ($1,600 per year) per eligible child that will help low- and modest-income families with the cost of caring for children under 18 who have a severe and prolonged mental or physical impairment. The first CDB payments will be issued with the March 2004 CCTB payments, and will include a retroactive amount for the period from July 2003 to March 2004. For information about the CDB, including eligibility requirements, how it's calculated and how to apply, please refer to the Child Disability Benefit Fact Sheet.

Child and Family Benefits On-line Calculator

You can use our on-line service to get an estimate of your child and family benefits by visiting www.cra.gc.ca/benefits-calculator.

Children's Special Allowances

The Children's Special Allowances (CSA) program provides payments to federal and provincial agencies and institutions that care for children. CSAs replace the payments that we would otherwise have made to parents under the Canada Child Tax Benefit program. The amount of CSA per child per month is $219.33.

Related provincial and territorial child benefit and credit programs

We administer 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 Mother Baby Nutrition Supplement
• 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. We 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 AFETC, are combined with the CCTB into a single monthly payment. AFETC payments are issued twice a year, in January and July.

When should you contact the CCRA, and why?

You must advise us of any of the following changes as soon as possible:

• your marital status changes (but if you separate due to a breakdown in your relationship, you should wait until you are separated for at least 90 days);
• a child for whom you were receiving the benefit is no longer in your care, stops living with you or dies;
• you or your spouse or common-law partner is no longer a resident in Canada;
• your immigration status changes; or
• your banking information changes.

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

What happens if you move?

You must inform the CCRA immediately to ensure that your CCTB payments are not disrupted, even if you use direct deposit and your bank account information does not change.

More information

More information is available in the Your Canada Child Tax Benefit pamphlet, including information on related provincial and territorial child benefits and credits. The pamphlet is available on our Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/forms and at any tax services office. Addresses and telephone numbers are listed in the government section of the telephone book. Information on the Canada Child Tax Benefit can also be found on our Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/benefits.

Guideline table effective July 2003 - June 2004

Based on February 18, 2003, Budget

Family Net Income ($)	One Child ($/month)	Two Children ($/month)	Three Children ($/month)	Four Children ($/month)	Five Children ($/month)
	219.33	421.25	623.50	825.75	1028.00
22,000	214.54	412.34	610.70	812.95	1015.20
23,000	204.37	393.42	583.53	785.62	988.03
24,000	194.21	374.50	556.37	758.62	960.87
25,000	184.04	355.59	529.20	731.45	933.70
26,000	173.87	336.67	502.03	704.28	906.53
27,000	163.71	317.75	474.87	677.12	879.37
28,000	153.54	298.84	447.70	649.95	852.20
29,000	143.37	279.92	420.53	622.78	825.03
30,000	133.21	261.00	393.37	595.62	797.87
31,000	123.04	242.09	366.20	568.45	770.70
32,000	112.87	223.17	339.03	541.28	743.53
33,000	102.71	204.25	311.87	514.12	716.37
34,000	96.34	192.69	296.94	484.81	687.06
35,000	94.26	188.52	292.77	453.48	655.73
40,000	83.84	167.69	271.94	376.19	499.06
45,000	73.43	146.86	251.11	355.36	459.61
50,000	63.01	126.02	230.27	334.52	438.77
55,000	52.59	105.19	209.44	313.69	417.94
60,000	42.18	84.36	188.61	292.86	397.11
65,000	31.76	63.52	167.77	272.02	376.27
70,000	21.34	42.69	146.94	251.19	355.44
75,000	10.93	21.86	126.11	230.36	334.61
80,000	0.51	1.02	105.27	209.52	313.77
85,000	0	0	84.44	188.69	292.94
90,000	0	0	63.61	167.86	272.11
95,000	0	0	42.77	147.02	251.27
100,000	0	0	21.94	126.19	230.44
110,000	0	0	0	84.52	188.77
120,000	0	0	0	42.86	147.11
130,000	0	0	0	1.19	105.44
140,000	0	0	0	0	63.77
150,000	0	0	0	0	22.11

Notes:

1. These amounts assume that all children are seven years of age or older. There is an additional supplement of $232 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 National Child Benefit Supplement) 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 Canada Customs and Revenue Agency 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.
5. These amounts do not include the new Child Disability Benefit (CDB).

This document is also available for download in PDF format.

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Date modified:

2003-07-18