Canadians could be missing up to $2,813 from this CRA tax credit

That’s especially important for the people the benefit was designed to help, including lower-income and gig workers, as well as many newcomers to Canada, who may assume a $0 tax bill means there’s no reason to file.

Here’s how the Canada Workers Benefit works and why skipping your tax return could mean missing out on hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars.

What the Canada Workers Benefit actually pays

For the 2025 tax year, eligible individuals can receive up to $1,633 through the CWB’s basic amount, while eligible families can receive up to $2,813.

The credit gradually phases out as income rises and disappears completely once income exceeds $37,742 for single individuals or $49,393 for families outside Quebec, Alberta and Nunavut, where different thresholds apply. Workers who qualify for the disability tax credit may also receive a disability supplement worth up to $843 on top of the basic benefit.

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Why filing unlocks the credit

You aren’t required to fill out a separate application to receive the Canada Workers Benefit; you just need to complete Schedule 6 as part of your tax return and report the amount on line 45300. Most certified tax software programs calculate this automatically.

Statistics Canada found that between 2019 and 2021, roughly 8.4% to 9.2% of workers who were otherwise eligible for the benefit didn’t file a tax return. While that’s a relatively small share of eligible workers, it still translated into $212 million in unclaimed benefits.

The strongest predictor of missing the benefit was a person’s filing history. Workers who skipped filing the previous year had a non-filing rate approaching 60%, compared with just 4% among those who had filed the year before.

Newcomers and gig workers face the steepest gap

Among non-permanent residents, the non-filing rate reached 40.2% in 2021, more than five times higher than other eligible workers. Notably, those who did file were more than twice as likely to receive the Canada Workers Benefit as the average filer. About 21.7% received the credit, compared with 10.0% of all tax filers.