{"id":720070,"date":"2026-06-07T01:12:31","date_gmt":"2026-06-07T01:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/720070\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T01:12:31","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T01:12:31","slug":"whos-eligible-for-canadas-grocery-benefit-how-is-it-calculated-and-when-do-payments-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/720070\/","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s eligible for Canada\u2019s grocery benefit, how is it calculated and when do payments start?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney at a FreshCo grocery store in Brampton, Ont., on Friday, June 5.Chris Young\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The federal government\u2019s new Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit<\/a> will see its first round of quarterly payments go out today.<\/p>\n

The benefit was known previously as the GST\/HST credit<\/a>, so people who were eligible for that program likely will receive the new benefit. Here\u2019s what you need to know about the program.<\/p>\n

Who\u2019s eligible for the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, and the one-time GST\/HST top-up?<\/p>\n

The government estimates about 12 million Canadian are eligible. Before the quarterly payments of the grocery benefit begin, eligible recipients will receive a one-time GST\/HST payment top-up to cover the transition period between the old program and the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. Eligible Canadians are set to receive their one-time top-up payment on June 5<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the amount of the top-up?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s based on your 2024 tax return. The government has set maximum income levels to qualify for the top-up, with the maximum 2024 income level for a single person with no children being $56,181, and $74,201 for a single person with four children. <\/p>\n

The maximum 2024 income level for the top-up for a married or common law couple with no children is a combined $59,481, while it\u2019s a combined income of $74,201 for a couple with four children. <\/p>\n

Related: More Canadians plan to save or invest tax refund this year, survey shows<\/a><\/p>\n

The maximum payment for a single person with no kids is $267, while the maximum for a single person with four children is $717.<\/p>\n

The maximum payment for a married or common-law couple with no kids is $349, while the maximum for couples with four kids is $717.<\/p>\n

What about the quarterly Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit payment amounts?<\/p>\n

Payments are based on 2025 tax returns<\/a>. The first quarterly payment will begin in July, with other payments expected to follow in October, January and April.<\/p>\n

The maximum annual benefit a single person can receive for the grocery rebate is $679.<\/p>\n

Related: My wife and I have more than $2-million in our RRSPs. How can we pay less tax?<\/a><\/p>\n

The maximum annual grocery and essentials benefit for a married or common law couple is $890.<\/p>\n

The annual grocery benefit for each eligible child under the age of 19 is an additional $234 per year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Mark Carney and his wife Diana Fox Carney at a FreshCo…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":720071,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[64,111994,63,99,164],"class_list":["post-720070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-au","tag-aud-growth","tag-australia","tag-business","tag-economy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=720070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/720070\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/720071"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=720070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=720070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=720070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}