Grocery benefit lands Monday with 25 per cent boost: who qualifies and how much you could get

Millions of low- and modest-income Canadians are receiving a quarterly Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit payment on Monday, the first fall instalment since the benefit replaced the GST/HST credit in July and was raised by 25 per cent. The Canada Revenue Agency lists Oct. 5 as the payment date on its benefit payment calendar, and the tax-free money is arriving in the bank accounts and mailboxes of people who qualify, Global News reported. It is the second payment of the 2026-27 benefit year and the last one of 2026.

Apart from the new name and the bigger cheques, little has changed for recipients. The CRA says eligibility, the payment calculation and the structure of the benefit are the same as they were for the GST/HST credit, and the quarterly payments are meant to help individuals and families “manage the rising costs of everyday essentials.” The 25 per cent increase took effect in July 2026 and is scheduled to stay in place for five years, through 2031. People who file a tax return are automatically considered for the benefit, and the same payment can include amounts from related provincial and territorial programs.

For the July 2026 to June 2027 benefit year, which is based on 2025 tax returns, the CRA says recipients can get up to $679 a year if they are single, up to $890 if they are married or in a common-law relationship, and up to $234 for each eligible child under 19. Because the benefit is paid in four instalments, that works out to at most $169.75 for a single person, $222.50 for a couple and $58.50 per child in Monday’s deposit. Amounts shrink as adjusted family net income rises. The agency recalculates them every July, and they can also change after a reassessment, a change in marital status or custody, or a child’s 19th birthday. The benefit is not taxable and does not need to be reported on a return.

Global News worked through several examples using the CRA’s payment charts. A single person with no children and 2025 income of $11,564 could receive $445 over the year, or $111.25 per payment, while a single person earning $55,000 would receive $250.60, or $62.65 a payment. A single parent with two children and income of $45,000 or less could get $1,358, or $339.50 a quarter, and a couple with no children and combined income of $46,432 or less would get the full $890, or $222.50 per payment. A couple with one child and income of $60,000 would receive $445.60 a year.

Global also listed the 2025 income levels above which no benefit is paid. For a single person with no children the cut-off is $60,012, and for a couple with no children it is $64,232. With children the thresholds are the same for single parents and couples: $68,912 with one child, $73,592 with two, $78,272 with three and $82,952 with four or more. Parents who share custody of a child may each receive half of the amount for that child.

Ottawa announced the benefit in January as a response to high food prices. The Finance Department’s backgrounder said it would add $11.7 billion in support over six years, building on the GST credit. That figure includes a one-time top-up equal to 50 per cent of the annual 2025-26 credit, worth an estimated $3.1 billion and due by June 2026, and the five-year 25 per cent increase, worth $8.6 billion from 2026-27 to 2030-31. The department said the increase would extend payments to about 500,000 more individuals and families and that 12.6 million individuals and families would benefit in all. The enabling legislation has since received royal assent. Global News reported that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has estimated the program’s cost at $12.4 billion over six years.

To qualify for a given payment, a person must be resident in Canada for tax purposes in the month before the payment and at the start of the payment month. For Monday’s deposit, that means September and Oct. 1, Global reported. Recipients generally have to be at least 19, unless they have or had a spouse or common-law partner, or are or were a parent living with their child. There is no separate application, but the Finance Department said people must file their 2025 tax return to receive the increased payments. The CRA sends a notice only to people who are entitled to the benefit.

Anyone who expected a payment and has not received it should wait 10 working days after the payment date before contacting the agency, according to the CRA’s payment-date page. Amounts and dates can be checked in a CRA account under Benefits and credits, where the payment is listed as the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (formerly the GST/HST credit). The CRA also warns that wildfires have delayed the delivery of a small number of benefit and credit cheques. People who cannot access their cheques can call 1-800-387-1193, and direct deposits are being issued on schedule.

Payments continue quarterly in July, October, January and April, according to the Finance Department, so the next deposit is due in January. Starting next year, the CRA is also set to begin filing taxes automatically for some lower-income people with simple tax situations. When the change was announced last year, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s office said it would help ensure they receive benefits they qualify for, such as the grocery benefit and the Canada child benefit, Global reported.

This article is for general information only and is not investment advice.

Sources: Canada Revenue Agency (benefit payment dates); Canada Revenue Agency (Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit); Canada Revenue Agency (how much you can get); Finance Canada backgrounder; Global News.