General questions

The Family Allowance measure  is a refundable tax credit administered by Retraite Québec. It is paid directly to all eligible families with dependent children under age 18.

This financial measure includes the Family Allowance, the supplement for the purchase of school supplies, the supplement for handicapped children and the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care.

Retraite Québec.

All eligible families with dependent children under age 18 are entitled to the Family Allowance payment. To be eligible for the Family Allowance, all of the following conditions must be met:

• You or your spouse are responsible for the care and education of a child under the age of 18.
• The child lives or lived with you at the time when he or she was temporarily institutionalized by an establishment in the health and social services sector.
• You or your spouse live in Québec (in accordance with the Québec Taxation Act).
• You or your spouse have one of the following statuses:
  • Canadian citizen
  • permanent resident
  • temporary resident who has been living in Canada for at least 18 months
  • protected person.

In the case of a birth in Québec, an application does not have to be made in order to receive the Family Allowance payments. The Directeur de l'état civil informs us of the birth and the child will automatically be registered for the Family Allowance payments.

In some situations (adoption, obtaining shared custody, change of custody, a family's arrival in Québec, obtaining or keeping custody of a child following the breakdown of a union), an application will have to be made to receive the Family Allowance payments.

The amount of the Family Allowance payment varies from one family to another. The calculation takes into account:

• the number of dependent children under the age of 18 who live with the beneficiary
• whether or not the custody of a child is shared
• the net family income (the combined total of both spouses' income as indicated on line 275 of the Québec income tax return)
• the family situation (single-parent or two-parent)

Yes. The Familiy Allowance payments and the supplement for handicapped child are indexed in January of each year.

First, when the beneficiary receives a Notice of Acceptance confirming entitlement to the Family Allowance payment.

Then, in May and June of each year, Retraite Québec sends all Québec families with a dependent child under age 18 an annual notice of Family Allowance. The notice indicates the information Retraite Québec has about the beneficiary's family situation as well as the amount that will be paid from July of the current year to June of the following year.

The Family Allowance payment, the supplement for handicapped children and the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care are not taxable. Moreover, they cannot be transferred or seized.

The supplement for handicapped children is $229 a month, regardless of the family income. The supplement for handicapped children is indexed every year.

The amount of the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care is $1 158 per month, regardless of family income. The amount is indexed in January of each year.

In cases of shared custody, the Family Allowance payments are made to both parents at the same time, without interruption, and according to the payment frequency (quarterly or monthly) chosen by each parent. We consider that a child is in shared custody when the child lives alternately with each parent between 40% and 60% of the time each month.

The Family Allowance payments and, if applicable, the supplement for handicapped children and the Supplement for Handicapped Children Requiring Exceptional Care stop in the month following the one in which the child turns 18.