The Canadian government offers the Advance Canada Workers Benefit to workers who earn low and are eligible to receive the Canada Workers Benefit. The advance payment is the portion of the CWB that is offered three times in a financial year to the recipients.
Advanced payment is a boon to many workers as it provides monetary benefits to recipients throughout the year. The next quarterly advance payment will be processed in Jan 2025, Canadians waiting for the payment can check the amount and other details here.
Advanced Canada Workers Benefit Amounts
The ACWB payments are offered to those Canadian workers who receive the CWB. Under the ACWB, the recipients receive half of the CWB refundable credit as the advance payment. The CWB benefits have two payment categories – basic amount and disability supplements.
Canadians expecting the ACWB payout can calculate their advance payment based on the following CWB amount:
- Maximum Basic Amount:
- Single individuals can receive the maximum amount of up to $1518, which can be reduced if the individual’s net income exceeds $24,975. The payout will phase out if the net income exceeds $35,095 value.
- Families can expect to receive the maximum amount of up to $2616, which will be reduced if the family’s net income exceeds $28, 494 and eventually phase-out if the family’s net income exceeds $45,934.
- Maximum Disability Supplement:
- The maximum amount the individuals and families can receive under the CWB disability supplements is $784. The disability supplements will reduce for the individual when the net income exceeds the $35,098 mark, whereas for families it will reduce when it exceeds the $45,932 value.
- The disability supplements phase out for individuals when the net income exceeds $40,325 and for families when the family’s net income exceeds $51,159 and one spouse receives a disability tax credit, and if both spouses receive the disability tax credit and the next net income exceeds $56,386.
The recipients receive the advance payment in three installments which is half of the CWB benefit payout. If you receive the disability supplement with the basic amount, you will also receive the 50% of the disability supplement with the advance payment.
You can estimate your advance payment through the child and family benefit calculator tool of CRA and get the value that you will receive. The recipients should remember the Jan 2025 ACWB payouts are computed based on the 2023 tax returns.
When will the CRA disburse the ACWB payout?
According to the CRA, the agency disbursed the quarterly payment three times in a fiscal year on the specific dates in July, October, and January. The CWB recipients resident of Canada in the first quarter will receive the upcoming advance payment in Jan 2025 for 2024-25 on 10 January 2025.
If the advance payment date falls on a federal holiday or weekend, the agency will process the payment on the last business day before the payment date to the recipient account. The recipients can put a reminder to advance payment for one week before in their My Account to get a notification when they are about to receive the payments.
What life changes affect the Advance Canada Workers Benefit Payout?
As we have mentioned, the net income of individuals and families will affect the advance payout, however, some life changes can also affect your payment, such as:
- When you emigrate from Canada or you were incarcerated for consecutive 90 days or more you will become ineligible to receive the advance payment.
- When the individual dies before the quarter it will affect the payment, however, if the changes occur during the quarter, your payment will not be affected.
- Marital status and dependent change will not affect your advance payment unless you ask for reassessment and your CWB payout changes.
How does CRA determine the ACWB for married or common-law partners?
The advance payment of the Canada Workers Benefit is offered to only one spouse in the family, hence many wonder how the CRA decides which spouse will receive the payout. The CRA decides the spouse for the advance payment based on the following points:
- The spouse who is eligible for the basic amount only will receive the advance payment based on their working income. The spouse who has a higher working income will receive the advance payments, and if the couple has the same working income, the spouse who filed first will receive the advance payment.
- When the couple or one of them receives the disability supplement, the person who has the disability and is entitled to the disability tax credit will receive the disability supplement and the basic amount for the family. Now, when both spouses are entitled to disability tax credits and advance payments, only one of them will receive the basic amount, and the disability supplement advance payment will be sent to both spouses.
What should you do if you do not receive the ACWB payout on the scheduled date?
Now, if the Canadian workers who are eligible for the CWB advance payment did not receive their advance payment on the scheduled date, they should wait for 10 business days and then contact the CRA.
Though generally it rarely happens, however, as the advance payment is made automatically based on the filed income tax and benefit return. So, the recipients who have experienced changes in their bank account or payment method that could affect their payment disbursement should quickly inform the agency.
You can contact CRA through your CRA account, you can visit the nearby CRA office, or you can call 1 800 959 8281 for assistance with your benefit payments.
The Canada Revenue Agency will process the advance payments of the CWB in a few days on 10 Jan 2025, so do check your account or My Account.