If you’re eligible for the GST/HST Credit, a small financial boost is heading your way in the new year.
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will issue the next round of payments in the first week of 2026, providing some relief to low- and modest-income Canadians as they recover from holiday spending.
The GST/HST Credit is a tax-free quarterly payment designed to help offset the goods and services taxes you pay throughout the year. The January installment marks the third payment of the current benefit year, and if you’ve already filed your 2024 tax return, you don’t need to do anything — the CRA will calculate your payment and deposit it automatically.
Here’s what you need to know.
Who qualifies for the GST/HST Credit?
To be eligible, you need to be a Canadian resident for tax purposes and at least 19 years old. You can also qualify if you’re under 19 and have a spouse, common-law partner, or child. The payment amount is based on your family income and household size, using information from your most recent tax return.
For this payment cycle, the CRA is looking at your 2024 return.
How much will people receive?
For the 2025–2026 benefit year (July 2025 to June 2026), the maximum total amounts are:
- $533 for a single person
- $698 for a couple (which includes $165 for your spouse or partner)
- $184 for each child under 19
That total gets split into four equal quarterly payments. For January, you’ll receive one quarter of your annual amount.
For example, a single parent with two kids and an income of $35,000 would receive a quarterly payment of around $225 — totaling $900 over the full year.
You can check the GST/HST credit income levels webpage and the GST/HST credit payments chart to see if you qualify for the 2024 base year. The CRA’s child and family benefits calculator can also give you an estimate of your credit amount.
For the 2026–2027 benefit year, the CRA is indexing the GST/HST credit amounts by 2%. That’s a bit lower than last year’s 2.7% increase, but still enough to move the numbers up instead of freezing them.
When will the GST/HST Credit arrive?
The next payment will be issued on January 5, 2026. Future payments will follow every three months, typically deposited during the first weeks of April, July, and October.
Is the GST/HST Credit taxable?
No. It’s completely tax-free and won’t reduce or affect any of your other government benefits or credits. The payment is meant to help cover some of the taxes you’ve already paid throughout the year, and it has no impact on other benefits you receive.
To continue receiving the GST/HST Credit, just make sure you file your taxes on time each year. For more information, you can visit the CRA’s website.
