Apply for the Guaranteed Income Supplement through automatic enrolment, My Service Canada Account, or form ISP-3025 — who qualifies, the October–December 2026 maximums and income limits, and how the yearly renewal works.
Applies in: CA
The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is a monthly, non-taxable amount added to the Old Age Security (OAS) pension for low-income seniors who live in Canada. Many people are enrolled automatically: if Service Canada has enough information, you get a letter shortly after your 64th birthday confirming your OAS enrolment and that it will try to enrol you for the GIS automatically. If that does not happen, you apply yourself — online through My Service Canada Account, or on paper with form ISP-3025 if you already receive OAS, or form ISP-3550 if you are applying for OAS and GIS together. You must be 65 or older, already receiving OAS, living in Canada, and under the income limit for your household type.
This guide walks the full GIS process: the standalone application, the yearly renewal, the income limits by household type, and the two related benefits for people aged 60 to 64. The OAS guide covers the pension itself; this guide covers only the supplement and its companion benefits.
Service Canada sets out five conditions, all of which must fit:
Because GIS rides on OAS, anything that stops your OAS pension stops the supplement too. If you delay your OAS pension past 65 to earn the deferral increase, you are not eligible for GIS during the deferred months. And you cannot collect GIS while you are outside Canada for more than six months — tell Service Canada before you leave, and contact it again when you return to restart payments.
Shortly after your 64th birthday, Service Canada sends a letter confirming your OAS enrolment and saying whether it will try to enrol you for the GIS automatically. If the letter arrives and the information in it is correct, do nothing — enrolment is handled for you.
Take action if any of these apply:
Before you start, have the following ready:
You do not need to provide proof with the application unless the form says so, but Service Canada may contact you later to ask for more information or documents.
Applying online is the fastest route if you can use it. You can only apply online if all of these are true: you are at least one month past your 64th birthday, you have not already applied or your application is still being assessed by Service Canada, and no third party such as a power of attorney or a trustee manages your OAS account. If you cannot apply online, use a paper form instead.
The steps are:
You will need to choose the application that applies to your situation: the Application for Old Age Security Pension and Guaranteed Income Supplement if you have not applied for your OAS pension, or the Application for Guaranteed Income Supplement if you already receive the OAS pension.
If you cannot apply online, use a paper form. Choose the form that fits your situation:
Complete the form included with your letter, or download and save a fillable form to your computer — you will need to print and sign it once completed. Include copies of the required documents, sign every section that requires your signature using a pen, and mail the form to the Service Canada office for your province or territory. The Reference Guide ISP-3550A explains how to fill in the combined application.
If someone is helping you communicate with Service Canada, you can authorize them with form ISP-1603, Consent to Communicate Information to an Authorized Person. That does not give them consent to apply for benefits on your behalf, change your payment address, or request or change tax withholding. If you are applying on someone's behalf because they cannot manage their own pension, a medical professional must first complete the Certificate of Incapability (ISP-3505), plus an agreement to administer benefits (ISP-3506 for an individual, ISP-3507 for an agency or institution).
The tables below give only the maximum payment for each situation. Your own amount depends on your income — use the OAS Benefits Estimator for a figure based on your own income. Amounts are reviewed every January, April, July and October using the Consumer Price Index, and they never decrease if the cost of living goes down. For October to December 2026, OAS benefits rose 1.4%.
Guaranteed Income Supplement (65 and over)
| Your situation | Your annual net income must be | Maximum monthly payment |
|---|---|---|
| Single, widowed or divorced | less than $23,112 | up to $1,138.90 |
| Spouse or common-law partner receives a full OAS pension | less than $30,528 (combined income of couple) | up to $685.56 |
| Spouse or common-law partner receives the Allowance | less than $42,768 (combined income of couple) | up to $685.56 |
| Spouse or common-law partner does not receive an OAS pension or Allowance | less than $55,392 (combined income of couple) | up to $1,138.90 |
The income limit is the point at which the benefit stops completely. The supplement is reduced as income rises, so most recipients get less than the maximum. GIS payments are not taxable income, and the benefit amount is recalculated each July based on your net income in the previous calendar year — payments can increase, decrease or even stop according to changes in your annual net income.
GIS does not renew itself. Each year your benefit is reviewed using your federal tax return. You do not pay taxes on GIS payments, but you must file your taxes by April 30 every year to avoid any disruption of payments. Your spouse or common-law partner must file too, since the limits for couples use combined income.
In July, you get a letter stating one of four things: your benefit is renewed with a new amount, your benefit is stopped, your benefit will start or resume, or more income information is needed. If you did not receive your payment in July, call Service Canada as soon as possible, with your SIN and last year's income information — and your spouse or common-law partner's income — at hand.
Two situations have their own route:
Your first GIS payment arrives the month after you turn 65, or on the specific date shown on your decision letter, and then monthly as long as you continue to meet the eligibility criteria. Direct deposit is the fastest way to receive it; cheques are mailed during the last three business days of each month. You can also cancel GIS within six months of receiving your first payment by writing a letter to Service Canada.
The Allowance is a monthly benefit for people aged 60 to 64 whose spouse or common-law partner receives the GIS. You may be able to get it if your spouse or common-law partner receives the GIS, you are 60 to 64 years of age, you are a Canadian citizen or a legal resident, you have lived in Canada for at least 10 years since the age of 18, your combined income with your spouse or common-law partner is below the maximum annual income threshold for the Allowance, and neither of you is currently under a sponsorship agreement.
For October to December 2026, the maximum Allowance is up to $1,448.06 a month where the combined income of the couple is less than $42,768. Like GIS, the Allowance is not taxable income. It ends when you turn 65, at which point you move onto OAS and GIS in your own right.
The Allowance for the Survivor is a monthly benefit for a surviving spouse or common-law partner aged 60 to 64. You may be able to get it if your spouse or common-law partner has died and you have not remarried or entered into a common-law relationship, you are 60 to 64 years of age, you are a Canadian citizen or legal resident, you have lived in Canada for at least 10 years since the age of 18, your annual income is less than the maximum annual income threshold for the Allowance for the Survivor, and you are not currently under a sponsorship agreement.
For October to December 2026, the maximum is up to $1,726.18 a month with annual income under $31,152. Unlike the Allowance, it does not depend on whether your late partner was receiving GIS. It also ends when you turn 65. If you were receiving the Allowance and your partner dies, tell Service Canada as soon as possible — the estate and survivors may also be eligible for other benefits, such as the CPP death benefit and the CPP survivor's pension.
The pages do not state a processing time for GIS applications, so this guide gives none — apply as soon as you can after your 64th birthday, and no later than the letter asks. They also do not state a retroactive-payment limit for GIS, so no back-payment figure is given here; do not assume the OAS 11-month limit applies to the supplement. They do not name the form used when a renewal needs income information beyond the tax return — the July letter says only that more income information is needed, so follow the letter's instructions rather than guessing a form number. Amounts in this guide are the October to December 2026 maximums and change every quarter — the next review is in January 2027.
For many people it is automatic. If Service Canada has enough information, you get a letter shortly after your 64th birthday confirming your Old Age Security enrolment and that it will try to enrol you for the Guaranteed Income Supplement automatically. If you get a letter asking you to apply, or you applied for Old Age Security but never applied for the supplement, you need to apply yourself.
You must receive the Old Age Security pension, be 65 or older, be a Canadian citizen or a legal resident, live in Canada, have income below the maximum annual income threshold for your household type, and not currently be under a sponsorship agreement. The supplement is a non-taxable amount added to your Old Age Security pension.
Use the standalone route. Apply online through [My Service Canada Account](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/old-age-security/guaranteed-income-supplement/apply.html) by choosing the Application for Guaranteed Income Supplement, or complete paper form [ISP-3025, Application for the Guaranteed Income Supplement](https://catalogue.servicecanada.gc.ca/apps/EForms/pdf/en/ISP-3025.pdf) and mail it. If you have not applied for Old Age Security yet, use form ISP-3550, which applies for both at once.
For October to December 2026, the maximum is up to $1,138.90 a month for a single, widowed or divorced pensioner with annual net income under $23,112, and up to $685.56 a month for each partner in a couple where both receive the full Old Age Security pension, with combined income under $30,528. Amounts are reviewed every January, April, July and October, so check the current quarter before you plan around a figure. Use the [Old Age Security Benefits Estimator](https://www.canada.ca/en/services/benefits/publicpensions/old-age-security/payments.html) for an amount based on your own income.
It is reviewed every year using your federal tax return, and you must file your taxes by April 30 every year to avoid any disruption. In July you get a letter stating whether your benefit is renewed with a new amount, stopped, or starting or resuming, or whether more income information is needed. If your income has fallen because you retired or a pension was reduced or stopped, contact Service Canada — it can set your payment using an estimate of your current year's income instead of last year's.
They are two related benefits for people aged 60 to 64 who are not yet old enough for Old Age Security. The Allowance is for the spouse or common-law partner of a Guaranteed Income Supplement recipient, with a maximum of up to $1,448.06 a month for October to December 2026 and combined income under $42,768. The Allowance for the Survivor is for a widowed spouse or common-law partner who has not remarried or entered a common-law relationship, with a maximum of up to $1,726.18 a month and income under $31,152. Both end when the recipient turns 65.