ODSP: How Much It Pays, Payment Dates and Working While on ODSP

The Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP) is Ontario’s program of income support and health benefits for people with a disability who are in financial need. A single person can get up to $1,436 a month for basic needs and shelter, and the rates are adjusted for inflation each July. ODSP pays once a month, on the last business day (dates below). If you have a disability and work, the first $1,000 of net earnings in a month doesn’t lower your payment. Already on ODSP? Sign in to MyBenefits.

On this page: Payment dates · How much it pays · Household amounts · Working · Health and other benefits · Other income · Sign in · Contact · Apply

What is ODSP?

ODSP gives two kinds of help: money each month toward living costs such as food and rent, and health benefits such as prescription drugs and vision care. It can also help with other disability-related costs, from travel to medical appointments to some assistive-device costs (see below). Ontario’s Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services runs it. How much you get depends on your own situation.

Who qualifies for ODSP?

To get ODSP income support, you need to be 18 or older, live in Ontario, be in financial need and keep your assets under the program’s limits. You also have to meet ODSP’s disability test or belong to a prescribed class. To get ODSP income support you must either be found to be a person with a disability (a substantial physical or mental impairment expected to last 1 year or more that substantially restricts personal care, community or workplace activities, verified by a health care professional) or belong to a prescribed class, such as people receiving CPP or QPP disability benefits. The application page explains how ODSP decides who has a disability.

Financial need is judged on your income, assets, living costs, family and housing costs. The limit on assets that count is $40,000 for a single person and $50,000 for a couple. Some assets don’t count, including the home you own and live in, your primary vehicle, RESPs and RDSPs, plus prepaid funerals and the furniture and clothing you need. A caseworker can approve saving above the limit in some cases, such as to buy something you need for your health or disability. Ontario’s eligibility page covers trusts, life insurance and gifts. Who can apply is on the application page.

How much does ODSP pay?

If you rent or own your home, your payment has two parts: basic needs and a shelter allowance. Basic needs helps with food, clothing, transportation and personal needs. The shelter allowance pays your actual housing costs, such as rent or mortgage payments and utilities, up to a maximum set by the size of your family. For a single person, that is $825 for basic needs plus up to $611 for shelter, or $1,436 a month together.

The latest increase, 1.9%, took effect on July 1, 2026 and raised the basic needs and shelter maximums for single people and families.

If the same person or place gives you both food and a home, for example parents who buy and cook your meals, ODSP pays a board and lodging amount instead. People who live north of the 50th parallel without year-round road access can get an extra Remote Communities Allowance.

How much does a couple or family get?

Families get more than a single person. Ontario’s rate page gives the single amount, and the household amounts are set out in ODSP’s policy directives on basic needs and shelter, which are adjusted for inflation each July.

Basic needs, per month (July 2026)

Shelter allowance maximum, per month

The family counts you, your spouse and any dependent children or adults. A single parent whose children are all under 18 gets another $143 a month. When both partners have a disability, the couple’s basic needs and shelter together are capped at a “double disabled” rate of $2,416 a month. Amounts for dependent children, including the extra shelter allowance for a larger family, and other benefits are added on top. The exact amount depends on your household’s situation.

Why did your ODSP payment change?

Rates are adjusted for inflation each July. Money you earned last month changes this month’s payment. Other income you report, such as CPP or other government benefits, can lower it. A change in your rent or other shelter costs can change the shelter allowance, which is paid on actual costs up to the maximum. ODSP expects you to report changes so you keep getting the right amount.

When is ODSP paid?

ODSP pays income support once a month, on the last business day of the month; in December the payment can come earlier. These are the dates on Ontario’s ODSP page:

Ontario last updated this table on September 23, 2026. Federal payments such as the CCB, CPP and OAS have their own dates on the government payment calendar.

How does working affect ODSP?

You can work or run a business while on ODSP and keep getting income support and benefits. What you earn in one month is used to work out the next month’s payment. These are the earnings rules:

• The flat exemption and percentage exemption are for a person with a disability on ODSP; a spouse or adult child who does not have a disability gets a smaller exemption (see the condition on spouses and adult children below).
• The first $1,000 of net earnings each month is exempt, so it does not reduce your income support.
• Of net earnings above that amount, 25% is exempt, and the other 75% is deducted from income support.
• For each month you earn money from working, you can get a Work-Related Benefit of $100.
• The Work-Related Benefit can be up to $100 for each family member.
• It is added automatically if you are eligible.
• Child care costs and disability-related work costs are taken off the amount that would otherwise be deducted; unlicensed child care counts up to $600 a child and disability-related work costs up to $1,000 a month.
• A spouse or adult child who does not have a disability and is not in school full time can earn $200 a month with no reduction, and 50% of net earnings above that is also exempt.
• The calculation uses net monthly earnings (pay after income tax, CPP, EI and union fees); you report both gross and net pay, and any support or garnishment deducted from your pay is added back.
• Earnings in one month are used to work out your payment for the following month, and you report them by day 7 of that following month.
• All income is reported, including income that is exempt.
• Earnings of a child under 18 are completely exempt.
• While you or a family member is enrolled full time in high school or approved postsecondary school, all earnings are exempt (still reported), no Work-Related Benefit is paid, and postsecondary students' earnings in the 4 months before classes start are exempt too.

Self-employment. For a business, ODSP looks at profit: what the business brings in minus approved expenses, averaged over the year (or over the months a seasonal business runs). You can claim a standard expense deduction of $100 a month without showing receipts.

How do you report your earnings?

Report what you and your family earned in a month by day 7 of the next month. You can report through MyBenefits, by phone through the Interactive Voice Response system, or on the Employment/Training Income Report form that comes with your payment. Give both your gross and your net pay. In a month with no earnings, the form still goes in by the same day. A missed deadline can put your payments and benefits on hold for a while.

What help is there for starting work or leaving ODSP for a job?

• Employment and Training Start Up Benefit: you and each eligible family member can get up to $500 in a 12-month period for things you need to start a job, training or a business.
• Employment Transition Benefit: a family leaving ODSP for paid work may get $500, once in a 12-month period and once per family.
• Extended Health Benefit: if your income becomes too high for ODSP, for example once Old Age Security starts, this can help with high health costs.
• Transitional Health Benefit: if you leave ODSP for a job, self-employment or a training program and don’t get similar health benefits through work, this can help with health costs until you do.
• Trillium Drug Program: if you qualify for neither health benefit, it may help with prescription drug costs. See the Trillium Drug Program.
• Coming back: if the job ends and you need ODSP again, ask your local office about rapid reinstatement, which brings you back without a new disability assessment.

Employment Ontario offers job search help and training for people with disabilities.

What else does ODSP cover?

On top of income support, ODSP helps with health and disability costs. These are the main ones on Ontario’s health and disability benefits page:

• Prescription drugs: drugs on the Ontario Drug Benefit Formulary are covered for you and your family. If you are 25 or older, a pharmacist may charge up to $2 a prescription.
• Dental: basic dental care for you and your spouse; children under 18 are covered through Healthy Smiles Ontario.
• Vision: eye exams every two years when OHIP doesn’t cover them, and help with glasses every three years.
• Mandatory Special Necessities Benefit: help with travel to medical appointments and with supplies such as diabetic and incontinence supplies. Ask your caseworker for the application form, which a health care professional fills in at no cost to you. The form is listed in Ontario’s Central Forms Repository.
• Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Nutritional Allowance: $40 a month, or $50 for a non-dairy diet, until the baby is a year old.
• Special Diet Allowance: for the extra cost of a diet needed for an approved medical condition.
• Assistive devices, hearing aids and mobility devices: help with costs the Assistive Devices Program doesn’t cover, hearing aids and alerting systems, and batteries and repairs for mobility devices when no other funding is available.
• Guide Dog Benefit: $84 a month for each certified service or guide dog.

How do other benefits affect ODSP?

The Canada Disability Benefit doesn’t change your ODSP eligibility or payment. The Canada Disability Benefit page covers how it works with other programs.

In general, other money you or your family get counts as income, may lower your payment, and has to be reported. That includes CPP or QPP benefits, Employment Insurance, and Old Age Security and the GIS. Government benefits are deducted from income support for the month they are paid for. At 65, ODSP recipients have to apply for Old Age Security, and it is deducted dollar for dollar. If you get CPP disability, it counts this way too.

Some money doesn’t count, including child support, the Canada Child Benefit, the Ontario Child Benefit and payments from a Registered Disability Savings Plan. For saving, see the RDSP and the Disability Tax Credit. For how ODSP shows on your tax return, see benefits and your tax return. For disability programs across Canada, see disability benefits in Canada.

Where do you sign in to ODSP?

MyBenefits is the online account for Ontario Works and ODSP: you can continue an application, report changes and get information about your case.

How do you contact ODSP?

Call the Social Assistance Support Line at 1-888-999-1142 (TTY 1-800-387-5559), Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (ET). For your local ODSP office, use the social assistance office locator.

How do you apply for ODSP?

You can apply online, by phone or in person at a local ODSP office, with one application for you and the immediate family members who live with you. If you need money while ODSP reviews it, you can apply for Ontario Works at the same time. How to apply and what you need are on the application page.

What if you disagree with an ODSP decision?

To challenge an Ontario Works or ODSP decision, first ask in writing for an internal review within 30 days of receiving the decision (explaining why, if special circumstances make you late); you should get the result within 30 days of your request being received. If you disagree with it, you can appeal to the Social Benefits Tribunal within 30 days of receiving the internal review decision, or if no decision arrives within 30 days. The application page explains the internal review and the Social Benefits Tribunal.

Where to go next: applying for ODSP · Ontario Works · moving from Ontario Works to ODSP · Canada Disability Benefit · government benefits in Canada · social assistance across Canada