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One-time GST top-up to land in Canadians' accounts in June, Grocery
Benefit in July

   Peter Zimonjic
   | CBC News | Posted: April 17, 2026 3:46 PM | Last Updated: 4
   hours ago

   One-time GST top-up boosts family max from $1,100 maximum to
   $1,890

   Image | Groceries

   Caption: The Liberal government's groceries and essentials
   benefit will begin landing in Canadians' bank accounts in July,
   while the one-time GST top-up will arrive in June. (Bryan
   Eneas/CBC)
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   The Liberal government's groceries benefit and one-time GST
   top-up announced in January will begin landing in Canadians'
   bank accounts in June and July.
   Earlier this year, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced the
   Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, which he said will
   boost what families and individuals receive through their GST
   rebate over the next five years.
   The GST rebate is a tax-free payment targeted to low- and
   modest-income Canadians. Beginning in July, that quarterly
   rebate will increase by 25 per cent — and will stay at that
   higher level for the next five years.
   The ongoing 25 per cent boost means a family of four that
   qualified for a maximum benefit of about $1,100 will get up to
   $1,400 annually going forward, while an individual that
   qualified for a maximum of around $540 will get about $700 a
   year instead.
   Beginning in July, the GST rebate will be renamed the Canada
   Groceries and Essentials Benefit and should appear that way on
   bank statements.
     * Carney announces food affordability measures, including
       boost to GST rebate

     * New federal grocery rebate will cost $12.4 billion, PBO
       estimates

     * How grocery giants control who can sell food in your
       neighbourhood

   Another part of the government's affordability announcement in
   January is the Liberal government's promise it would also give
   Canadians a one-time 50 per cent top-up to the GST rebate they
   received from July 2025 to June 2026.
   That one-time top up will arrive on June 5.
   The one-time boost will raise the $1,100 maximum a family of
   four received from July of last year until June of this year to
   $1,890 and increases the $540 an individual got to $950.
   “We are offering this one-time payment to help with
   affordability and relieve some of that pressure for those who
   need it most,” Wayne Long, the secretary of state for the
   Canada Revenue Agency, said in a statement on Friday.

Who is eligible for the GST rebate

   The income cutoff rate varies from year to year, depending on
   inflation, but in order to be eligible at all, you must be a
   Canadian resident for tax purposes and at least 19 years old.
   For the 2024 tax year, which is what current payouts are based
   on, a single person with no kids who has an adjusted net income
   (income minus eligible deductions) of $56,181 or less will
   receive the GST rebate.
   A married or common-law couple with two kids can receive the
   rebate if their family income is $66,841 or less.
   The government estimates some 12 million people receive the GST
   rebate.

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