Ontario Child Benefit
Ontario adds its own child benefit to the federal one, and the CRA pays both in a single deposit each month.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method
The Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) pays up to $1,760 per child under 18 for the benefit year from July 2026 to June 2027, which the CRA delivers as $146.66 a month for each child. Families receive the full amount when their 2025 adjusted family net income is $26,865 or less. Above that line the CRA says you may get a partial benefit, but neither the CRA nor the Ontario government publishes the rate at which it is reduced, so this page gives the maximum and the threshold and does not guess what happens in between. There is no application: the CRA works out the OCB from the income tax and benefit returns it already uses for the Canada child benefit, and adds it to the same monthly deposit. The program is funded entirely by Ontario and administered by the CRA. For a parent of two children with modest income, it adds $293.32 to each monthly payment. The amount you actually receive is the one on your CRA notice.
Your Ontario child benefit inside the monthly CRA deposit
Monthly deposit (CCB + OCB)
$1,546.65
| Ontario child benefit | $293.32 |
| Canada child benefit | $1,253.33 |
| Full OCB up to this income | $26,865 |
July 2026 to June 2027 amounts, paid together around the 20th.
Maximum by number of children
The OCB is a flat amount per child, with no extra for a younger child and no smaller amount for the third or fourth. That makes the maximum simple to read: multiply $1,760 by the number of children under 18.
| Children under 18 | Maximum per year | Maximum per month |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $1,760 | $146.66 |
| 2 | $3,520 | $293.32 |
| 3 | $5,280 | $439.98 |
| 4 | $7,040 | $586.64 |
| 5 | $8,800 | $733.30 |
The monthly column is what lands in your account. The yearly column is Ontario’s headline figure, and the gap between them, a few cents per child, comes from rounding the monthly amount down.
A threshold set very low
The OCB starts to fall at $26,865 of adjusted family net income. That is far below the point where the federal benefit begins its own reduction, $38,237, so a couple working full time at modest wages is often already past the OCB threshold while still receiving the maximum Canada child benefit. In other words, the provincial benefit is aimed at the lowest-income families, and anything above the threshold should be treated as a bonus rather than counted on in a budget.
What happens above $26,865 is the part nobody publishes. The CRA writes only that you may receive a partial benefit. Some older documents describe a reduction rate, but none appears on the current CRA or Ontario pages, and we do not reproduce a figure we cannot check. Our calculators therefore show the full OCB below the threshold and label it a ceiling above it. Your notice of determination gives the real number.
One deposit, two programs
Take a family with one child under 6 and one aged 6 to 17, and an adjusted family net income of $24,000. The federal child benefit for July 2026 to June 2027 comes to $1,253.33 a month, and the OCB adds $293.32, since the family is under the threshold. The CRA sends $1,546.65 in a single transfer, on the same day as every other child benefit payment.
The 2026 dates are those of the federal calendar: January 20, 2026, February 20, 2026, March 20, 2026, April 20, 2026, May 20, 2026, June 19, 2026, July 20, 2026, August 20, 2026, September 18, 2026, October 20, 2026, November 20, 2026, December 11, 2026. The December payment comes early, before the holidays. If a deposit has not arrived, the CRA asks you to wait 5 business days before calling, the same delay as for the Canada child benefit.
Your Ontario child benefit inside the monthly CRA deposit
Monthly deposit (CCB + OCB)
$1,546.65
| Ontario child benefit | $293.32 |
| Canada child benefit | $1,253.33 |
| Full OCB up to this income | $26,865 |
July 2026 to June 2027 amounts, paid together around the 20th.
Who qualifies
The OCB goes to families who receive, or are entitled to, the Canada child benefit for a child under 18 and who live in Ontario. The CRA sets eligibility from your return, with no form to fill. Two practical conditions follow. First, the return has to be filed on time each spring even if you had little or no income, since a missing return stops both benefits from July. Second, if you have a spouse or common-law partner, their return counts too: the family income that the CRA compares with $26,865 is the sum of both net incomes, adjusted.
The benefit is designed and paid for by Ontario. The CRA only runs it, which is why it appears on the CRA’s Ontario page and on your CCB notice rather than on a separate provincial statement. Ontario’s own page describes the program in the same terms.
How Ontario compares with its neighbours
Every province designs its child benefit differently. Families moving across a border should not expect the same amount, or the same threshold, on the other side.
| Province | Maximum, 1 child | Maximum, 2 children | Full amount up to |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario | $1,760 | $3,520 | $26,865 |
| British Columbia | $1,750 | $2,850 | $30,176 |
| Alberta | $2,311 | $3,787 | $28,116 |
| Quebec | $3,068 | $6,136 | $60,398 |
British Columbia pays a little less for a first child but keeps a guaranteed floor well into middle incomes; Alberta splits its benefit into a base part and a part tied to earnings; Quebec pays far more per child but through Retraite Québec. Ontario’s design is the plainest of the four: one amount, one threshold.
Mistakes that cost families money
- Not filing because income was low. A family with almost no income is exactly the one that gets the full $1,760 per child, but only if the returns are filed.
- Forgetting to update marital status. A separation or a new partner changes family income, and the OCB is recalculated from it.
- Counting on the OCB above the threshold. Without a published rate, treat any partial amount as uncertain until the notice arrives.
- Confusing it with the Trillium benefit. The Ontario Trillium Benefit is paid on the 10th and covers energy, property tax and sales tax; the OCB comes with the child benefit around the 20th.
Parents on social assistance should also read the ODSP rates guide, and anyone checking the federal side can use the child benefit calculator. Amounts on this page come from the CRA’s Ontario programs page.