Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS): How It Works in Canada

The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is a monthly payment for people who receive Old Age Security and have a low income. It is paid with your OAS, it is not taxed, and it is reviewed every July using your income from the previous year. This page covers how it works; the GIS calculator estimates your amount.

Who qualifies

• You are 65 or older.
• You receive the OAS pension (a partial pension counts).
• You live in Canada; the GIS stops if you are outside Canada for more than 6 months.
• You are not under a sponsorship agreement (unless your sponsor died, is imprisoned for more than 6 months, was convicted of an offence against you, or declared bankruptcy).
• The sponsorship bar for the whole undertaking, in force since October 1, 2025, doesn't apply to someone who was already qualified to receive an OAS pension or the Allowance immediately before that day, whether or not they had applied.
• Your income (a couple's combined income) is below the threshold for your situation.

For a partial OAS pension and sponsorship details, see GIS for newcomers. The income limits:

Source: Service Canada, GIS eligibility, October to December 2026.

How much it pays

These are the maximums for October to December 2026, paid when your other income is zero or close to it. Amounts rise with inflation each January, April, July and October; for October to December 2026 OAS benefits rise 1.4%.

The GIS doesn’t rise at 75; OAS does, by 10%. The maximum GIS payment page has the annual figures and more detail.

How your income reduces it

The GIS is income-tested, and it uses your income from the previous calendar year: your 2025 income sets the GIS paid from July 2026 to June 2027. Service Canada doesn’t use a single percentage; it pays from published tables that set the GIS for each $24 band of income. For a single person:

Source: ESDC, Table of amounts, Table 1, October to December 2026.

Over most of the range the single GIS falls by $1 a month for every $24 of annual income, which is 50 cents per dollar. Between $2,048 and $10,496 it falls faster, about 75 cents per dollar, because the GIS top-up is being reduced at the same time. Couples are assessed on combined income with their own tables; see GIS for couples.

Counts as income: CPP or QPP, workplace and foreign pensions, RRSP and RRIF withdrawals, interest, dividends, taxable capital gains, net rental income, EI benefits, and employment income above the exemption.

Doesn’t count: OAS, the GIS itself, TFSA withdrawals, the CPP death benefit, and the first $5,000 of employment or self-employment income (plus 50% of the next $10,000).

The how much can I earn on GIS page works through CPP, RRIF, rental and employment income, with examples from the tables.

Tax

The GIS isn’t taxed. It appears on your T4A(OAS) slip, you report it on line 14600 of your return, and you deduct it again on line 25000, so it adds nothing to your taxable income. (Source: CRA, line 14600.)

Applying and keeping it

• Enrolment. Service Canada tries to enrol you automatically and sends you a letter. If a month has passed since your 64th birthday with no letter, contact it; you can apply online or on form ISP-3550 (OAS and GIS) or ISP-3025 (GIS only). See how to apply for the GIS.
• Back payments. If you apply late, the GIS can be paid for up to 11 months before the month your application is received.
• Renewal. File your tax return by April 30 every year. Service Canada reviews your GIS each July from that return, and payments can stop if it has no income information. See GIS renewal.
• Income drops. If you or your spouse retired or lost pension income this year, Service Canada can base your GIS on an estimate of this year’s income instead of last year’s.

GIS guides

Related pages

• Old Age Security guide
• Living on CPP, OAS and GIS
• RRSP withdrawals before 65 to protect the GIS