The Guaranteed Income Supplement for couples
For a married or common-law pensioner, the GIS depends on what the spouse receives and on the income of both partners added together.
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A couple where both partners receive Old Age Security can get up to $685.56 of Guaranteed Income Supplement each per month from October to December 2026, and the supplement stops once their combined income, OAS excluded, reaches $30,528 a year. Service Canada uses three different grids for couples. If the spouse is 60 to 64 and receives the Allowance, the pensioner’s GIS has the same ceiling of $685.56, the spouse gets up to $1,448.06 of Allowance, and the combined cut-off rises to $42,768. If the spouse receives neither OAS nor the Allowance, for example because they are under 60, the pensioner can receive up to $1,138.90, the same as a single person, and keeps some GIS until combined income reaches $55,392. In every case the test uses both partners’ incomes from the previous year, after each partner’s employment exemption. The amount on your Service Canada letter is the one that counts.
GIS for a couple, by your spouse’s situation
Paid to the couple each month
$688.66
| Pensioner’s GIS | $344.33 |
| Spouse’s GIS | $344.33 |
| Combined cut-off in this situation | $30,528 |
October to December 2026, OAS pensions not included. Model fitted to the ESDC grid, within about $1 a month between thresholds.
Three grids, one per kind of couple
The ESDC quarterly table publishes one line for single pensioners and three lines for couples. What sets the line is not your own age or history but what your spouse or common-law partner receives.
| Situation | GIS maximum per month | Top-up ends at | Combined income cut-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spouse also receives OAS | $685.56 | $8,800 | $30,528 |
| Spouse receives the Allowance | $685.56 | $8,800 | $42,768 |
| Spouse receives neither | $1,138.90 | $20,992 | $55,392 |
The top-up column matters for the poorest households. Part of each maximum is a top-up paid in full only below that income and phased out above it, so the first dollars of combined income reduce the GIS faster than later ones.
Why the income of both partners decides
For a couple, Service Canada sets the GIS on the combined income of the previous year (Service Canada, how much you could receive). A pensioner with no income of his own can lose part of the supplement because his partner draws a workplace pension, and a pensioner with a modest pension can keep the full top-up if her partner has nothing. Each partner’s employment earnings first go through the exemption, so a spouse who works part-time adds less to the total than the gross pay suggests: the work exemption guide gives the numbers.
Both partners on OAS
This is the most common case after 65. Each partner gets a GIS cheque, and both cheques are the same because they are computed on the same combined income. At $16,000 of combined income, the model gives $302.67 each, or $605.34 for the household. The per-person maximum is lower than for a single senior because two OAS pensions already enter the home.
A spouse aged 60 to 64 on the Allowance
A spouse who is 60 to 64, married to a GIS pensioner, can claim the Allowance, which stands in for the OAS and GIS that spouse does not yet receive. The household then reads the third line of the grid, with the highest couple cut-off, $42,768. At $16,000 of combined income the pensioner keeps $557.67 and the spouse receives $557.67. The conditions are set out in the Allowance guide.
A spouse with neither benefit
This line covers a partner under 60, or one aged 60 to 64 who does not qualify for the Allowance, or an older partner without OAS. The pensioner can then receive up to $1,138.90, the single rate, and the combined cut-off stretches to $55,392. At $16,000 of combined income, the model gives $872.67 a month. Only one person in the home is paid, which is why the ceiling is higher.
GIS for a couple, by your spouse’s situation
Paid to the couple each month
$688.66
| Pensioner’s GIS | $344.33 |
| Spouse’s GIS | $344.33 |
| Combined cut-off in this situation | $30,528 |
October to December 2026, OAS pensions not included. Model fitted to the ESDC grid, within about $1 a month between thresholds.
Same combined income, three outcomes
| Combined income | Spouse also receives OAS | Spouse receives the Allowance | Spouse receives neither |
|---|---|---|---|
| $8,000 | $955.34 | $1,550.28 | $1,097.23 |
| $16,000 | $605.34 | $1,115.34 | $872.67 |
| $24,000 | $272.00 | $782.00 | $654.00 |
| $32,000 | $0.00 | $448.66 | $487.33 |
| $44,000 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $237.33 |
The amounts between two published thresholds come from a model fitted to the official grid, accurate to about a dollar a month. They leave out the OAS pensions themselves, which are paid on top: a full pension is $762.50 at 65 to 74 in this quarter.
Separation, long-term care and death
Service Canada asks GIS recipients to report any change of marital status and the fact that partners live apart (Service Canada, receiving the GIS). When the separation is involuntary, for instance because one partner needs long-term care, the couple may receive more (Service Canada, receiving the Allowance). After a death, a surviving pensioner reads the single line of the grid, and a surviving spouse on the Allowance is moved automatically to the Allowance for the Survivor (Service Canada, Allowance).
Four amounts a year
The couple grids move every quarter with the cost of living, like the single grid. For two partners on OAS, the per-person maximum went from $667.41 in January 2026 to $668.08 in April, $676.09 in July and $685.56 in October, while the combined cut-off climbed from $29,712 to $30,528. A couple whose income sits just above the January cut-off can therefore become eligible later in the year without any change in their own situation, which is a good reason to check again after each indexation rather than once a year.
Keeping the payments going
The GIS is renewed from the federal tax return, and a renewal letter arrives in July. Because the test adds both incomes, both partners should file by April 30, even with little to report. Leaving Canada for more than 6 months stops the supplement. To compare your own figures, use the GIS calculator.