The Canada Workers Benefit is a refundable tax credit for lower-income workers, worth up to $1,633 for a single person and up to $2,813 for a family in the 2025 tax year.1Canada Revenue Agency. Canada Workers Benefit – How Much You Can Get Because it’s refundable, you receive the full amount even if it’s more than the tax you owe. You can also get up to half of your estimated benefit paid in advance during the year rather than waiting until you file.
Who Qualifies
You qualify for the basic benefit if you earned working income during the year, your net income is below the threshold for your province or territory, and you were a resident of Canada for the entire year.2Canada Revenue Agency. Canada Workers Benefit – Who Is Eligible You also need to be at least 19 on December 31 of the tax year, unless you live with a spouse, common-law partner, or your own child.
The residency rule is strict. Part-year residents don’t qualify, so if you immigrated to Canada partway through the year or left before year-end, you’re not eligible for that tax year. Your first eligible year is the first full calendar year you spend as a Canadian resident.
Three situations disqualify you entirely:
- You were a full-time student at a designated educational institution for more than 13 weeks during the year, and you did not have an eligible dependant on December 31.
- You were confined to a prison or similar institution for 90 days or more during the year.
- You don’t have to pay Canadian tax because you’re an officer or servant of another country, such as a diplomat, or you’re a family member or employee of such a person.
If you have a spouse or common-law partner, they must also have been a Canadian resident throughout the year to count as an eligible spouse, and the same three exclusions apply to them. If your spouse is excluded, you claim as a single individual. An eligible dependant is your child, or your spouse’s child, who is under 19 on December 31, lives with you on that date, and isn’t personally eligible for the CWB.
How Much You Can Get
The maximum basic amount for 2025 is $1,633 for a single person and $2,813 for a family. The benefit begins to shrink once your income passes a threshold and disappears above an upper limit:
- Single: reduction starts at $26,855 in adjusted net income; benefit reaches zero at $37,742.
- Family: reduction starts at $30,639 in adjusted family net income; benefit reaches zero at $49,393.
These figures apply in most of the country. Alberta, Quebec, and Nunavut set their own maximum amounts and thresholds, so if you live in one of those places, check the CRA’s CWB page for the numbers that apply to you.1Canada Revenue Agency. Canada Workers Benefit – How Much You Can Get The amounts are indexed for inflation each year.
Disability Supplement
If you qualify for the disability tax credit, you can receive an extra $843 on top of the basic amount. You need an approved Form T2201, Disability Tax Credit Certificate, on file with the CRA to claim it.3Canada Revenue Agency. T2201 Disability Tax Credit Certificate
The supplement phases out at higher income levels than the basic amount. For a single person, it starts to decrease at $37,740 in adjusted net income and reaches zero at $43,360. For families, the phase-out begins at $49,389, and the upper limit depends on how many spouses hold the disability tax credit: $55,009 if only one qualifies, $60,629 if both do.
When you have an eligible spouse and only one of you qualifies for the disability tax credit, that person should claim both the basic amount and the supplement. If both of you qualify, one of you claims the basic amount, and each of you files a separate Schedule 6 for your own supplement.4Canada Revenue Agency. Canada Workers Benefit – Personal Income Tax
How the Amount Is Calculated
The benefit uses a two-part formula. It phases in as your working income rises above a floor, then phases out as your net income climbs past a ceiling. Knowing the math helps you estimate what you’ll actually get instead of assuming the maximum.
The phase-in gives you 27% of every dollar of working income above $3,000, up to the maximum benefit.5Department of Justice Canada. Income Tax Act RSC 1985 c 1 (5th Supp) – Section 122.7 A single worker earning $8,000 would get ($8,000 − $3,000) × 27% = $1,350. A single worker earning $10,000 or more hits the $1,633 cap.
The phase-out then reduces the benefit by 15 cents for every dollar of adjusted net income above the phase-out threshold. For families, the same formula uses combined working incomes for the phase-in and combined adjusted net incomes for the phase-out, and only one spouse claims the basic amount.
How to Claim It
Claiming comes down to one form: Schedule 6, Canada Workers Benefit. You complete it as part of your tax return, then enter the result on line 45300.4Canada Revenue Agency. Canada Workers Benefit – Personal Income Tax Certified tax software normally fills in Schedule 6 automatically from the income information you’ve already entered.
You’ll need your T4 slips, any self-employment figures, and your spouse’s income information if it applies. Step 2 of the schedule calculates the basic amount and Step 3 calculates the disability supplement. If you file your return but forget to complete Schedule 6, the CRA will still determine your entitlement and send the payment.6Canada Revenue Agency. Canada Workers Benefit – How to Claim Filling it out yourself is still the safest way to make sure the amount is right.
Advance Payments During the Year
Rather than waiting for tax time, the CRA sends eligible workers up to 50% of their estimated benefit in three advance installments. If you also qualify for the disability supplement, half of that is included in the advances too.
The payment dates are July 12, October 12, and January 12. When a date falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the payment goes out on the last business day before. The remaining 50% arrives when you file your return and the CRA processes your Schedule 6.
To receive advance payments, you must be a Canadian resident on the first day of the payment quarter. You lose eligibility for any remaining advances if you’re incarcerated for 90 or more consecutive days or if you leave Canada. Payments already issued before that happens are yours to keep.
One risk to watch: because advances are based on your last filed return, a significant income jump this year, or a new spouse’s income, can push you above the thresholds and leave you owing money back at tax time. If your finances change mid-year, factor that in before you spend the advance.