The GST credit is gone — meet the Groceries and Essentials Benefit

If your quarterly "GST credit" deposit on July 3, 2026 looked bigger than usual, that wasn't a mistake. The GST/HST credit has been retired and replaced by the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) — same quarterly rhythm, same income test, but 25% more money for the next five years.

What actually changed

• The name. The GST/HST credit is now the CGEB. Your bank may still label the deposit "GST/HST credit" while financial institutions update their systems.
• The amount. CGEB payments are 25% higher than the former GST credit, locked in for five years (2026–2031).
• A one-time top-up. Back on June 5, 2026, eligible recipients also got a lump sum worth 50% of their 2025–26 annual GST credit — up to $267 for a single person and up to $717 for a family with four children.

Ottawa says the combined package means an eligible family of four receives up to $1,890 for the 2026–27 benefit year, and a single person up to $950, including the top-up.

The new maximums (July 2026 – June 2027)

For the benefit year that just started, the maximum annual amounts are:

• $679 for a single individual (up from $533)
• $890 for a couple
• $234 for each child under 19

There's no application. Like the old GST credit, the CGEB is calculated automatically from your tax return — your 2025 return sets your payments from July 2026 through June 2027. If you or your partner haven't filed, nothing arrives until you do.

What a real household gets

The maximums only apply at lower incomes — the benefit phases out as adjusted family net income (AFNI) rises. Two concrete examples:

• A single person with $35,000 in net income qualifies for the full $679 CGEB, plus about $524 from the Canada Workers Benefit.
• A couple with two kids (6–17) and $65,000 of AFNI still gets about $430 of CGEB on top of roughly $10,153 in Canada Child Benefit.

Your own number depends on family size and last year's income. You can run your household through the family benefits & second-income calculator to see the CGEB, CCB, and CWB together.

Payment dates

The CGEB pays quarterly: July, October, January, and April. The first enriched payment went out July 3, 2026; the next lands in early October. If your income is low enough to qualify but you got nothing in July, the most likely culprit is an unfiled 2025 return — the same trap that pauses CCB payments.

A planning note

Because the CGEB is income-tested, a raise or a new second income quietly shrinks it — one more reason the take-home value of extra earnings is smaller than the gross number suggests. If you're weighing where your household sits, the income percentile tool anchors the income side, and your take-home pay shows what a raise is really worth after tax.

The rename is cosmetic; the 25% boost is not. Know your AFNI, file on time, and treat the July reset — CCB and CGEB alike — as a yearly checkpoint.

Benefit estimates delivered by Metrestick. Underlying data: CRA 2026 income-tax and federal benefit parameters (CCB, GST/grocery credit, CWB) (Open Government Licence – Canada), 2026.