The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit
Since July 2026 the quarterly GST/HST credit has a new name, a higher amount for five years and the same rules for who gets it.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit pays up to $445 for you, $445 for a spouse or common-law partner and $234 for each child under 19 for July 2026 to June 2027, plus a supplement of up to $234 for single people and single parents. It is the GST/HST credit under a new name, in place since July 2026, with amounts raised by 25 % for five years, from 2,026 to 2,031. The eligibility rules did not change and there is nothing to apply for: filing your 2025 tax return is enough. The total is reduced by 5 % of adjusted family net income above $46,432, so a single person without children stops receiving it at $60,012 and a couple with two children at $73,592. The benefit is paid in four instalments, in July, October, January and April. Before the switch, the Canada Revenue Agency paid a one-time top-up on June 5, 2026, worth in most cases half of the 2025-2026 credit. In French it is the Allocation canadienne pour l’épicerie et les besoins essentiels; many people still search for it as the crédit TPS.
Your Groceries and Essentials Benefit for 2026-27
CGEB, July 2026 to June 2027
$1,358.00
| Each quarterly payment | $339.50 |
| Reduction for income | $0.00 |
| June 5, 2026 top-up, maximum for this family | $533 |
The top-up was based on 2024 income and has already been paid: the figure shown is its ceiling, not your amount.
From GST/HST credit to groceries benefit
The CRA page of the former credit now opens with a single line: the GST/HST credit was renamed the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit as of July 2026. The page of the new benefit adds the second change, a 25 % increase that will remain for five years, from 2,026 to 2,031. Everything else is carried over: the tax-free quarterly payments, the calculation from the previous year’s income, the provincial and territorial programs paid with it, and the absence of an application. As the new name says, it targets the cost of groceries and everyday essentials for low and modest incomes, and it reaches zero well before middle incomes.
Who receives it
The eligibility page sets two conditions. You must be a resident of Canada for tax purposes in the month before the CRA makes a payment and at the start of the month of the payment. And you must be at least 19, or, if younger, have or have had a spouse or common-law partner, or be a parent living with your child. Then comes the income test, applied to the family: the adjusted family net income from the 2025 return, yours and your spouse’s, has to stay below the level where the amount falls to zero. Because residence is tested around each payment date, someone who leaves Canada in the middle of the benefit year stops qualifying for the quarterly payments that follow.
The amounts for July 2026 to June 2027
The CRA payment amounts are built from blocks: $445 for you, $445 for a spouse or common-law partner, or the same $445 for the first child of a single parent, and $234 for every other child under 19. A single person without children also gets a supplement of 2 % of net income above $11,564, capped at $234; a single parent receives the full supplement. The total is reduced by 5 % of adjusted family net income above $46,432.
| Household | Maximum per year | Per payment | Ends at income of | June 5 top-up, maximum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single, no children | $679 | $169.75 | $60,012 | $267 |
| Single parent, one child | $1,124 | $281.00 | $68,912 | $441 |
| Couple, no children | $890 | $222.50 | $64,232 | $349 |
| Couple, two children | $1,358 | $339.50 | $73,592 | $533 |
| Couple, four children | $1,826 | $456.50 | $82,952 | $717 |
The maximums apply up to $46,432 of income; the single person without children reaches the full supplement only once net income passes $23,264. Take a single parent with one child and a 2025 net income of $52,000: the base is $890, the supplement $234, the reduction $278.40, which leaves $845.60 for the year, or $211.40 each quarter. A couple with two children and $50,000 of income keeps $1,179.60 after a reduction of $178.40: every $1,000 of income above the threshold costs the household $50 of benefit, whatever its size. The CRA payments chart gives the same results line by line, and the calculator handles any household.
Your Groceries and Essentials Benefit for 2026-27
CGEB, July 2026 to June 2027
$1,358.00
| Each quarterly payment | $339.50 |
| Reduction for income | $0.00 |
| June 5, 2026 top-up, maximum for this family | $533 |
The top-up was based on 2024 income and has already been paid: the figure shown is its ceiling, not your amount.
The top-up of June 5, 2026
A month before the new name took effect, the CRA paid a one-time top-up on June 5, 2026. It went automatically to people who had filed a 2,024 return and were entitled to the GST/HST credit in January 2026. In most cases it equalled 50 % of the annual credit for July 2025 to June 2026, which explains the ceilings in the last column of the table: $267 for a single person without children, $349 for a couple without children, then $441, $533, $625 and $717 for one to four children or more. The top-up was calculated on the old credit, before the increase. Someone who has not yet filed the 2,024 return can still do so and receive it retroactively if entitled.
How and when it is paid
The benefit year is divided into four equal payments, in July, October, January and April. The first two came on July 3, 2026 and October 5, 2026; the 2027 days had not been published when we checked. When the amount per quarter is under $50, the CRA pays the whole year in July instead. The payment dates page follows the calendar in detail, including the two January and April payments made under the old name.
Not to be confused with
The groceries benefit is not a replacement for the Canada carbon rebate, which ended in 2025 for separate reasons: the carbon rebate page explains what happened to it. It is also distinct from the Canada workers benefit, which requires employment income, and from the child benefit, paid monthly. A family can receive all three. The amount the CRA pays is the one on your notice; the figures here reproduce its published rates.