12/06/2022
Seeing a dental care professional is important not only for oral health, but for overall health. In Canada, a third of people do not have dental insurance, leaving many unable to visit an oral health professional to get the dental care they need.
On December 1, the Government of Canada announced that applications for the new interim Canada Dental Benefit are now open. The Canada Dental Benefit will give eligible families up-front, direct payments of up to $650 a year per eligible child under 12 for two years (up to $1,300) to support the costs of dental care services.
In order to ensure potential applicants are aware of the new benefit, the CRA will be issuing over 800,000 emails to prospective recipients who have signed up for e-mail notifications providing an overview of the benefit and advising on how they can apply. Unlike most e-mails from the CRA, clients will not be required to access MyAccount to read an additional message.
About the Canada Dental Benefit
Depending on the adjusted family net income, a tax-free payment of $260, $390, or $650 is available for each eligible child. This interim dental benefit is only available for 2 periods. Recipients can get a maximum of 2 payments for each eligible child. Benefit payments are administered by the Canada Revenue Agency.
The first benefit period is for children under 12 years old as of December 1, 2022 who receive dental care between October 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023.
In order to access the benefit, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:
They have a child or children under 12 as of December 1, 2022 and are currently receiving the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) for that child;
They have an adjusted family net income of less than $90,000;
Their child does not have access to private dental insurance;
They have filed their 2021 tax return; and
They have had or will have out of pocket expenses for their child’s dental care services incurred between October 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023, for which the costs are not fully covered or reimbursed by another dental program provided by any level of government.
More information on the Canada Dental Benefit can be found here: Canada Dental Benefit - Canada.ca
