Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is administered by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). This is a tax-free monthly payment given to eligible families to help raise children under the age of 18. CCBs may include Children’s Disability Benefits and related provincial and territorial programs.

Who can get a Canada Child Benefit?

The following conditions must be fulfilled to apply:

  • Living with a minor who is under the age of 18
  • Be responsible for the child care.
  • Reside in Canada for tax purposes
  • You, your spouse, or your partner must be one of the following:
    1. A Canadian citizen
    2. A permanent resident
    3. A protected person
    4. A Temporary resident who has lived in Canada for the past 18 months and has a permit valid for the 19th month other than one that don’t be “does not grant status” or “does not grant temporary resident status”
    5. A Native person corresponding to its definition by the Canada Government

You cannot get the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) for an adopted child in any month that CCB is paid. You can get a CCB if you live with and care for a child through a kinship or intimate relationship program, as long as no CCB is paid for the child.

Who is primarily responsible for care?

The person with primary responsibility for the care and upbringing of the child must apply to join the CCB. This person is responsible for things like:

  • Supervision of the child’s daily activities and needs
  • Affirm that the child’s medical needs are satisfied
  • Arrange childcare if needed

What happens when the mother lives with the child?

When two persons are married or cohabit in the same household with children, parents are primarily responsible for the care and upbringing of all children in the family. It must be a CCB requirement.

However, if the other parent has primary responsibility, she must submit and attach a letter signed by the mother stating that she is the primary caretaker and parent of all children in the home.

If the children live with parents of the same sex, only one parent should be required to have all the children in the family.

CCB Toddler Supplement

The supplement pays families eligible for Canada Child Benefit (CCB) in January, April, July or October for each child under the age of six. The amount you receive is based on your family’s net income for 2019 and 2020. You and your spouse or partner must file 2019 and 2020 tax returns to receive all four payments.

Children with disabilities benefits

If your child qualifies for a disability tax credit, you may also qualify for a child disability benefit. Between July 2021 and June 2022, you can get up to $2,915 ($242.91 per month) for each eligible child for the disability tax credit.

Joint custody and its payments

Each parent with joint custody will receive 50% of the amount that they would have received if they had full custody, this is calculated based on the family’s adjusted net income. The CRA will not split the amount into a different percentage, or give the full amount to a relative if the CRA assumes you have joint custody. If the child lives with one of the parents only part-time, you must check the rights and custody agreement to see if it counts as joint custody.

How you can apply?

Through birth registration

In most cases, you have the facility to request this benefit if at the time of the birth of the designated child the hospital or medical center gives you a form so that you can fill it out with your respective data. Just don’t forget to provide your consent and information related to your social insurance number (SIN) so that this record is shared with the CRA. Otherwise, you will have to implement another method to apply.

With your personal CRA account

You can apply by entering your personal CRA account online. First, go to “Apply for child benefits” category; confirm your contact and citizenship information;  register the required child information; check your application process in case that you are asked to submit any documents and finally submit your application.

Mailing a specific form

For the following alternative, you must fill out and sign the Form RC66, Canada Child Benefits Application and attach additional documents for specific cases and mail the application to your tax center.You should keep in mind that the average time for processing and responding to your request is 8 weeks.