Grocery prices haven’t exactly been easing up this year, so a little extra cash landing in your account might come at a good time.
Next Monday, October 5, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will send out its next Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit deposit, the program that replaced the old GST/HST credit back in July. If you already got a payment this summer, this one should land in a similar range, since both are calculated from your 2025 tax return.
Here’s what to expect.
Why this payment is bigger than what you used to get
The CGEB wasn’t just a name change. When it first rolled out in July, it came with an increase attached: 25% more than the old GST/HST credit used to pay, and that boost is locked in through 2031. So if the deposit looks a bit bigger than what you remember getting a year or two ago, that’s not a fluke.
How much you’re looking at
The exact number depends on your household, but here’s the general range for the current benefit year. Single individuals can get up to $679 annually, which comes out to roughly $170 per quarter. Couples, married or common-law, can receive up to $890 a year, or about $222 every three months. And parents get an extra $234 a year for each eligible child under 19, adding close to $58 to every quarterly payment.
Where exactly you land depends on your adjusted family net income, your marital status and how many kids you’ve got. The CRA spells it all out in a notice sent either to your online account or by mail, laying out your total annual entitlement and when each payment is due.
When the money shows up
This will only be the second CGEB payment since it replaced the old credit. The first went out July 3, and from here on, deposits arrive quarterly, following a schedule that runs from July through the following June each year.
One thing worth noting: if your quarterly amount would normally come out to less than $50, the CRA skips the smaller installments altogether and just pays your entire annual total in one lump sum back in July.
Who qualifies
Eligibility didn’t change after the program switched names. You need to be at least 19 and a Canadian resident for tax purposes. If you’re younger than that, you can still qualify if you have or had a spouse or common-law partner, or if you’re a parent living with your child.
Shared custody is accounted for too. Each parent can claim half the benefit tied to that child. And if you’re already getting the Canada Child Benefit, your kids are automatically folded into your CGEB total, no extra paperwork needed.
There’s nothing separate to apply for, either. As long as your 2025 tax return is filed, the CRA figures out what you’re owed on its own. If you filed late, you’ll still get paid, just retroactively, once your return works its way through processing.
Worth remembering
The CGEB stays completely tax-free. You don’t report it anywhere on your return, and there’s nothing extra to do before October 5 beyond having your taxes filed. If you want to check your exact amount ahead of time, your CRA My Account has it waiting under Benefits and Credits.
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