Canada Child Benefit

The Canada child benefit (CCB) is a tax-free monthly payment made to eligible families to help them with the cost of raising children under 18 years of age. The CCB might include the child disability benefit and any related provincial and territorial programs.

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The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) uses information from your income tax and benefit return to calculate how much your CCB payments will be. To get the CCB, you must file your return every year, even if you did not have income in the year. If you have a spouse or common-law partner, they also must file a return every year.

Benefits are paid over a 12-month period from July of one year to June of the next year. Your benefit payments will be recalculated every July based on information from you and your spouse’s (if applicable) income tax and benefit returns from the previous year. 

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If you were eligible for the months and years before July 1, 2016, the CRA will pay you:

• a lump-sum payment for the Canada child tax benefit

• a lump-sum payment for the universal childcare benefit

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If you are entitled to the universal child care benefit, the CRA will issue an RC62, universal child care benefit statement by the end of February, on behalf of Employment and Social Development Canada.