The Canadian government offers a tax-free payment to eligible families who care for a dependent child who has a severe physical or mental disability through Child Disability Benefit (CDB). Through this benefit, the government supports families in taking proper care of children with disabilities and managing their expenses.
The government provides monthly assistance to the families, till June 2025 the government will provide the CDB amount with 2023 as the base year. The Canadians who wish to take advantage of this benefit or already receiving the benefit can check the payout, eligibility, and other details here.
Child Disability Benefit (CDB)
Generally, raising a child can be tough emotionally and financially, and if the child is suffering from any severe physical or mental impairment it can be really tough for families. The Canadian government understands this issue of families and helps such families financially to ensure the child gets the proper care, nutritious food, and medical aid through the Child Disability Benefit.
Under the Child disability benefit, Canadian households that meet the eligibility criteria get a tax-free monthly payment for caring for disabled children who are dependent on them. The government calculates the CDB payments every July based on the previous year’s AFNI.
Currently, the eligible families will receive the CDB payments that were calculated in July 2024 for the period of July 2024 to June 2025 based on 2023 AFNI. The eligible families receive the Child Disability benefit payment with their Canada Child benefit.
Child Disability Benefit (CDB) Eligibility Criteria
The Canadian government has set the following eligibility conditions for the Child Disability Benefit (CDB):
- You must meet the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) eligibility conditions,
- The child for which you are seeking the Child Disability benefit should meet the Disability Tax Credit eligibility conditions. The DTC conditions are satisfied when the professional medical practitioner certifies the child’s disability and CRA has approved the DTC Form T2201.
If the applicants already receive the Canada Child Benefit and the child is also eligible for the DTC credit, then the individuals do not need to apply for the Child disability benefits as it will automatically disburse with the CCB payout.
Child Disability Benefit (CDB) Payment Amount
The Canadian government offers the Child Disability Benefit payment based on the number of children qualifying for the benefit and adjusted family net income (AFNI). The government recalculated the payout amount based on the 2023 family net income reported for the 2023 base year.
Based on the July 2024 recalculation, Canadians with CDB eligibility can get a maximum payment of $3,322 for each child who is entitled to the DTC from July 2024 to June 2025. The CDB beneficiaries can check the amounts per month based on the number of dependents in the following tables:
| AFNI | One Dependant | Two Dependant | Three Dependant |
| Under $75,000 | $276.83 | $553.66 | $830.50 |
| $80,000 | $274.39 | $549.32 | $826.16 |
| $85,000 | $261.07 | $525.57 | $802.41 |
| $95,000 | $234.39 | $478.07 | $754.91 |
| $105,000 | $207.73 | $430.57 | $707.41 |
| $115,000 | $181.06 | $383.07 | $659.91 |
| $125,000 | $154.39 | $335.57 | $612.41 |
| $135,000 | $127.73 | $288.07 | $564.91 |
| $145,000 | $101.06 | $240.57 | $517.41 |
| $155,000 | $74.39 | $193.07 | $469.91 |
| $165,000 | $47.73 | $145.57 | $422.41 |
| $175,000 | $21.06 | $98.07 | $374.91 |
| $185,000 | $0 | $50.57 | $327.41 |
| $195,000 | $0 | $3.07 | $279.91 |
| $205,000 | $0 | $0 | $232.41 |
| $215,000 | $0 | $0 | $184.91 |
| $225,000 | $0 | $0 | $137.41 |
| $235,000 | $0 | $0 | $89.91 |
| $245,000 | $0 | $0 | $42.41 |
| $250,000 | $0 | $0 | $18.66 |
| $255,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
How does your income affect your CDB payment?
The CDB payout will be reduced if your adjusted family net income is more than the income threshold as you can see in the above table, the payment gets reduced as we move to higher payment. The Canadians can check the CDB payment reduction rules below:
- The family with one child dependent eligible for the CDB with an adjusted family net income of more than $79,087 can expect a 3.2% reduction in the payout.
- Families with two or more eligible children for CDB with adjusted family net income of more than $79,087 can expect a reduction of 5.7% in their amount.
How to apply for the Child Disability Benefit (CDB)?
The Canadians who meet the CDB eligibility conditions can apply for the benefit when they do not receive the automatic payment. According to the CDB guidelines, people who receive CCB payout and are eligible for DTC do not need to apply for the CDB benefit.
So, people who wish to receive financial assistance under the Child Disability benefit should follow the below instructions:
- You should get the Disability Tax Credit Certificate, where a professional medical practitioner certifies the child’s disability physical or mental and CRA approves the form. You have to submit the DTC form T2201 to the cRA to receive the certificate.
- You file your income taxes even when you are not liable to report the income to receive the payment automatically.
If you have any questions regarding the CDB, you can contact the officials at 1 800 387 1193, or for information regarding DTC, you can call 1 800 959 8281. Canadians must remember if they are getting the CDB benefit for the first time, the CRA will automatically disburse current and past two years’ payments to the eligible beneficiaries.
The Canadians who already receive this benefit should know they should update income change, family situation change, and other changes that can affect the payment to the CRA to continue receiving the CDB assistance.