If you’re planning to have children soon, you may get caught up thinking about your monthly expenses. However, there are a couple government programs that can help cover some of the costs.
Canadian Child Tax Benefit
The Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB) provides a monthly cheque or deposit based on your family income (that’s you and your spouse or common law partner combined) for any children under 18 that are in your care.
This calculator will give you an idea of how much your family could receive each month. We found that, so far, the amount hasn’t been very impressive since it’s based on my wife’s income from last year… when she was working. However, since she’ll be taking a few years off, this amount should be higher in the future.
Low-income families, and families that have a child with disabilities, can receive additional money in the same payment with the National Child Benefit (NCB) and Child Disability Benefit (CDB), respectively.
Universal Child Care Benefit
Launched in 2006, the Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) gives us $100 a month to help take care of our child until he turns six. This payment is taxable, which means it benefits stay-at-home moms like my wife. It’s also taxed less, and we don’t need to spend it on daycare.
While neither of these programs pays a huge amount, every little bit adds up.
P.S. If you don’t need to rely on this money, set up an RESP for your child (it’ll pay back).
Tom Drake is the owner and head writer behind Canadian Finance Blog and also works as a financial analyst for a major retailer. Tom and his wife Amanda welcomed their beautiful baby boy Christian in October of 2009. To read more of Tom’s posts, subscribe to Canadian Finance Blog’s RSS feed and follow @CanadianFinance on Twitter.