This guide covers who qualifies, how your income is counted, how to apply and keep it, and what to do when a payment goes wrong.

The short answer

The Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS) is a monthly, tax-free payment for people 65 or older who get the Old Age Security (OAS) pension, live in Canada and have a low income. From October to December 2026, a single senior with 2025 income under $23,112 can get up to $1,138.90 a month. Couples have their own limits, based on combined income.

Service Canada pays the GIS together with your OAS pension. It is usually set up automatically, but it only keeps coming if you file a tax return every year.

Who qualifies for the GIS

Use this checklist from the Service Canada eligibility page. You need to meet every point.

• You are 65 or older.
• You receive the OAS pension. No OAS means no GIS, even if your income is very low.
• You live in Canada.
• You are not under a sponsorship agreement, with some exceptions explained below.
• Your annual income is below the limit for your situation. For a couple, the limit applies to your combined income.

You may qualify even if you get only a partial OAS pension because you lived in Canada for fewer than 40 years. Our Old Age Security guide explains how the OAS pension itself is calculated.

How much the GIS pays right now

Source: Service Canada, OAS payment amounts, modified September 29, 2026, and GIS benefit amount page, modified October 13, 2026.

These are maximums. The more income you have, the less GIS you get, and it stops at the income limit. Service Canada says the maximum amounts are not guaranteed and your payment depends on your income. Part of the maximum is a top-up for the lowest incomes. For a single senior, ESDC lists $10,496 of income as the cut-off for that top-up.

Amounts are reviewed every January, April, July and October using the Consumer Price Index. They go up when prices rise and never go down. The October 2026 review added 1.4%. To estimate your own amount, try the government's OAS Benefits Estimator, which covers the GIS.

How your income is counted

The GIS looks at your income for the previous calendar year. Payments from July 2026 to June 2027 are based on your 2025 income. Under the Old Age Security Act, your income is worked out the way it is for your tax return, but some amounts are taken out first:

• OAS and GIS payments. Your OAS pension does not count against your GIS.
• Part of your work income. The first $5,000 of employment or self-employment income, plus half of the next $10,000.
• Canada Pension Plan contributions and Employment Insurance premiums you paid on that work income.
• A Canada Pension Plan death benefit.
• Some means-tested social assistance payments.

Money in a Tax-Free Savings Account helps here too. The Canada Revenue Agency says TFSA income and withdrawals do not affect your eligibility for OAS or the GIS. If you have savings to draw on, it is worth knowing which accounts count before you withdraw. Our saving and investing hub explains how TFSAs and RRSPs differ.

How much of your work income counts

Gizly calculation from the income definition in section 2 of the Old Age Security Act, current to September 30, 2026. The most that can be left out is $10,000.

Worked example: a part-time job and the GIS

Take a hypothetical single senior who gets OAS. In 2025 they had $12,000 from a part-time job and $15,000 of other taxable income, such as a workplace pension. That adds up to $27,000, which looks like it is over the $23,112 limit.

1. Leave out OAS. Their OAS pension is not counted at all.
2. Apply the work income exemption. The first $5,000 is left out, plus half of the next $7,000, which is $3,500. That removes $8,500, so $3,500 of the job income counts.
3. Add the other income. $3,500 plus $15,000 is $18,500.
4. Compare with the limit. $18,500 is $4,612 under the $23,112 limit for a single senior, so they still qualify for a partial GIS from July 2026 to June 2027.

Hypothetical example. Gizly calculated it in Python twice, once using the wording of the Act and once with a simple step formula, and both gave the same result. Your actual amount comes from Service Canada.

Couples, separation and the Allowance

If you have a spouse or common-law partner, the GIS uses your combined income. The limit depends on what your partner receives, as the table above shows. A couple where both get OAS has the lowest combined limit, $30,528.

If you live apart for reasons you cannot control

If you and your partner live apart because one of you is in long-term care, for example, you may qualify for a higher amount. Service Canada asks you to complete form ISP-3040 and mail it to your nearest Service Canada office.

The Allowance for a partner aged 60 to 64

If you get the GIS and your partner is 60 to 64, they may qualify for the Allowance. They must be a Canadian citizen or legal resident and have lived in Canada for at least 10 years since age 18. From October to December 2026 it pays up to $1,448.06 a month, with combined income under $42,768. A widowed person aged 60 to 64 who has not remarried may get the Allowance for the Survivor, up to $1,726.18 a month with income under $31,152.

How to apply

Service Canada tries to enrol you in the GIS automatically. Shortly after your 64th birthday, it may send a letter confirming your OAS enrolment and saying it will try to enrol you in the GIS. If it cannot, you get a letter asking you to apply. If a month has passed since your 64th birthday and no letter has come, contact Service Canada.

You also need to act if the letter has wrong information, or if you applied for OAS but never for the GIS. There are two ways to apply:

• Online. Sign in to My Service Canada Account and go to the Old Age Security section. Choose the GIS application if you already get OAS, or the combined OAS and GIS application if you do not. You must be at least one month past your 64th birthday, and no trustee or power of attorney can be managing your account.
• By mail. Use form ISP-3025 for the GIS only, or ISP-3550 for OAS and the GIS together. Sign in pen and include copies of the documents asked for.

Have your Social Insurance Number and date of birth ready, and your partner's if you have one. You also need where you have lived since 18, any drop in work or pension income in the last two years, income from other countries and your banking details for direct deposit.

Service Canada says online applications take about 14 days and mailed ones about 120 days. Your decision letter shows your monthly amount and first payment date. If you disagree, you have 90 days from the day you receive the letter to ask for a reconsideration. If you apply late, the Act lets the GIS be paid back for up to 11 months before the month your application is received, so do not wait.

GIS payment dates for 2026

The GIS arrives with your OAS pension. The last three payments of 2026 are on October 28, November 26 and December 22. Earlier 2026 payments went out on January 28, February 25, March 27, April 28, May 27, June 26, July 29, August 27 and September 25. The 2027 dates were not posted on the benefit payment dates page when we checked on October 25, 2026.

Your first payment comes the month after you turn 65, or on the date in your decision letter. Cheques are mailed in the last three business days of each month, so direct deposit is faster.

If a payment is late, missing or wrong

1. Wait 5 to 10 business days. The payment calendar asks you to wait that long before you contact the program. Cheques can take longer than direct deposit.
2. Check My Service Canada Account. You can see your payment details and update your address, income and direct deposit there.
3. Look for the usual causes. A tax return not filed, an old address, a change in marital status you did not report, or a long trip outside Canada.
4. Call Service Canada. The OAS and GIS line is 1-800-277-9914 from Canada and the US, Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm local time. From other countries, call 1-613-957-1954. TTY users can call 1-800-255-4786.

If your July payment does not arrive, Service Canada asks you to call as soon as possible with your Social Insurance Number and last year's income for you and your partner.

What can stop or change your GIS

• Time outside Canada. You cannot get the GIS once you have been outside Canada for more than 6 months in a row. Tell Service Canada before you leave and when you return. It compares information with the Canada Border Services Agency.
• Sponsorship. Under rules in effect since October 1, 2025, you cannot get the GIS for the whole length of a sponsorship agreement, and parent and grandparent agreements now run 20 years instead of 10 in every province except Quebec. Service Canada lists exceptions if your sponsor has died, is in prison for more than 6 months, was convicted of an offence against you or declares personal bankruptcy.
• Delaying your OAS. You cannot get the GIS while you delay OAS, and the GIS does not grow when you wait. Your partner also cannot apply for the Allowance during that time.
• A federal prison sentence of 2 years or more stops the GIS until you are released.
• A death in the family. Tell Service Canada as soon as possible to avoid an overpayment. A surviving partner may qualify for the Allowance for the Survivor or Canada Pension Plan survivor benefits.

Other benefits that pair with the GIS

The same tax return that renews your GIS also decides other payments. Seniors with low or modest income may get the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit, and seniors without dental insurance can check the Canadian Dental Care Plan. Our full list of Canadian benefits includes a finder for your household.

Common mistakes that cost seniors money

• Skipping your tax return. Without it, your GIS can stop in July.
• Assuming your income is too high. OAS is not counted and up to $10,000 of work income is left out, so many people qualify who think they do not.
• Delaying OAS when you would get the GIS. You give up GIS payments and get nothing extra for them.
• Not reporting a drop in income. Your GIS is based on last year unless you ask Service Canada to use an estimate for this year.
• Long trips abroad. More than 6 months outside Canada stops the GIS.

Frequently asked questions

• Sources for amounts and rules, checked October 25, 2026: Service Canada: Guaranteed Income Supplement (modified 2026-10-07); Service Canada: GIS eligibility (modified 2026-10-21); Service Canada: GIS, how much you could receive (modified 2026-10-13); Service Canada: OAS payment amounts (modified 2026-09-29); ESDC: Maximum benefit amounts, October to December 2026 (modified 2026-09-29); Old Age Security Act, section 2 and section 11 (current to 2026-09-30); CRA: What is a TFSA (modified 2026-09-17).
• Sources for applying and payments, checked October 25, 2026: Service Canada: Apply for the GIS (modified 2026-09-09); Service Canada: After you apply (modified 2026-10-01); Service Canada: Receiving the GIS (modified 2026-10-21); Service Canada: When to start your OAS pension (modified 2026-10-02); Benefit payment dates (modified 2026-08-07); Contact Old Age Security (modified 2026-07-23).
• Method: The work income table and worked example were calculated in Python from the income definition in the Old Age Security Act, then checked a second time with a separate step formula. Amounts are rounded to the dollar.

Important: This guide is general information, not financial, tax or legal advice. Your Service Canada decision letter shows your actual GIS amount. Gizly is not affiliated with the Government of Canada. See our affiliate disclosure.