The GST/HST credit will be paid on January 5, April 2, July 3, and October 5, 2026. The Canada Carbon Rebate is no longer paid: the federal fuel charge was set to zero on April 1, 2025, and the April 2025 rebate was the final one.1Canada Revenue Agency. Closed – Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) for Individuals If you were expecting both, only the GST/HST credit is still active heading into 2026.
2026 GST/HST Credit Payment Dates
The CRA pays the GST/HST credit four times a year. For 2026, the scheduled dates are:2Canada Revenue Agency. GST/HST Credit Payment Dates
- Monday, January 5, 2026
- Thursday, April 2, 2026
- Friday, July 3, 2026
- Monday, October 5, 2026
The target date is the 5th of the quarter month. When the 5th falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the CRA moves the payment to the last business day before it.3Canada Revenue Agency. Payment Dates for CRA Administered Benefits and Credits April 5, 2026, is a Sunday (Easter weekend), so that payment shifts to Thursday, April 2. July 5, 2026, is also a Sunday, so the payment moves to Friday, July 3.
These four payments cover the benefit year from July 2025 through June 2026, calculated from your 2024 tax return. Starting with the July 2026 payment, the CRA recalculates based on your 2025 return.
How Much You Can Get
The GST/HST credit is non-taxable and is meant to offset the sales tax lower-income households pay on everyday purchases.4Canada Revenue Agency. GST/HST Credit For the July 2025 to June 2026 benefit year, the maximum annual amounts are:5Canada Revenue Agency. How Much You Can Get – GST/HST Credit
- Single person: up to $533 per year, or $133.25 per quarter
- Married or common-law couple: up to $698 per year, or $174.50 per quarter
- Each child under 19: up to $184 per year, or $46 per quarter
A single parent with two children under 19 could receive up to $901 for the year. These are ceilings. Your actual payment depends on your adjusted family net income, and the credit tapers as income rises. Note the child age cutoff is under 19, not under 18, and the child must be registered for the Canada Child Benefit or the GST/HST credit to count.5Canada Revenue Agency. How Much You Can Get – GST/HST Credit
Who Qualifies
You have to file a Canadian income tax return, even if you had no income. The Income Tax Act ties the credit directly to filing, so a missed return means no payment regardless of how low your income was.6Justice Laws Website. Income Tax Act – Section 122.5 Students and anyone who took a year off work often miss this.
Beyond filing, you must also meet all of these conditions:
- Be a Canadian resident for tax purposes in the month before the payment date
- Be at least 19 years old, or, if younger, have (or have had) a spouse or common-law partner, or be a parent living with your child6Justice Laws Website. Income Tax Act – Section 122.5
- Have an adjusted family net income below the applicable threshold
If you have a spouse or common-law partner, both incomes are combined into an adjusted family net income. Only one of you receives the payment, but the amount reflects both.
For the current period (based on 2024 income), a single person with no children stops qualifying above $56,181 in adjusted family net income. For a couple with no children, the cutoff is $59,481. Each child raises the ceiling by roughly $3,680.7Canada Revenue Agency. Who Is Eligible – GST/HST Credit
Shared Custody
Parents who share custody may each receive half of the child portion of the credit. If you already get the Canada Child Benefit for a shared-custody child, the CRA automatically factors that child into your GST/HST credit calculation, with no separate application needed.7Canada Revenue Agency. Who Is Eligible – GST/HST Credit
How the Payment Reaches You
Payments go out by direct deposit or mailed cheque. Direct deposit usually lands in your account on the payment date. Cheques take longer.
If a payment doesn’t show up, wait at least 5 business days for direct deposit or 10 business days for a cheque before contacting the CRA.8Canada Revenue Agency. Confirm a Payment – Payments to the CRA The most common cause of a missed payment is a stale address or a closed bank account, so check that your details with the CRA are current if you’ve recently moved or switched banks.
Changes You Need to Report
Marital status affects how the credit is calculated because it changes whose income counts. You must notify the CRA by the end of the month after any of these changes:9Canada Revenue Agency. Update Your Personal Information with the CRA
- Getting married or entering a common-law partnership
- Separating for more than 90 days due to a relationship breakdown
- Divorce, or the death of a spouse or common-law partner
If you married in March, the CRA needs to know by the end of April. Adjusted payments start the month after your status changes. You can update through CRA My Account (processed immediately), by phone at 1-800-959-8281 (also immediate), or by mailing Form RC65 (four to six weeks). The online route avoids a mail delay that can lead to missed or incorrect payments in the meantime.
New Canadian Residents
If you recently moved to Canada, you won’t have a prior Canadian return on file. Apply for the credit for the year you became a resident using Form RC151.10Canada Revenue Agency. GST/HST Credit and Canada Carbon Rebate Application for Individuals Who Become Residents of Canada An online version is available. If you have children under 19, you’ll need the paper version and proof of birth for each child.
Only one application per household is needed; a spouse or common-law partner goes on the same form. Once you’ve filed your first Canadian tax return, later years are handled automatically.
The Canada Carbon Rebate Has Ended
The Canada Carbon Rebate returned federal carbon pricing revenue to households on its own quarterly schedule. That program is closed. On March 15, 2025, the federal government set all fuel charge rates to zero effective April 1, 2025, which stopped the carbon pricing system that funded the rebate.11Canada Gazette. Schedule 2 to the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act The final rebate went out in April 2025, and no further payments are scheduled.1Canada Revenue Agency. Closed – Canada Carbon Rebate (CCR) for Individuals
The government has proposed legislation to permanently repeal the fuel charge framework, with the charging provisions repealed retroactively to April 1, 2025, and the rebate provisions repealed effective October 1, 2025.12Government of Canada. Removing the Consumer Carbon Price from Canadian Law No replacement rebate has been announced. For households that relied on the rebate, the GST/HST credit is now the main remaining federal payment tied to consumption taxes.