A certain number of tax credits support less well-off Quebec households or those with children, whether one-off or through payments throughout the year. Good news: there is now a tool to check how much you could get from the eight most popular refundable credits.
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A new tool, developed by the Chair in Taxation and Public Finance (CFFP), allows you to find out in a few clicks if you are eligible for these credits. All you have to do is enter basic data – age, income, some details concerning dependent children if applicable – to have access to the approximate amounts to which you should be entitled.
Consult the CFFP’s refundable tax credit calculator
The eight credits concerned are “refundable”, that is to say that the sum will be paid to you even if you have no tax to pay. However, they are reduced beyond a certain income threshold, and they often even drop to $0 if one earns a high enough income. The thresholds vary depending on the credit, as well as the marital and family situation of the people concerned, hence the relevance of the CFFP tool, which does the calculation for us.
Of course, the tool does not include all of the existing tax measures. As it makes a simplified calculation from little data, the actual result may be different. Nevertheless, it gives an idea of the order of magnitude of the amounts that one can expect to receive.
Let’s take the example of a couple with two children, aged 2 and 5. One of the parents earns a gross income of $68,000, while the other mainly stays at home to take care of the children, and receives an additional income of $2,000 per year with a few small contracts. The household could receive a little more than $24,000 in tax credits – a good incentive to not forget any!
Another example: a 72-year-old retired man who would have a net income of $25,000 made up of government benefits. For his part, he would receive a little less than $4,000 in tax credits.
The eight most popular credits
Table of Contents
The eight credits concerned are mainly aimed at people who have children as well as seniors or low-income workers. Here is a brief description of each of them.
Canada Child Benefit
The Canada Child Benefit is well known to parents: it is a federal benefit that is used to support people who have dependent children. These amounts, paid monthly, are not taxable and drop to zero from a certain adjusted family net income.
Family allowance
The Family Allowance is similar to the previous measure, but at the level of the Quebec government. It is paid quarterly and, although the amount varies depending on income, it never drops to zero. The amounts are not taxable.
Tax credit for child care expenses
This provincial credit is aimed at parents who pay childcare costs for their children while they themselves are working, studying or looking for work. It allows you to reimburse a good part of these. Expenses paid for a reduced-contribution place in a daycare or daycare service are not eligible. The federal order allows a deduction for childcare expenses which is not included in the calculator since it is not a tax credit.
GST/HST tax credit
This federal credit is paid to individuals and households with low and modest incomes to absorb part of the consumption taxes they pay. Payment is generally made quarterly. Please note that the Canada Grocery and Basic Needs Benefit will be added to this tax credit starting in the 2026 tax year, for a period of six years.
Solidarity tax credit
This credit is the provincial counterpart of the previous one. The frequency of payment varies depending on the amount to which people are entitled: it can be monthly, quarterly or annual.
Canada workers benefit
The Canada Workers Benefit is a refundable tax credit whose objective is to ensure that low-income workers are not penalized compared to those who receive last resort benefits (social assistance).
Work bonus
This credit is the provincial counterpart of the previous one.
Tax credit for support of seniors
This provincial tax credit is intended for seniors who have modest incomes.