Canadian parents will receive the latest child benefits from the federal government this week.
March payments of the Canada Child Benefit will roll out Thursday to eligible families with children under the age of 18 years.
The tax-free monthly payments are calculated based on the adjusted family net income, as reported in the previous year’s tax return, as well as the number of children and their ages, according to the Canada Revenue Agency.
The CCB amounts were increased by 4.7 per cent in July 2024 after a routine annual recalculation based on a family’s net income from the previous year and inflation.
Maximum monthly amounts have remained unchanged since then and will be recalculated in July.
This month, families could get a maximum of $648.91 for each kid under the age of six years.
For each child between six and 17 years, the maximum CCB amount a family could get is $547.50.
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Families will get the maximum amount for each child if their adjusted family net income is less than $36,502.
“The payments gradually start decreasing when the adjusted family net income is over $36,502,” the CRA says on its website.
Families whose total benefits for the year are less than $240 would have received a lump sum amount in July and therefore won’t be getting anything this month.
The latest CCB payments come following an increase in Canada’s annual inflation rate.
Statistics Canada’s latest inflation report published Tuesday showed that consumer prices went up to 2.6 per cent in February, up from 1.9 per cent the month before.
StatCan said the end of the GST/HST break on Feb. 15 contributed “notable upward pressure to prices for eligible products.”
The temporary “tax holiday” applied on children’s clothing, children’s footwear and toys, among dozens of other items.
Despite overall inflation going up, StatCan data showed the tax break pulled down year-over-prices for these children’s products last month.
Families will receive next month’s CCB payments on April 17.
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