Canadians are getting this grocery payment in October instead of the usual GST/HST credit

Fall is just about here, and with it comes something a little more welcome than colder mornings: another round of CRA grocery payments.

The Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB), which replaced the old GST/HST credit back in July, is set to pay out its second deposit on October 5. If you’re one of the millions of Canadians who got a payment this past summer, you can expect roughly the same amount to land again this fall, since both are calculated from your 2025 tax return.

How much you can get

Depending on your household, that quarterly deposit could be worth up to $170 for a single person. Couples can get more, up to about $222 per quarter, and parents get an extra $58 or so per quarter for each child under 19.

Those figures stack up to an annual maximum of $679 for individuals, $890 for couples, and $234 per eligible child, spread out over four payments a year. Your actual amount depends on your income, marital status, and family size, and the CRA breaks it all down in a notice sent to your online account or by mail.

When it arrives

This is only the benefit’s second payment cycle. The first went out July 3, and after October 5, deposits will keep landing quarterly, following a July-to-June schedule each year going forward.

However, if your quarterly amount works out to less than $50, the CRA won’t bother splitting it up. You’d get the whole year’s total in one lump sum with your July payment instead.

Who qualifies

Eligibility didn’t change when the program switched names. You need to be 19 or older and a Canadian resident for tax purposes, though there are exceptions if you’re younger and already have a spouse, common-law partner, or a child of your own.

There’s no separate application. As long as you’ve filed your 2025 taxes, the CRA figures out what you’re owed automatically. Filed late? You’ll still get paid, just retroactively, once your return has been processed.

The benefit itself remains fully tax-free and doesn’t need to be reported anywhere on your return. If you want to see your exact amount and payment dates, log into your CRA My Account and check under Benefits and Credits.

AI tools may have been used to support the creation or distribution of this content; however, it has been carefully edited and fact-checked by a member of MTL Blog’s Editorial team. For more information on our use of AI, please visit our Editorial Standards page.