29 Jun Child Benefit Increasing

The Government of Nova Scotia is continuing efforts to support lower income families.

In July, the Nova Scotia Child Benefit will be expanded to include more families eligible to receive the benefit, while also raising the individual amount each eligible family receives. Families with incomes below $34,000 will now be eligible. Previously, only families earning $26,000 or less qualified. The first child for each eligible family will now receive $925 annually, a $300 increase from the previous amount.

This is the largest single increase to the benefit since it was created in 1998. The $18 million investment was included in the 2020-2021 budget. The benefit is a tax-free, monthly payment to families with children under 18.

The first monthly payment will be issued July 20, in combination with the federal government’s increase to the Canada Child Benefit payment. Families do not have to apply. For more information on the Canada Child Benefit, please see this link: https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/campaigns/canada-child-benefit.html

Families that are newly eligible will also now qualify for the Low-Income Pharmacare for Children Program for children under the age of 18.

The expanded child benefit will support an additional 6,100 families including 10,000 more children – a total of 28,000 families and 49,000 children across Nova Scotia.

Additional Resources:Nova Scotia Child Benefit: https://novascotia.ca/coms/families/ChildBenefit.html
Low-Income Pharmacare for Children Program: https://www.novascotia.ca/coms/families/PharmacareforChildren.html