Canada Workers Benefit Calculator

The Canada Workers Benefit (CWB) is a refundable tax credit that supplements the earnings of low-income workers. It has two parts: the basic amount and a disability supplement for those eligible for the Disability Tax Credit. The CWB replaced the Working Income Tax Benefit (WITB) in 2019.

To be eligible for the 2026 CWB you must be a Canadian resident aged 19+ (or have a spouse/common-law partner or dependent child), have earned income above $3,000, and have adjusted family net income (AFNI) below $38,492 (single) or $50,378 (family). Full-time post-secondary students without dependants (enrolled more than 13 weeks in the year) and individuals incarcerated for 90+ days are not eligible.

For the 2026 tax year, the maximum basic CWB is $1,665 for single individuals and $2,869 for families. The disability supplement adds up to $860 for eligible individuals in either filing status.

Yes. Alberta residents claim the CWB using reconfigured thresholds and rates filed on Schedule 6 form 5009-S6, instead of the federal Schedule 6 figures. For 2026 the Alberta maximum basic amount is $1,785 (single) / $2,671 (family), with phase-in at 21% above $2,760 of earned income. Alberta DOES include its own disability supplement — up to $860 for 2026 — which an earlier version of this page incorrectly stated did not exist.

No. Quebec residents are not eligible for the federal CWB. Instead, Quebec has its own Work Premium administered by Revenu Quebec, which serves a similar purpose of supplementing low-income workers' earnings.

AFNI stands for Adjusted Family Net Income — it is line 23600 of your tax return (or the combined net income of you and your spouse). The CWB phases out as AFNI rises above a threshold. For 2026 federal singles, phase-out starts at $27,392; for families, at $31,251. The benefit is reduced at 15% of AFNI above that threshold until it reaches zero. If you have a spouse, subtract the secondary-earner exemption (up to $16,714 of the lower earner's working income) from the combined figure first — that reduced amount is the AFNI the phase-out actually uses.

Since July 2023, advance CWB (ACWB) payments are automatic — you no longer need to file Form RC201 (it has been discontinued). If the CRA has your prior-year return on file, it pays up to 50% of your estimated CWB entitlement in three advance instalments: July 12, October 11, and January 10. The remaining amount (or a top-up/clawback) is settled when you file your return.

Working income for the CWB is employment income (box 14 of your T4) plus net self-employment income (excluding losses). It does NOT include things like EI benefits, pension income, or investment income — those count toward your adjusted family net income (AFNI) for the phase-out calculation, but not toward the phase-in.

When both spouses/common-law partners have working income, the lower earner can exclude up to $16,714 of their own working income (2026; $16,386 for 2025) from the family's AFNI when the CWB is calculated. This is designed so a second job or part-time income for the lower earner doesn't immediately shrink the family's benefit. On Schedule 6 it is line 14, subtracted from the combined net income on line 13 to give the adjusted family net income on line 15 — and line 15 feeds both line 23 (basic CWB) and line 35 (disability supplement), so the exclusion lowers the phase-out on both. Enter the lower earner's working income in the calculator above and it is applied for you.

Each spouse can claim their own disability supplement on a separate Schedule 6, and each supplement phases out separately at half the normal rate — 7.5% instead of 15% — against the family's AFNI. For 2026, the combined disability supplements reach zero once family AFNI hits $61,844 federally (versus $56,111 when only one spouse has the DTC), or $62,704 for Alberta residents (versus $56,971 one-spouse).