Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB): Amounts and Dates
The CGEB replaced the GST/HST credit in July 2026, with a 25% increase for five years. Here are the 2026-27 amounts, the one-time top-up, who qualifies and how your income sets the payment.
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What is the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit and how much is it?
The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) is a tax-free quarterly CRA payment for people with low and modest incomes that replaced the GST/HST credit in July 2026. For July 2026 to June 2027 it pays up to $679 for a single person, $890 for a couple and $234 per child under 19, reduced once family net income passes $46,432.
What is the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit?
The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit is a tax-free payment the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) makes four times a year to individuals and families with low and modest incomes, to help with the cost of food and other everyday essentials. It took over from the GST/HST credit in July 2026 and you do not apply for it: the CRA assesses you when you file your tax return.
The CRA describes the CGEB as the GST/HST credit under a new name. Eligibility, the way payments are calculated and the quarterly structure are the same. The main change is the size of the payment: the federal government raised the benefit by 25% from July 2026, and that increase is set to last five years, from 2026 to 2031.
Payments are not taxable, so you do not report them on your next return. The last quarterly payment under the old GST/HST credit name was issued on 2 April 2026, and the first CGEB payment went out in July 2026.
How much is the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit for 2026-27?
For the July 2026 to June 2027 benefit year, the CGEB pays up to $679 a year for a single person, $890 for a married or common-law couple and $234 for each child under 19. These maximums apply when adjusted family net income on your 2025 return is $46,432 or less. Above that, the amount shrinks.
A single parent gets the same maximum as a couple with the same number of children, because the first child in a single-parent family attracts a larger amount. The table shows the yearly maximum and the approximate quarterly payment for common family types.
| Family type | Yearly maximum | About per quarter |
|---|---|---|
| Single, no children | $679 | $169.75 |
| Couple, no children | $890 | $222.50 |
| Single parent or couple, 1 child | $1,124 | $281.00 |
| Single parent or couple, 2 children | $1,358 | $339.50 |
| Single parent or couple, 3 children | $1,592 | $398.00 |
| Single parent or couple, 4 children | $1,826 | $456.50 |
Some provinces add their own credit to the same deposit. The CRA combines the New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan programs with your CGEB payments. The Ontario sales tax credit is paid separately as part of the Ontario Trillium Benefit. Quebec is not on the CRA's list of related programs.
Figures checked October 2026 against the CRA's CGEB payment amounts and payments chart; confirm current amounts with the CRA.
What was the CGEB one-time top-up?
The one-time top-up was an extra payment issued on 5 June 2026, before the CGEB began. It generally added 50% to the annual GST/HST credit for July 2025 to June 2026, which works out to about twice the January 2026 payment. You received it if you filed a 2024 return and were entitled to the credit in January 2026.
| Family type | Single or single parent | Married or common-law |
|---|---|---|
| No children | $267 | $349 |
| 1 child | $441 | $441 |
| 2 children | $533 | $533 |
| 3 children | $625 | $625 |
| 4 or more children | $717 | $717 |
For couples, only one partner received the top-up on behalf of both. Provincial and territorial amounts were not included. If you have not filed your 2024 return, the CRA says to file it, even with no income, and it will send a retroactive payment if you are entitled to one.
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Who is eligible for the CGEB?
You are eligible for the CGEB if you are a resident of Canada for tax purposes, are at least 19 years old (or have a spouse or common-law partner, or are a parent living with your child), and your adjusted family net income is low enough to leave a payment. The CRA checks this automatically when you file.
- Residency must hold both in the month before a payment and at the start of the month it is paid.
- Turning 19 makes you eligible from the first payment date after your birthday, as long as you filed a return.
- Newcomers can apply with Form RC151 for their first year as a resident, before filing a first return. One application covers the household.
- Children under 19 add to the amount when they are registered with the CRA. In shared custody, each eligible parent may get half the amount for that child.
- Filing every year matters. File by 30 April to avoid a gap in payments; see our tax filing deadline guide.
How is the CGEB calculated from your net income?
The CRA builds your CGEB from three things on your 2025 return: marital status, the number of eligible children and adjusted family net income. Adjusted family net income is your net income plus your spouse's, minus any UCCB and RDSP income received, plus any UCCB and RDSP amounts repaid. The CRA's payments chart then reduces the total by about 5% of income above $46,432.
- Add the base amounts: $445 for you, $445 for a spouse (a single parent gets this amount for the first child instead) and $234 for each child under 19.
- Singles without children also get a supplement of up to $234. It phases in at 2% of income above $11,564, so the full $679 is reached at about $23,264.
- Subtract 5% of adjusted family net income above $46,432.
- Divide the yearly result by four for each quarterly payment.
On these rates a single person without children stops receiving the benefit at roughly $60,000 of income, and a couple with two children at roughly $73,600. The CRA's chart and its child and family benefits calculator give the exact figure for your situation.
Worked example: couple with two children earning $50,000
Maximum: $890 + $234 + $234 = $1,358. Income above the threshold: $50,000 − $46,432 = $3,568. Reduction: 5% × $3,568 = $178.40. Yearly benefit: $1,358 − $178.40 = $1,179.60, or about $294.90 a quarter. This matches the CRA payments chart.
Worked example: single person earning $14,000
Base: $445. Supplement: 2% × ($14,000 − $11,564) = 2% × $2,436 = $48.72. Yearly benefit: $445 + $48.72 = $493.72, or about $123.43 a quarter.
When is the CGEB paid?
The CGEB is paid on the 5th of July, October, January and April. When the 5th falls on a weekend or federal statutory holiday, the CRA pays on the last business day before it. Our GST/HST credit payment dates page lists the full 2026 schedule, including the July and October dates.
If your benefit works out to less than $50 a quarter, the CRA pays the whole year in one payment in July. If a payment does not arrive, the CRA asks you to wait 10 business days before contacting it.
A quarterly deposit is easy to absorb into everyday spending. In EMOH Pay you can log each payment as income on the day it lands and point it at a grocery budget or a savings goal. The grocery budget calculator helps set a realistic monthly food figure first.
Is the CGEB the same as the 2023 Grocery Rebate?
No. The 2023 Grocery Rebate was a one-time payment, issued on 5 July 2023 and worth double your January 2023 GST/HST credit. The CRA has archived it and it is no longer available. The CGEB is an ongoing quarterly benefit, and its June 2026 top-up was a separate one-time payment.
- Grocery Rebate (2023): one payment, based on 2021 income, up to $234 for a single person with no children.
- One-time top-up (June 2026): one payment, based on 2024 income, up to $267 for a single person with no children.
- CGEB (from July 2026): four payments a year, based on the previous year's return, up to $679 a year for a single person.
Families who also receive the Canada Child Benefit can line both up using our CCB payment dates.
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Get started free➜Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB): Amounts and Dates: frequently asked questions
Is the CGEB the same as the GST/HST credit?
Yes, in structure. The CRA renamed the GST/HST credit the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit in July 2026. Eligibility and the calculation method are the same, but the amounts are 25% higher for five years.
Do I need to apply for the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit?
No. The CRA checks your eligibility when you file your tax return each year. Newcomers in their first year as residents can apply with Form RC151.
Is the CGEB taxable?
No. CGEB payments are not taxable, so you do not include them as income on your return.
How long will the 25% increase last?
The CRA says the increase took effect in July 2026 and will remain for five years, from 2026 to 2031.
Why did I not get the June 2026 top-up?
The top-up went to people who filed a 2024 return and were entitled to the GST/HST credit in January 2026. If you had not filed your 2024 return, file it and the CRA will send a retroactive payment if you qualify.
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