Categories: Lifestyle

Canadians can now apply for a new dental benefit & here’s who qualifies

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If you are taking your little ones to the dentist soon, here’s some news to know about! There is a new Canada Dental Benefit to help lower dental costs for eligible families earning less than $90,000 a year.

Starting on Thursday, December 1st, Canadians can apply for the new benefit through the Canada Revenue Agency. The good news? The application should only take minutes to complete – and funds will be deposited into your account directly.

Currently, the benefit period is for children under 12 years old as of December 1st, 2022, who are receiving dental care between October 1st and June 30th, 2023.

According to the CRA, two tax-free payments (across two pay periods) of $260, $390, or $650 are available for each eligible child. This means that you can get a maximum of two payments for each child, and the total will depend on your adjusted family net income.

$650 per child for an adjusted net income under $70,000
$390 per child for an adjusted net income between $70,000 and $79,999
$260 per child for an adjusted net income between $80,000 and $89,999

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Before you apply, you can estimate your benefit amount and set up direct deposit, if you haven’t already.

Eligibility requirements

Your child was born on or after December 2nd, 2010
Your child receives dental care services in Canada between October 1st, 2022 and June 30th, 2023
Your child is not covered by a private insurance plan
Your child’s dental costs are not fully covered by another government-funded dental program
You are the only parent or caregiver receiving the CCB for your child as of December 1st, 2022
You filed your 2021 taxes
Your spouse or common-law partner filed their 2021 taxes
Your adjusted family net income is less than $90,000 in 2021

Note that if you have more than one eligible child, you can apply for all of them at the same time or separately. This benefit will have two periods, the second of which open for applications on July 1st, 2023 for dental care between then and June 30th, 2024.