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How to Apply for the GST/HST Credit

Apply for the GST/HST credit — now called the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit: who qualifies, how filing your tax return is the application, the 2026-27 amounts, and the quarterly payment dates.

Written November 7, 2026 · 16 min read

Applies in: CA

The GST/HST credit is now called the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB). The name changed in July 2026, but nothing else about how you get it changed: it is still a tax-free quarterly payment from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for individuals and families with low and modest incomes, and you still get it by filing your tax return — there is no separate application form for most people. This guide is the application walkthrough: the name change, who qualifies, how filing your return claims it, what you can get in 2026-27, when it is paid, and what to do when your situation changes. It is process information only, not tax advice. Every figure comes from the CRA pages and the Department of Finance cited inline.

1. Know the new name — the GST/HST credit is now the CGEB

The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) replaced the GST/HST credit in July 2026. Under its new name, the eligibility, payment calculation, and structure is the same as it was for the GST/HST credit, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB). The benefit provides tax-free quarterly payments to individuals and families with low and modest incomes to help manage the rising costs of everyday essentials, on the same page. In July 2026, there was a 25% increase to the benefit amount which will remain for 5 years from 2026 to 2031, on the same page.

Two practical consequences. First, if your CRA account, your bank statement, or an old guide still says "GST/HST credit", it is the same benefit under its old name — you do not need to reapply because of the rename, and you do not need to do anything to switch over. Second, a one-time top-up equal to 50% of the 2025-26 GST/HST credit was paid on June 5, 2026 as part of the transition, according to Department of Finance Canada, Canadians to Begin Receiving Enhanced Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Starting Today. That top-up has already been paid — do not expect it again.

2. Check you are eligible before you file

You are eligible for this benefit if you are a resident of Canada for income tax purposes at the end of the month before and at the beginning of the month in which the CRA makes a payment, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (RC4210). In the month before the CRA makes a quarterly payment, you must be at least 19 years old, on the same page. If you are under 19 years old, you must meet at least one of the following conditions during the same period: you have (or had) a spouse or common-law partner, or you are (or were) a parent and live (or lived) with your child, on the same page.

You are generally not eligible if, at the end of the month before and at the beginning of the month in which the CRA makes a quarterly payment, any of the following apply: you are not a resident of Canada for income tax purposes; you do not have to pay tax in Canada because you are an officer or servant of another country (such as a diplomat) or a family member or employee of such a person; you are confined to a prison or similar institution for a period of at least 90 consecutive days; or the recipient is deceased, on the same page.

If you will turn 19 years of age before April 2027, file your tax return for the previous year. To ensure you start receiving the CGEB soon after you turn 19 years old, you must file your tax return for the previous year, even if you do not have any income to report, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Payment dates - Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. The CRA will automatically determine your eligibility based on the information from your previous year's tax return, on the same page. If you are entitled to receive the benefit and have filed your taxes, the CRA will issue your first payment on the payment date that comes after your 19th birthday, on the same page.

3. File your 2025 tax return — that is the application

To get the CGEB, including payments from related provincial and territorial programs, you have to file a tax return for 2025, even if you have not received income in the year, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (RC4210). When you file your taxes, you are automatically considered for the benefit and any related provincial and territorial programs, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB). There is no separate CGEB application form for a resident who files a return.

Three filing details matter:

  • Include your spouse or common-law partner. If you had a spouse or common-law partner on December 31, 2025, fill out "Information about your spouse or common-law partner" on page 1 of your tax return. Enter their SIN and net income, even if it is zero, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (RC4210). Incomplete or incorrect information may delay the processing of your application, on the same page. Only one of you can get the benefit for both of you: the benefit will usually be paid to the spouse or common-law partner whose tax return is assessed first, on the same page.
  • You need a SIN. You need a Social Insurance Number to get the CGEB. If Service Canada will not give you a SIN, you can still get the CGEB if you meet all of the eligibility conditions — attach a note to your Form RC151 explaining why you cannot get a SIN and include a copy of one of your documents, such as a passport, driver's licence, visitor record, or birth certificate, on the same page.
  • Newcomers use Form RC151. If you are a newcomer to Canada and you want to get the CGEB, send a completed Form RC151, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Application for Individuals Who Become Residents of Canada, for the year that you became a resident of Canada, on the same page. If you are not sure whether you are a resident of Canada, send Form NR74, Determination of Residency Status (Entering Canada), with your application, and the CRA will give you an opinion about your residency status, on the same page.

If you file your taxes after July, you must wait until the CRA has assessed your tax return to determine if you are entitled to receive the benefit, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Payment dates - Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. The CGEB is recalculated every July based on your tax information from the previous year. If any entitled benefit amounts were missed, you will receive retroactive payments in the next scheduled payment, on the same page.

4. Know what you can get in 2026-27

For the 2025 base year (payment period from July 2026 to June 2027), you could get up to $679 if you are single, $890 if you are married or have a common-law partner, and $234 for each child under 19 years of age, according to Canada Revenue Agency, How much you can get - Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. Those are maximums, not guarantees: your benefit payments are based on your adjusted family net income, your marital status, and the number of children under 19 years old you have who are eligible for the Canada child benefit, CGEB, or both, on the same page. The CGEB payments are not taxable, and you do not have to report the benefit payments you receive on your tax return, on the same page.

The amount falls as income rises. Under the current rules for the 2026-27 benefit year, the CGEB is subject to a 5% phase-out rate based on the portion of 2025 adjusted family net income above $46,432, and for single adults without children, the single supplement is subject to a 2% phase-in rate based on the portion of 2025 net income above $11,564, according to Department of Finance Canada, Budget 2026: Tax measures. Single parents receive the full single supplement (without the phase-in) and the adult amount, rather than the child amount, for their first child, on the same page. Your adjusted family net income is your family net income (line 23600 of your tax return, plus line 23600 of your spouse's or common-law partner's tax return, if applicable) minus any Universal Child Care Benefit and registered disability savings plan income received, plus any of those amounts repaid, according to Canada Revenue Agency, How much you can get - Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit.

Do not guess your amount from the maximums. You can use the CRA's child and family benefits calculator to find out how much your CGEB payments may be, on the same page. The CRA will also send you a notice showing your annual entitlement amount and the schedule for your quarterly payments — but only if you are entitled to the CGEB, on the same page. Your notice will be sent to your CRA account if you have one, otherwise you will receive it by mail, on the same page.

5. Know when it is paid

You will get your annual CGEB, which was calculated using information from your 2025 tax return, in 4 payments. The CRA will make these payments on the 5th day of July and October 2026, and of January and April 2027, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (RC4210). When the 5th falls on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a federal statutory holiday, the payment will be made on the last business day before the 5th, on the same page. That rule moved the first CGEB payment to July 3, 2026, and the October payment to October 5, 2026, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Payment dates - Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. The two remaining payments in this period fall on weekdays, so they land on the 5th: January 5, 2027 and April 5, 2027.

Two exceptions to the quarterly rhythm. First, if your CGEB calculated in July 2026 is less than $50 per quarter, the CRA will pay you the entire benefit in July 2026, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (RC4210). Second, related provincial and territorial programs administered by the CRA — the New Brunswick harmonized sales tax credit, Newfoundland and Labrador income supplement and seniors' benefit, Nova Scotia affordable living tax credit, Prince Edward Island essentials benefit, and Saskatchewan low-income tax credit — are combined with your quarterly CGEB payments, except for the Ontario sales tax credit, which is issued separately as part of the Ontario Trillium Benefit, on the same page. You do not need to apply to a province or territory to get payments for these programs, on the same page.

If you do not receive your payment on the scheduled day, wait 10 working days before calling 1-800-387-1193, on the same page. Before you call, check the status of your payment in your CRA account, make sure your personal information is up to date, and check the CRA's reasons for stopped or changed payments, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Payment dates - Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. You can also sign up for benefit and credit payment reminders, which are sent about one week before the payment is issued, on the same page.

6. Keep your information up to date — and know what triggers a recalculation

Your benefit amount is recalculated every July based on the information from your previous year's tax return, according to Canada Revenue Agency, How much you can get - Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. Each payment period starts in July and ends in June of the following year, on the same page. So the information from your 2025 tax return determines the CGEB amount you get for the payment period from July 2026 to June 2027, on the same page — and your 2026 tax return will determine the July 2027 to June 2028 period.

The CRA also recalculates your benefit payment when a reassessment of either your or your spouse or common-law partner's tax return results in a change to your adjusted family net income, your eligible child turns 19 years of age, your marital status changes, the number of eligible children in your care changes, a recipient dies, or you start or stop sharing custody of a child, on the same page. Tell the CRA immediately about changes such as a child joining or leaving your care, a change in marital status, a death, or a move, according to Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (RC4210). If your marital status changes, let the CRA know by the end of the month following the month in which your status changed, on the same page. You can tell the CRA through My Account or by calling 1-800-387-1193, on the same page.

If a recalculation shows you have been overpaid for the CGEB, the CRA will send you a notice to inform you of the amount due, on the same page. The CRA will keep all future CGEB payments or tax refunds until the balance is repaid, and will also apply your CGEB to amounts owing for tax balances or amounts owing to other federal, provincial, or territorial government programs, on the same page. Keeping your information current is how you avoid an overpayment notice.

Figures this guide does not state

  • The 2027-28 payment amounts. The amounts for the payment period starting July 2027 have not been announced as of this guide's date. They will be recalculated in July 2027 from your 2026 tax return. Do not carry the 2026-27 maximums ($679 single, $890 couple, $234 per child) forward into 2027-28 — recheck the CRA's CGEB "How much you can get" page in July 2027.
  • The exact income level where your entitlement reaches zero. The phase-out rate (5% above $46,432 of adjusted family net income) is verified, but the income at which the benefit disappears depends on your family composition — single, couple, number of children — and no single cut-off figure was verified on an opened CRA page for this guide. Use the CRA's child and family benefits calculator for your own figure.
  • The 2027 one-time CGEB supplement. Budget 2026 proposes a one-time supplement, to be delivered in early 2027, equal to half of the maximum annual CGEB amounts for the 2026-27 benefit year — maximum $223 per adult, $117 per child, and $117 for the single supplement. This is a proposal in Budget 2026, not a confirmed payment: it was not verified as enacted on an opened CRA page, so no supplement amount is counted in the figures above. Recheck the CRA's CGEB pages in early 2027 before counting on it.
  • Provincial program amounts. The related provincial and territorial programs (New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Saskatchewan, and the Ontario sales tax credit) have their own maximums and reduction rates in RC4210, but they are provincial programs, not the federal credit, and their amounts are not printed here. They are combined with your CGEB payments automatically if you are eligible.
  • The 2025-26 GST/HST credit amounts. The pre-rename amounts are superseded by the July 2026 increase and are not printed here. The June 5, 2026 one-time top-up (50% of the 2025-26 entitlement) has already been paid and is not repeated.

Related guides:

How to Apply for the Canada Child Benefit, How to Start Using CRA My Account in Canada, How to Apply for the Canada Workers Benefit, and How to Apply for the Ontario Trillium Benefit.

Applying for the GST/HST credit (now the CGEB), in six steps

  1. Know the new nameThe GST/HST credit was replaced by the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) in July 2026. Eligibility, payment calculation, and structure are the same as they were for the GST/HST credit.
  2. Check you are eligibleYou must be a resident of Canada for income tax purposes at the end of the month before and at the beginning of the month in which the CRA makes a payment, and be at least 19 in the month before the payment — unless you have or had a spouse or common-law partner, or are or were a parent living with your child.
  3. File your 2025 tax returnTo get the CGEB for the July 2026 to June 2027 payment period, file a tax return for 2025, even if you had no income in the year. Newcomers who became residents of Canada send Form RC151 instead.
  4. Wait for the CRA to assess youWhen you file your taxes, you are automatically considered for the benefit. The CRA recalculates your amount every July from your previous year's tax return.
  5. Get four quarterly paymentsFor the July 2026 to June 2027 period, you could get up to $679 if you are single, $890 if you are married or have a common-law partner, and $234 for each eligible child under 19, paid on the 5th of July and October 2026 and January and April 2027.
  6. Keep your information up to dateTell the CRA when your marital status changes, a child joins or leaves your care, or you move, so your payments are not stopped or overpaid.

Questions people ask

Is the GST/HST credit still called that?

No — the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) replaced the GST/HST credit in July 2026, according to [Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/canada-groceries-essentials-benefit.html). Under its new name, the eligibility, payment calculation, and structure is the same as it was for the GST/HST credit, on the same page. In July 2026 there was a 25% increase to the benefit amount which will remain for 5 years from 2026 to 2031, on the same page. If your CRA account or a bank statement still says GST/HST credit, it is the same benefit under its old name.

How do I apply for the GST/HST credit?

There is no separate application form for most people — filing your tax return is the application. When you file your taxes, you are automatically considered for the benefit and any related provincial and territorial programs, according to [Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB)](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/canada-groceries-essentials-benefit.html). To get the CGEB for the July 2026 to June 2027 payment period, you have to file a tax return for 2025, even if you have not received income in the year, according to [Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (RC4210)](https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-arc/formspubs/pub/rc4210/rc4210-26e.pdf). If you are a newcomer to Canada and want to get the CGEB, send a completed Form RC151, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit Application for Individuals Who Become Residents of Canada, for the year you became a resident of Canada, on the same page.

How much is the GST/HST credit in 2026-27?

For the 2025 base year — the payment period from July 2026 to June 2027 — you could get up to $679 if you are single, $890 if you are married or have a common-law partner, and $234 for each child under 19 years of age, according to [Canada Revenue Agency, How much you can get - Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/canada-groceries-essentials-benefit/how-much.html). Your actual amount is based on your adjusted family net income, your marital status, and the number of children under 19 you have who are eligible for the Canada child benefit, CGEB, or both, on the same page. The benefit is reduced as your adjusted family net income rises: under the current rules it is subject to a 5% phase-out on the portion of 2025 adjusted family net income above $46,432, according to [Department of Finance Canada, Budget 2026: Tax measures](https://budget.canada.ca/2026/report-rapport/tm-mf-en.html). Use the CRA's child and family benefits calculator for an estimate tied to your own situation.

When is the GST/HST credit paid?

Four times a year. You will get your annual CGEB in 4 payments, made on the 5th day of July and October 2026, and of January and April 2027, according to [Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (RC4210)](https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-arc/formspubs/pub/rc4210/rc4210-26e.pdf). When the 5th falls on a Saturday, a Sunday, or a federal statutory holiday, the payment will be made on the last business day before the 5th, on the same page — which is why the first CGEB payment went out on July 3, 2026 instead of July 5. The remaining dates in this payment period are January 5, 2027 and April 5, 2027, both of which fall on weekdays. If your CGEB calculated in July 2026 is less than $50 per quarter, the CRA will pay you the entire benefit in July 2026, on the same page. If you do not receive your payment on the scheduled day, wait 10 working days before calling 1-800-387-1193, on the same page.

Who qualifies for the GST/HST credit?

You are eligible if you are a resident of Canada for income tax purposes at the end of the month before and at the beginning of the month in which the CRA makes a payment, and in the month before the payment you must be at least 19 years old, according to [Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (RC4210)](https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-arc/formspubs/pub/rc4210/rc4210-26e.pdf). If you are under 19, you must meet at least one of these conditions during the same period: you have (or had) a spouse or common-law partner, or you are (or were) a parent and live (or lived) with your child, on the same page. Generally you are not eligible if you are not a resident of Canada for income tax purposes, you do not have to pay tax in Canada because you are an officer or servant of another country (such as a diplomat) or a family member or employee of such a person, you are confined to a prison or similar institution for a period of at least 90 consecutive days, or the recipient is deceased, on the same page. If you turn 19 before April 2027, file your tax return for the previous year — the CRA will issue your first payment on the payment date that comes after your 19th birthday, according to [Canada Revenue Agency, Payment dates - Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/gst-hst-credit/payment-dates.html).

Do I need a Social Insurance Number to get the credit?

Yes, in practice — you need a Social Insurance Number (SIN) to get the CGEB, and if you had a spouse or common-law partner on December 31, 2025, you enter their SIN and net income, even if it is zero, on your tax return, according to [Canada Revenue Agency, Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (RC4210)](https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-arc/formspubs/pub/rc4210/rc4210-26e.pdf). If Service Canada will not give you a SIN, you can still get the CGEB if you meet all of the eligibility conditions: attach a note to your [Form RC151](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/rc151.html) explaining why you cannot get a SIN and include a copy of one of your documents — a passport, driver's licence, visitor record, birth certificate or proof of birth, any document issued by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, or any document that proves your or your spouse or common-law partner's identity, on the same page. Only one of you can get the benefit for both of you if you have a spouse or common-law partner: the benefit will usually be paid to the spouse or common-law partner whose tax return is assessed first, on the same page.

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