This will mark the third and final ACWB payment of 2026. The last one dropped in July.
What is the ACWB payment?
The Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) is a refundable tax credit for people who work and don’t earn much. The ACWB is a part of this benefit that the CRA pays you early.
The CWB amount depends on a calculation based on the following factors:
- Marital status – eligible spouse
- Province or territory of residence
- Earned working income
- Adjusted family net income
The CRA estimates what you’ll be owed for the year based on your last return and sends up to half of that ahead of time, spread over three payments in January, July and October.
You don’t need to apply for ACWB. If you claimed the CWB last year, the advance should show up on its own. If you didn’t, you won’t get one this year, but you can still claim the benefit when you file your next return.
How much ACWB could you get?
For the 2025 tax year, the most a single person can get is $1,633, and a family can get up to $2,813. People with a disability can receive up to $843 more. Most people will land below those maximums, since the benefit decreases as income rises, and the advance is only a portion of whatever your total comes to.
Couples receive just one advance, and it usually goes to whoever earns more from work. Quebec, Nunavut, and Alberta have their own amounts, your numbers might look different.
The government’s child and family benefit calculator can help you estimate your ACWB amount.
When you file taxes, the CRA will send you an RC210 slip showing what you received during the year. You enter that amount on line 41500, then use Schedule 6 to work out your CWB.
If the real number is bigger than what you were sent as an advance, the difference comes with your refund. If it’s the same, nothing further is paid. If you got a raise or did extra shifts at work, you could see a small number or even even owe some of it back to the CRA.
MoneySense’s guide to filling out a personal tax return walks through the steps. We have also covered what to do if you haven’t filed an income tax return.
If the ACWB payment doesn’t appear in your account on Friday, wait 10 working days before you call the CRA. In the meantime, you can check your payment history by logging in to My Account and looking under “Benefits and credits.”
Other payments coming this month
There are a few other government payments aside from the ACWB dropping this month. The Ontario Trillium Benefit will also be deposited on Friday.
Keep an eye on MoneySense’s payment schedules:
- Canada Pension Play (CPP) payment dates
- Old Age Security (OAS) payment dates
- Canada Child Benefit payment dates
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