Canadian benefits calculators

Federal benefit programs in Canada are administered through two channels. The Canada Revenue Agency delivers the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) and the GST/HST credit because both are calculated from tax-return data and paid through the tax system. Service Canada administers Employment Insurance, Old Age Security, the GIS top-up, and the Canada Pension Plan because those depend on contribution or residency records the federal government maintains directly.

The Canada Child Benefit is the largest income-tested federal benefit. It pays up to a maximum amount per child under 6 and a slightly lower maximum for ages 6 to 17, both indexed annually. The amount phases out as adjusted family net income rises above the first threshold, with a second, steeper phase-out applied above the upper threshold. Families with a child eligible for the Child Disability Benefit receive an additional supplement. CRA recalculates the entitlement every July based on the previous tax year's net income — which is why missing a tax return interrupts the benefit even when income is otherwise unchanged.

Employment Insurance pays a regular benefit equal to 55% of average insurable earnings, capped at 55% of the federal maximum insurable earnings. The benefit period (number of weekly payments) depends on insurable hours worked in the qualifying period and the unemployment rate of the claimant's economic region — which means two claimants with identical earnings can receive different numbers of weeks based on geography. Quebec residents draw EI maternity / parental benefits from the parallel Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) instead of federal EI; QPIP has its own rate and replacement schedule.

Two retirement-adjacent benefits are programmatic. Old Age Security pays a flat monthly amount to anyone 65 or older with sufficient Canadian residency, with a 0.6%-per-month deferral bonus to age 70 and the OAS Recovery Tax (clawback) on net world income above the annual threshold. The Guaranteed Income Supplement tops up OAS for low-income seniors, with a steep reduction rate (50 cents per dollar of other income for singles, lower for couples). Calculators in this section read benefit amounts and thresholds from Service Canada and CRA primary publications and show the verification date on every page.