Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Calculator
Figure out what your household should be getting from the CGEB, the CRA's replacement for the old GST/HST credit. Punch in your marital status, how many kids you've got under 19, and your family net income, and we'll walk you through the quarterly and annual numbers.
The CGEB isn't a brand-new program — it's the GST/HST credit under a new name, with payments running about 25% higher through 2031. If your household already gets the GST/HST credit, you're already getting the CGEB automatically.
CGEB Calculator — 2025 Base Year
If you're a single parent, your first child is paid at the higher $445 rate instead of $234 — the CRA treats them a bit like a spouse amount.
Your net income, combined with your spouse or common-law partner's if you have one — the same figure the CRA already uses to calculate your benefits.
Built on the CRA's published 2025 base year CGEB amounts and thresholds. Your actual payment is set by the CRA once it assesses your tax return — use this as a planning estimate, not a guarantee.
Set your marital status, children, and income, then click Calculate My CGEB to see your quarterly and annual estimate.
CGEB Payment Amounts — July 2026 to June 2027
These are the maximum annual amounts before your income reduces anything. A single person tops out at $679 a year, a couple at $890, both up roughly 25% from what the GST/HST credit paid for the same period.
| Component | Amount | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Eligible individual | $445 | Every eligible household |
| Eligible spouse or common-law partner | $445 | Households with a spouse or common-law partner |
| Each eligible child under 19 | $234 | Second and later children in any household |
| First eligible child — single-parent family | $445 | First child only, single-parent households |
| Additional amount, single individual | $234 | Single filers with no spouse and no children |
| Phase-in threshold (additional amount) | $11,564 | Income above which the additional amount phases in |
| Phase-out threshold | $46,432 | Income above which the total benefit is reduced |
ℹ️ The additional amount for single individuals phases in at 2% of income above the phase-in threshold, up to its $234 maximum. The total benefit then phases out at 5% of income above the phase-out threshold, until it hits zero.
CGEB Payment Dates, 2026–2027
The first CGEB deposit landed July 3, 2026 — that's the payment that replaced the old GST/HST credit for good. Here's the full schedule for this benefit year.
Dates can shift slightly around weekends and holidays. Sign in to CRA My Account to confirm your exact deposit date and status.
How Your CGEB Is Built Up — and Reduced
Think of it in four layers: a base amount for your household, an optional top-up if you're a low-income single, a reduction once your income climbs past a threshold, and finally, a split into four quarterly deposits.
- Individual amount: $445, paid to every household
- Spouse or common-law partner amount: $445
- Each additional child under 19: $234
- Single-parent families: first child paid at $445
- Second and later children always paid at $234
- Only applies with no spouse and no children
- Phases in at 2% of income above $11,564
- Reaches its full $234 value near $23,264 of income
- Never exceeds $234, regardless of income
- Meant to offset not having a spousal amount
- Kicks in once income passes $46,432
- Reduces the combined benefit by 5% of the excess
- Applied after the base and top-up are added together
- Never drops below $0
- Annual entitlement is split into four equal payments
- Payment dates: July, October, January, and April
- Based on your income from the 2025 tax year
- Under $50 a year is paid as one lump sum in July
CGEB Rules You Should Know
A handful of details decide how much of the benefit actually lands in your account, so it's worth knowing them before you assume the calculator is off.
Even with zero income to report, you and your spouse or common-law partner each need to file a tax return for the CRA to assess you for the CGEB. No return means no payment, full stop.
If you already received the GST/HST credit, you didn't need to apply for anything new. The CRA rolled recipients straight over, and your July 2026 payment simply arrived under the CGEB name instead.
For a child in a shared custody arrangement, each parent generally gets half of what they'd otherwise receive for that child, based on their own household composition and income.
For married or common-law households, the phase-out runs off your combined adjusted family net income, not each spouse's income separately. That's also why the single top-up disappears once you have a spouse.
A child who turns 19 partway through the payment period is generally still counted for the full period, as long as they were under 19 at the start of the month a given payment is issued.
If your calculated annual benefit falls under $50, the CRA pays it out as one lump sum in July instead of four smaller deposits. Otherwise, it's divided evenly across the four dates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Quick answers to what Canadians are actually asking about the CGEB right now.
📬 Still have questions? We're here to help.
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