Universal Child Care Benefit (UCCB) Enhanced for 2015

The government proposes to increase the monthly UCCB for children under 6 from $100 to $160, and proposes to introduce a $60 per month benefit for children age 6 to 17.  This would provide an additional $720 per year for each child under 18.  As with the existing UCCB, this amount is taxable in the hands of the lower income spouse, and a single parent can opt to include the benefit in the income of a dependent child for whom the eligible dependant amount is claimed.

This change would be effective as of January 1, 2015, but increased payments will not be available until July 2015.  The July 2015 payment would include up to 6 months of benefits to cover the January to June 2015 period.