If you live in Ontario and have children under your care, you may qualify for help in raising them through the Ontario Child Benefit.
This post covers the benefit program, eligibility, how much you can receive as child benefit in Ontario, and the Ontario child benefit payment dates for eligible families.
Ontario Child Benefit Payment Dates 2023
The Ontario Child Benefit is paid monthly to eligible Ontario residents. The payments are combined into a single credit with the Canada Child Benefit (CCB).
So you can expect your benefit on the same dates as the CCB dates. Therefore, the Ontario Child Benefit Dates for 2023 are:
Benefit Month | Ontario Child Benefit Payment Dates |
January 2023 | January 20, 2023 |
February 2023 | February 20, 2023 |
March 2023 | March 20, 2023 |
April 2023 | April 20, 2023 |
May 2023 | May 19, 2023 |
June 2023 | June 20, 2023 |
July 2023 | July 20, 2023 |
August 2023 | August 18, 2023 |
September 2023 | September 20, 2023 |
October 2023 | October 20, 2023 |
November 2023 | November 20, 2023 |
December 2023 | December 13, 2023 |
About Ontario Child Benefit
Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) is a CRA-administered and Ontario government funded program that helps families with the cost of raising their children.
It pays a monthly tax-free benefit to families with low to moderate income.
Who is eligible for Ontario Child Benefit?
The eligibility for Ontario Child Benefit is accessed based on 3 factors, namely residency, income and having children in your care.
Your marital status and your employment status are not considered and wonโt affect how much you can receive.
Residency
Obviously, you must reside in Ontario and file your taxes as an Ontario resident
Children in care
OCB is meant to help with the cost of raising children. Therefore, having kids in your care is another key criteria used in assessing your eligibility and how much you can receive.
Family Net Income
OCB is income-tested and is available for low to medium income families. That means youโll only receive the benefit if your family net income is below the threshold.
In summary, to be eligible for the Ontario Child Benefit, you must meet the following conditions:
- Be a resident of Ontario
- Have children in your care that are under 18 years old
- Have a family income below the set threshold
Ontario Child Benefit Rates: How much do you get for child benefit in Ontario?
Eligible families can receive up to $1,607 per child as Ontario Child Benefit for the July 2023 to June 2024 benefit period. That works out to be $133.91 monthly per child below age 18.
To receive the maximum amount, your family net income must be below $24,542. Learn more about the OCB income thresholds below.
Income Threshold for OCB
There are 2 main income thresholds for Ontario Child Benefit.
The first income threshold is $24,542. Families with a net income of $24,542 and below will receive the maximum OCB rate of $133.91 per child each month.
Beyond this limit, the benefit starts reducing until it is fully clawed back when the family net income reaches $59,354.
The clawback rate for Ontario Child Benefit for the 2023 period is 4%.
Income Thresholds | Adjusted net income |
---|---|
Income to receive maximum OCB amount | $24,542 |
Income level when OCB is reduced to zero | $59,354 |
Ontario Child Benefit Calculator
If your net income is $24,542, youโll get the full monthly benefit and donโt need to use an Ontario Child Benefit Calculator.
Otherwise, hereโs a simple step-by-step instruction you can follow to calculate the amount for the 2023 period:
- Step 1: Get your adjusted family net income for the 2022 tax year
- Step 2: Subtract $23,044 from your net income to get the excess income that would be used to calculate the claw back amount
- Step 3: Multiply the result from step 2 by 4% to get the claw-back amount
- Step 4: Subtract the claw-back amount from $1,509 to get the OCB amount per child
- Step 5: Multiply the OCB amount gotten in Step 4 by the number of children in your care to know how much your total OCB will be.
The table below shows how much you can expect to receive as child benefit in Ontario based on different net income levels ranging from $25,000 to the maximum income level for OCB of about $59,000.
Net Income ($) | Income above threshold | 4% Claw Back ($) | Annual OCB ($) | Monthly OCB ($) |
---|---|---|---|---|
25,000 | 2,496 | 100 | 1,374 | 114.51 |
30,000 | 7,496 | 300 | 1,174 | 97.84 |
35,000 | 12,496 | 500 | 974 | 81.18 |
40,000 | 17,496 | 700 | 774 | 64.51 |
45,000 | 22,496 | 900 | 574 | 47.84 |
50,000 | 27,496 | 1,100 | 374 | 31.18 |
55,000 | 32,496 | 1,300 | 174 | 14.51 |
59,354 | 36,850 | 1,474 | 0 | 0 |
Hopefully, the table above will give you a rough estimate of how much you can receive.
Alternatively, you can use the Child & family benefit calculator to calculate how much your total benefit will be including GST/HST credit, OTB, CCB and so on.
How to apply for Ontario Child Benefit
Fortunately, thereโs no separate application for Ontario Child Benefit (OCB). So thereโs level paper work and documentation to deal with.
If you already receive Canada Child Benefit, youโll be automatically enrolled for OCB if youโre eligible. And if youโre not receiving CCB, simply apply for the benefit to be assessed for Ontario Child Benefit.
The process is the same if youโve just had a new baby or became responsible for a child in your care. New immigrants can also start receiving Ontario child benefit by sending an application for CCB to CRA.
If you moved to Ontario from another province, make sure you update your records with CRA as soon as possible to start receiving the Ontario child benefit.
The easiest way to do this is through the CRA My Account.
Ontario Child Benefit Increase 2023
OCB is indexed to inflation so there was slight increases every year when the new benefit period starts (July 2023).
Unfortunately, the increases are generally small and immaterial even for families receiving the maximum OCB amounts.
For the July 20232 to June 2024 period, a family receiving the maximum amount can now receive up to $1,607 per year.
However, the Ontario government introduced a number of extra one-off benefits to help families deal with the impact of COVID-19.
Some of these included the Ontario COVID-19 Child Benefit which paid between $400 and $500 per child to all families irrespective of the family net income.
Other Ontario Government Benefits
In addition to the Ontario Child Benefit, the Ontario government also offers several social assistance programs with varying eligibility conditions.
Some of the benefit programs include:
Ontario Trillium Benefit: is a CRA administered program. It is made up of 3 different credits that are combined and paid monthly to eligible residents. These include:
- Ontario energy and property tax credit
- Northern Ontario energy credit
- Ontario Sales tax credit
Ontario Works: helps those with financial need to cover their living expenses including food, shelter, clothing and health benefits.
Eligible residents can get up to $733 per month for their basic needs, in addition to other benefits. Learn more about Ontario Works, its eligibility, rates and payment dates in the post below.
Related Post: Ontario Works Payment Dates and Benefits
Ontario Disability Support Program: is a welfare program that provides income support and employment assistance for Ontario residents that meet the definition of persons with a disability.
Learn more: ODSP Benefits and Payment Dates
Ontario Senior homeownersโ property tax grant: provides a maximum grant of $500 to seniors that own their own houses.
It is designed to offset the property taxes paid by seniors with low to moderate income levels.
Ontario Autism Program (OAP): helps families raising a child under 18 with an autism diagnosis from qualified professionals.
The program provides funding to cover eligible services and supports needed by eligible families.
Canada Child Benefit (CCB)
The Canada Child Benefit (CCB) is the federal government child support program available to all families with children aged 18 and below.
For the current CCB benefit period, eligible families can receive up to:
- $7,437 for each child below 6 years old; or
- $6,275 for each child aged 6-17
CCB is a tax-free and paid monthly. Also it is income-tested so higher-income families will receive a partial benefit.
Learn more about the Canada Child Benefit and the payment dates.
Other Provincial Child Benefit Programs
Most of the other provinces and territories have their own funded Child benefit programs that are administered by CRA:
Some of the programs include:
Alberta Child and Family Benefit: a quarterly benefit to Albertans that was introduced in July 2020 to replace the Alberta Child benefit and the Alberta Family Employment Credit.
Payments are made in February, May, August, and November.
Learn more about Alberta Child and Family Benefit and payment dates
BC Child Opportunity benefit: was introduced in October 2020 to replace the BC early childhood tax benefit. The benefit is fully funded by the BC government, but it is administered by CRA and combined with CCB.
Eligible families can receive $1,750 for the first child, $1,100 for the second and $900 for each additional children in the family.
The benefit is income-tested and will gradually reduce once the net family income exceeds $25,000.
Other provincial child benefit programs are:
- New Brunswick child tax benefit
- Newfoundland and Labrador child benefit
- Northwest Territories child benefit
- Nova Scotia child benefit
- Nunavut child benefit
- Ontario child benefit
- Yukon child benefit
You donโt need to apply separately for any of these programs. CRA will assess your eligibility and combine the benefit with your CCB if you qualify.
Is Ontario Child Benefit (OCB) Taxable?
Like CCB, Ontario child benefit is a tax-free monthly benefit. Any amount received are not taxable and wonโt have to be reported on your income tax returns when you file your taxes.
But to receive the benefit, you must have filed your taxes for the previous year in order for your eligibility to be determined.
Some FAQs: Ontario Child Benefit
You can receive up to a maximum OCB of $1,607 per child if your family net income is below $23,044. The amount is gradually reduced once your income crosses the threshold.
Outside of the expected and normal inflation adjustment to the OCB amount for the period starting July 2023, there are no indications on increasing the OCB in 2023.
There is no separate application for Ontario child benefit. CRA will assess your eligibility when you apply for Canada Child benefit and pay your benefits monthly