Fall doesn’t just bring cooler weather and pumpkin spice everything. For low-income workers across Canada, it also means another instalment of the Canada Workers Benefit landing in bank accounts. And depending on your situation, the total benefit can add up to well over $2,400 for the year.
Here’s everything worth knowing before the money shows up.
What is the Canada Workers Benefit?
The CWB is a refundable tax credit meant to help people who are working but earning a modest income. Being refundable is the key part here.
Even if you owe little or nothing in income tax, the credit still gets paid out to you. It comes in two pieces, a basic amount for eligible workers and a disability supplement for anyone approved for the Disability Tax Credit.
Instead of making everyone wait until tax season for the full amount, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) releases roughly half of it early, in three separate payments spread across the year. That early portion goes by its own name, the Advanced Canada Workers Benefit, or ACWB.
When does the money land?
The ACWB usually pays out on the 12th of January, July, and October. When that date falls on a weekend or holiday, the payment moves up to the closest business day before it instead. This cycle’s confirmed dates ended up being January 12, July 10, and October 9, with the next benefit year’s first payment expected January 12, 2027.
If a payment doesn’t show up when expected, the CRA recommends waiting 10 business days before contacting them about it.
How much could you get per payment?
This round of payments is calculated using your 2025 tax return, since the CRA always bases the current benefit year on the prior year’s income. The 2025 maximums land at $1,633 for a single person and $2,813 for a family, with the disability supplement adding up to $843 more.
Since advance payments only cover half your total entitlement, split into three instalments, the actual per-payment amounts come out smaller. Singles can get up to $272.17, families up to $468.83, and the disability supplement adds up to $140.50 extra per qualifying person on top of either.
Put those together, and a single person who also qualifies for the disability supplement could see just over $412 land in one deposit. A family where both adults qualify for the supplement could see close to $750.
Income limits shifted a bit too. Singles start losing the basic amount once their adjusted net income passes $26,855, while for families that threshold sits at $30,639. The disability supplement phases out separately, starting at $37,740 for singles and $49,389 for families. A modest raise last year likely wouldn’t push you out of eligibility entirely.
It’s also worth knowing these figures are federal. Alberta, Quebec, and Nunavut all run their own separate arrangements with the federal government, so their maximums and thresholds look different.
Who qualifies?
Qualifying for the basic CWB comes down to a few things. You need working income, a net income under your province or territory’s threshold, Canadian residency throughout the year, and you need to be at least 19 by December 31, unless you live with a spouse, common-law partner, or child.
The disability supplement runs on its own separate rules. You’ll need an approved Disability Tax Credit certificate already on file with the CRA, along with a net income under your province’s specific threshold for that portion.
Getting the advance payments specifically also requires being a Canadian resident on the first day of that payment period.
Do you need to apply?
As long as you’re entitled to a Canada Workers Benefit amount from your 2025 return, specifically line 45300, the CRA calculates and sends out your advance payments automatically.
For couples, only one spouse gets the advance payment for the household, usually whoever earned more working income, or whoever filed first if both incomes matched. If one spouse qualifies for the disability supplement and the other doesn’t, the spouse with the disability collects both the household’s basic advance and their own supplement.
Payments show up either as a direct deposit or a mailed cheque, depending on what’s set up with the CRA.
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