How much does Canada pay your family?
Most parents have no idea. The Canadian government quietly hands a typical young family fifteen thousand tax-free dollars a year — and almost nobody runs the math on what that actually means for the question of whether one parent could stay home with the kids.
We built this for the family considering one more.
Combined for both parents if both work. Just one parent's income if one's at home.
Any kids under 6?
Under-6 kids get more CCB ($8,157/yr vs $6,883/yr).
Your family gets
$840
tax-free per month
That's $10,077 tax-free per year — in your account, untouched by tax. (13% of your household income.)
The breakdown
- $839.75/month — Canada Child Benefit$10,077/yr
The single-income reality check
If one parent stayed home with the kids — here's how the math changes.
Two incomes today
$5,972/mo
After tax + benefits − daycare.
Daycare for 1 kid under 6 costs about $5,016/yr in Ontario.
One parent at home
$6,229/mo
After tax + benefits. No daycare bill. Spousal tax credit kicks in (~$2,300 federal saved).
One income comes out $257/month ahead.
That's $3,080more per year in the family budget — before any quality-of-life math. The benefits don't change (same household income, same AFNI). What changes: the tax bracket walks differently for a single earner, the spousal credit appears, and daycare disappears as a line item.
Assumes 60/40 split for two-income, married couple, all kids under 6 attend daycare in the two-income scenario. Open the advanced calculator for exact numbers, RRSP impact, second-income breakeven for your specific wage.
Open the advanced calculator
RRSP, disability, support payments, the AFNI clawback curve, full show-your-work breakdown.
Raising kids on one income
The full argument with arithmetic. Why the gap closes more than most parents expect.
CCB payment dates
When the deposit hits. Adjusted for weekends and holidays.
Where we stand.
We believe in the traditional family structure — one parent working, one parent at home with the kids. We believe that's best for children, best for families, and more financially viable in Canada than most parents realize.
Daycare is not the answer for our family. We don't promote it, link to it, or frame it as an equivalent choice. The calculator quantifies daycare only as the avoided expense — the line item that disappears when one parent stays home.
The math is the proof. Run your numbers above. If the gap is closer than you thought, that's the whole point.