OAS Payment Dates 2026: Every Deposit Day, the Amounts, and the Clawback Explained
September 20, 2026 · 11 min read
Your mother’s Old Age Security was $751.97 last month and $712 this month, and nobody sent a letter explaining why. Or it did not arrive at all. Here is the 2026 calendar, what OAS actually pays right now, and the two rules that quietly change the amount without warning.
The short answer: OAS is paid on the same day as CPP, the third-to-last business day of the month. The remaining 2026 dates are September 25, October 28, November 26 and December 22. From July to September 2026 the maximum is $751.97 a month at ages 65 to 74 and $827.17 at 75 and over, and the Guaranteed Income Supplement adds up to $1,123.17 for a single senior. OAS is re-indexed every quarter, so the amount changes in January, April, July and October.
OAS payment dates 2026
These are the twelve dates from Service Canada’s official benefits calendar. Direct deposit lands on the day shown. A mailed cheque takes several days longer.
| Month | OAS payment date |
|---|---|
| January | Wednesday, January 28, 2026 |
| February | Wednesday, February 25, 2026 |
| March | Friday, March 27, 2026 |
| April | Tuesday, April 28, 2026 |
| May | Wednesday, May 27, 2026 |
| June | Friday, June 26, 2026 |
| July | Wednesday, July 29, 2026 |
| August | Thursday, August 27, 2026 |
| September | Friday, September 25, 2026 |
| October | Wednesday, October 28, 2026 |
| November | Thursday, November 26, 2026 |
| December | Tuesday, December 22, 2026 |
The Guaranteed Income Supplement, the Allowance and the Allowance for the Survivor are all paid on these same dates, folded into one OAS deposit. A senior who receives OAS and GIS sees a single amount arrive, not two.
OAS and CPP land the same day
Every date above is also a CPP payment date. Someone receiving both usually sees two separate deposits on the same morning, one labelled Canada Pension and one labelled OAS with the supplement included. The programs are administered separately, so a problem with one does not hold up the other, and they are funded differently: CPP comes from a lifetime of payroll contributions, OAS comes out of general tax revenue and depends on how long you lived in Canada.
The rule behind the dates
Payments go out on the third-to-last business day of the month, which is why the date wanders between the 25th and the 29th as weekends and holidays move it. December is the deliberate exception, pulled forward to the 22nd so the money clears before the holidays. Tell a parent “the last week of the month, a week earlier in December” and they will never be caught short.
Are the 2027 OAS payment dates out yet?
No. As of September 2026, Service Canada’s calendar lists 2025 and 2026 only. The 2027 schedule usually appears late in the year.
Several sites already show a 2027 table. Those are calculated from the third-to-last-business-day rule, not published dates, and they will be wrong in any month where a statutory holiday shifts the calendar. If your parent is timing a rent payment or a bill, do not plan around them. We add the official 2027 dates to this page the day they are released.
How much OAS pays right now
These are the maximums for the July to September 2026 quarter. The October adjustment is due shortly and we update this table when it is published.
| Benefit | Maximum monthly | Income must be under |
|---|---|---|
| OAS pension, ages 65 to 74 | $751.97 | $93,454 before the clawback starts |
| OAS pension, 75 and over | $827.17 | $93,454 before the clawback starts |
| GIS, single, widowed or divorced | $1,123.17 | $22,800 |
| GIS, spouse receives full OAS | $676.09 | $30,096 combined |
| GIS, spouse receives the Allowance | $676.09 | $42,144 combined |
| GIS, spouse receives neither OAS nor the Allowance | $1,123.17 | $54,624 combined |
| Allowance, ages 60 to 64 | $1,428.06 | $42,144 combined |
| Allowance for the Survivor, ages 60 to 64 | $1,702.34 | $30,696 |
The Allowance is the one families miss most often. If your father is 66 and receiving OAS and GIS, and your mother is 61 with little income of her own, she may qualify for up to $1,428.06 a month in her own right, four years before she turns 65. The Allowance for the Survivor does the same for a widow or widower aged 60 to 64. Neither is automatic.
OAS is re-indexed four times a year, not once
This is the difference that confuses people who also receive CPP. CPP changes once, every January. OAS amounts are reviewed every January, April, July and October against the Consumer Price Index. A small increase in the OAS deposit partway through the year is normal and needs no action. As with CPP, the amount never falls: if the cost of living drops, OAS holds steady until the index catches up.
The automatic raise at 75
OAS increases by 10 percent automatically the month after the 75th birthday. Nobody applies, and no letter is needed. That is the whole reason the table above has two rows. If your parent turned 75 recently and the deposit went up, that is what happened.
Why a parent gets less than the maximum
OAS is based on how long you lived in Canada after the age of 18, not on what you earned.
- 40 years of residence after 18 earns the full pension.
- Less than that earns a partial pension, calculated as years in Canada divided by 40. Someone who immigrated at 40 and has 25 years of residence receives 25/40ths, about 63 percent of the maximum.
- You need at least 10 years of residence since 18 to receive OAS while living in Canada, and at least 20 years to keep receiving it while living abroad.
Social security agreements between Canada and many other countries can let years lived elsewhere count toward the minimum. If your parent immigrated mid-career and was told they do not qualify, that is worth a phone call before accepting the answer.
You may not have to apply, but check
Service Canada enrols most people automatically. An enrolment letter arrives around the 64th birthday, and if it does, nothing further is needed. Watch for two traps:
- No letter one month after the 64th birthday means you are probably not in the automatic system and need to apply. Call Service Canada rather than waiting and hoping.
- Applying yourself is done online through My Service Canada Account, or on paper with form ISP-3550, the combined application for OAS and GIS. Use the combined form. Applying for OAS alone is how people end up receiving the pension for years without the supplement they qualified for the whole time.
Delaying OAS: the trade nobody explains
You can put OAS off past 65 and get more later. Payments rise by 0.6 percent for every month deferred, which is 7.2 percent a year and a 36 percent increase at age 70. After 70 there is no further gain, so there is never a reason to wait past that birthday.
Here is the catch that costs low-income seniors real money: you cannot receive the Guaranteed Income Supplement while you are deferring OAS, and the supplement does not grow during the deferral. A senior entitled to the full GIS would be giving up more than $1,100 a month to earn a slightly larger pension later. Deferring makes sense for someone with enough other income that GIS was never in the picture, and for someone facing the clawback below. For a low-income parent it is almost always the wrong move.
The OAS clawback, in plain numbers
Officially it is the OAS recovery tax. If net world income for 2025 was above $93,454, some OAS gets taken back.
- The repayment is 15 cents on every dollar above the threshold.
- OAS disappears entirely at about $152,062 of income for ages 65 to 74, and about $157,923 at 75 and over.
- It is not a surprise bill. Service Canada divides the amount across the year and reduces each monthly payment, from July 2026 through June 2027, based on the 2025 return.
If a parent sold a property, cashed out an RRSP or took a large one-time payment in 2025, their OAS shrank in July 2026 and will recover next July once the income drops back. That is the most common reason a payment falls without explanation. Pension income splitting with a spouse is the usual way to stay under the threshold, and it is worth raising with whoever prepares their return before the year ends, not after.
The Guaranteed Income Supplement, and the one thing that stops it
GIS is a monthly, tax-free payment for OAS recipients with low income. It does not appear on the tax bill and it is not clawed back by the recovery tax above.
- It renews itself every July from the previous year’s tax return, and Service Canada sends a letter in July with the new amount.
- File by April 30, every year, even at zero income. An unfiled return is the number one cause of a supplement that stops or shrinks in July. If it has already stopped, filing the missing return restores it, usually with back pay.
- Leaving Canada for more than six months can stop both OAS and GIS unless your parent meets the 20-year residence rule. An extended stay with family abroad is a real risk here, and it catches people every winter.
OAS compared with CPP
| OAS | CPP | |
|---|---|---|
| Based on | Years lived in Canada | Years and amount of contributions |
| Funded by | General tax revenue | Payroll contributions |
| Maximum, 2026 | $751.97, or $827.17 at 75+ | $1,507.65 at age 65 |
| Do you apply? | Usually automatic at 64 | Always, it never starts on its own |
| Indexed | Quarterly | Once a year, in January |
| Earliest start | 65 | 60 |
| Deferral bonus | 0.6% a month to 36% at 70 | 0.7% a month to 42% at 70 |
| Income-tested | Yes, clawed back above $93,454 | No |
| Taxable | Yes. GIS is not | Yes |
| Paid abroad | Only with 20 years of residence | Yes, anywhere |
The payment has not arrived
- Wait 5 to 10 business days. Deposits usually post the same day, but some banks post next morning, and cheques depend on Canada Post.
- Check the bank account, not the mailbox. A direct deposit still pointed at a closed or changed account is the most common cause. Banking details are updated in My Service Canada Account or by phone.
- Call Service Canada: 1-800-277-9914, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm local time. TTY 1-800-255-4786. From outside Canada and the United States, 1-613-957-1954 collect. Have the Social Insurance Number ready.
- If the amount fell rather than vanished, the cause is almost always one of three things: the July clawback adjustment, a GIS recalculation after the tax return, or an unfiled return. The letter explaining it arrives in July and is easy to miss.
OAS is taxable and nothing is withheld by default
Every OAS dollar is taxable income, and Service Canada deducts no tax unless asked. A parent with OAS, CPP and a workplace pension can face a real bill in April. Request a voluntary monthly deduction through My Service Canada Account or with form ISP-3520OAS, choosing either a flat amount or a percentage. It can be changed or cancelled later. GIS, by contrast, is tax-free and is never included.
Provincial top-ups arrive separately
Most provinces add their own supplement for low-income seniors on top of GIS, each on its own schedule. The Alberta Seniors Benefit pays a few days ahead of the federal deposit, with remaining 2026 dates of September 23, October 26, November 24 and December 17. Ontario’s GAINS, BC’s Senior’s Supplement and Quebec’s programs through Retraite Québec each run on their own calendars. Amounts, eligibility and how to apply are in our provincial guides for Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec. Every federal benefit on one calendar, including the Trillium Benefit and the veterans’ pension, is on our seniors’ benefit payment dates page.
Frequently asked questions
When is the next OAS payment?
The remaining 2026 OAS payment dates are September 25, October 28, November 26 and December 22. Payments arrive on the third-to-last business day of the month, with December moved earlier for the holidays.
How much is OAS per month in 2026?
For the July to September 2026 quarter, up to $751.97 a month at ages 65 to 74 and up to $827.17 at 75 and over. A senior with low income can add up to $1,123.17 in Guaranteed Income Supplement. Amounts are reviewed again in October.
Are OAS and CPP paid on the same day?
Yes. Every 2026 OAS date is also a CPP date. A senior receiving both normally sees two deposits the same day, one for CPP and one for OAS with GIS included.
Why did my OAS payment go down?
Usually the recovery tax. If 2025 net world income was above $93,454, Service Canada reduces each monthly payment from July 2026 to June 2027 by 15 cents on every dollar above that line. The other common cause is a GIS recalculation in July after the tax return, or an unfiled return stopping the supplement.
Do I have to apply for OAS?
Most people are enrolled automatically and receive a letter around their 64th birthday. If no letter has arrived one month after that birthday, contact Service Canada, because you likely need to apply. Use form ISP-3550, which covers OAS and GIS together.
Is it worth delaying OAS to 70?
Only if GIS is not in play. Deferring adds 0.6 percent a month to a maximum of 36 percent at 70, but the Guaranteed Income Supplement cannot be paid during the deferral. For a low-income senior that trade loses money. For someone with a healthy income, or someone facing the clawback, it can be worth it.
Where to get help
- Service Canada: 1-800-277-9914 for OAS, GIS and CPP. TTY 1-800-255-4786
- From outside Canada: 1-613-957-1954, collect
- My Service Canada Account: to apply, change banking details or set up tax deductions
- Canada Revenue Agency: 1-800-959-8281 for questions about the recovery tax
- 211: dial 211 for free tax clinics and local community services
Find senior services near your parent
Once the income question is settled, the next one is usually who can help at home. Browse home care, home modification and other aging-in-place services:
- Senior services in Toronto
- Senior services in Vancouver
- Senior services in Calgary
- Senior services in Ottawa
- Senior services in Edmonton
Sources
Payment dates: Service Canada benefits payment calendar, canada.ca, read September 20, 2026. Maximum amounts and income cut-offs for OAS, GIS, the Allowance and the Allowance for the Survivor: OAS payment amounts, canada.ca, July to September 2026 quarter. Recovery tax thresholds and the 15 percent rate: OAS recovery tax, canada.ca. Residence rules, automatic enrolment, deferral and the 10 percent increase at 75: OAS eligibility, apply and benefit amount pages, canada.ca. GIS renewal, tax-free status and the six-month absence rule: Guaranteed Income Supplement pages, canada.ca. Voluntary tax deduction form ISP-3520OAS: Service Canada forms catalogue. CPP comparison figures: Canada Pension Plan payment amounts, canada.ca. Alberta Seniors Benefit dates: alberta.ca 2026 payment schedule. OAS amounts change every quarter, so the date on this page tells you when it was last checked.
