This week, Canadians who are eligible for the quarterly Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) credit payment from the government should check their bank accounts.
The GST credit payment is now called the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit. It will be sent out on Thursday, April 2. This benefit is for Canadian families with low to moderate incomes and is meant to help them pay for the taxes they owe.
You might even get a one-time payment that is equal to a 50% increase in the GST credit’s value from 2025 to 2026. The government hasn’t said when this amount will be paid, but they have said that it will be paid as soon as possible this spring and no later than June 2026. It’s not clear if this amount will come with the Groceries and Essentials Benefit.
In January, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced a one-time payment of $3.1 billion to help more than 12 million Canadians. The goal was to give people some financial relief as food prices keep going up.
What could your GST payment be?
Your family’s net income, marital status, and the number of eligible children under 19 years old are just a few of the things that affect how much you get. The amount is also based on your tax return from the year before.
$533 GST/HST Credit April 2026: Deposit Dates And Eligibility Rules For Canadian Recipients
Because of this, you might get the following:
- If you are single, you get $533.
- If you are married or have a common-law partner, you get $698.
- For each child under 19, you get $183.
The GST credit payment for April is based on the 2.7 percent increase in the indexation for the 2025 benefit year, and payments are recalculated every July.
Canadians might get more money soon.
The next GST payment, which is due on July 3, will be much higher because the payments were recalculated in July. The new grocery rebate will go up by 25% for five years, giving $8.6 billion in help, which will include 500,000 more people and families over the next few years.
