Canada Child Tax Information

Eligibility

• Eligibility to receive the Canada Child Tax Benefit requires recipients to be the primary caregiver of a child under the age of 18, as well as a resident of Canada for the previous 18 months. If the recipients are married or in a common law relationship, only one of the partners needs to be considered a resident of Canada to be eligible.

Application

• Application for the Canada Child Tax Benefit should be made after your child is born and can be completed either by mail or online at the Service Canada website. The processing time for applications is approximately eight to 10 weeks, and payments will be made retroactively to the date the child was born.

Calculation

• Child Tax Benefit amounts are calculated from the July of one year to the July of the next year. The recipient's tax return, as well as that of their partner if there is one, are used to determine the amount paid. Should a tax reassessment occur, the Canada Child Tax Benefit will also be adjusted. When a recipient's child turns 18, the last payment will be sent the month of the child's birthday.

Amounts

• As of 2010, the basic Child Tax Credit is $111.66 per child under the age of 18. Families with more than three children will receive an extra $7.75 per child per month. Alberta residents receive a different basic Child Tax Benefit amount: $102.33 a month for children under 7, $109.25 a month for children 7 to 10 years old, $122.25 a month for children 11 to 15, and $129.50 a month for children who are 16 or 17. These amounts are reduced when a family earns more than $38,832 a year; for families with one child, the reduction is 2 percent, and for families with two or more children, the Child Tax Credit is reduced by 4 percent.

Payments

• The Child Tax Benefit is paid on a monthly basis for all recipients other than those who are entitled to less than $120 a year who receive their payment in one lump sum on July 20. The monthly amount is paid on the 20th of the month except for December, when it is paid one week early. If a recipient has not received her Canada Child Tax Credit by the 25th of the month that she are entitled for, she should contact the Canada Revenue Agency to determine the status of the payment.