Working Income Tax Benefit Statistics – 2017 Tax Year

Explanatory notes

Confidentiality procedures

To ensure the protection of taxpayer information, data have been suppressed where warranted. As well, counts are rounded to the nearest multiple of 10. For example, 104 would be rounded to 100 and 105 would be rounded to 110. Dollar amounts have been rounded to the nearest thousand in all tables. Totals may not add up due to rounding or suppression.

Data source

Income data were taken from the T1 General Income Tax and Benefit Returns and related schedules filed by individuals for the 2017 tax year. To claim the WITB, an individual has to file an income tax and benefit return.

Description of WITB tables

Tables contain the number of recipients and their respective WITB amounts. In some cases, the total of the figures in the table may not match the total shown due to rounding or suppression for confidentiality purposes.

Table 1 – Number of WITB recipients and amount credited by Province/Territory, 2017

This table presents the number of WITB recipients and amount credited by the province or territory of residence as reported on the tax filer's income tax and benefit return. For details on the province of residence classification, please refer to: Province or territory of residence.

Table 2 – Number of WITB recipients and amount credited by Age, 2017

This table presents the number of WITB recipients and amount credited based on the recipient's age and is grouped into thirteen age groups.

Table 3 – Number of WITB recipients and amount credited by Family Status, 2017

This table presents the number of WITB recipients and amount credited based on family status. Family status is defined by marital status and whether the recipient reported having children. For the purpose of this publication, marital statuses are grouped under two classifications: not married and married. Also, recipients are grouped under two further classifications: with children and without children.

Table 4 – Number of WITB recipients and amount credited by Census Metropolitan Area, 2017

This table presents the number of WITB recipients and amount credited by the census metropolitan area (CMA) of the tax filer. CMA’s were assigned using the 2016 Standard Geographical Classification, which is used by Statistics Canada to classify statistical information by geographic areas.

Table 5 – Number of WITB recipients and amount credited by Federal Electoral District, 2017

This table presents the number of WITB recipients and amount credited by the federal electoral district of the tax filer. The federal electoral district refers to a geographic area as per the 2013 Representation Order, allocating Canada's active postal codes into 338 federal electoral districts, commonly referred to as ridings or constituencies.

Description of WITB items

Tax year: This refers to the tax year for which the WITB was claimed.

WITB recipients: This refers to the number of recipients who received the WITB during the taxation year.

Assessed WITB credit: This refers to the net WITB credit issued to a recipient, or the amount used to offset a recipient's debt to the CRA after taking into account adjustments.

Eligible recipient: The recipient was a resident of Canada for income tax and benefit purposes, and they met both of the following eligibility criteria:

They were 19 years of age or older on December 31st, and
They were a resident of Canada for income tax purposes throughout the year.

Major classification variables

The following variables are used in one or more of the tables in this publication:

province or territory of residence;
age;
marital status;
number of children less than or equal to 17 years of age or no children;
census metropolitan area; and
federal electoral district.

Province or territory of residence

In Table 1, the province or territory of residence refers to the province or territory in which the recipient lived on December 31 of the tax year, as indicated on their income tax and benefit return.

Age

For Table 2, the age of the recipient was calculated by using the birth date on their income tax and benefit return.

Marital status

For Table 3, two categories of marital status were used. For the purposes of this publication, different categories of marital status have been combined as either "married" or "not married". "Not married" includes all single, separated, divorced, and widowed recipients. "Married" includes all married and common-law recipients.

With or without children

In Table 3, with children or without children refers to whether the recipient or their spouse reported having children. The children must be under 18 to be included in the "with children" category.

Census metropolitan area

In Table 4, census metropolitan area (CMA) refers to a main labour market area, formed by one or more adjacent municipalities centered on a large urban area (known as the urban core). A CMA must have a total population of at least 100,000 of which 50,000 or more must live in the urban core. To be included in the CMA, other adjacent municipalities must have a high degree of integration with the central urban area, as measured by commuting flows derived from census place of work data.

Federal electoral district

In Table 5, federal electoral district refers to any place or territorial area entitled to elect a Member of Parliament to serve in the House of Commons, as defined by Elections Canada. Federal electoral districts are constituencies that elect Members of Parliament to Canada's House of Commons. Provincial electoral districts often have names similar to their federal counterpart, but usually have different geographic boundaries.

Tables in PDF format

Please refer to the explanatory notes about these tables.

Tables in CSV format

Please refer to the explanatory notes about these tables.

Table 1: Number of WITB recipients and amount credited by Province/Territory, 2017

Notes:

All counts are rounded to the nearest ten and all amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand. The sum of the data may not add to the total, due to rounding.
Data are as of June 30, 2019 and are subject to change.
Outside Canada includes Canadians living abroad that are deemed residents for tax purposes.

Table 2: Number of WITB recipients and amount credited by Age, 2017

Notes:

All counts are rounded to the nearest ten and all amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand. The sum of the data may not add to the total, due to rounding.
Data are as of June 30, 2019 and are subject to change.

Table 3: Number of WITB recipients and amount credited by Family Status, 2017

Notes:

All counts are rounded to the nearest ten and all amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand. The sum of the data may not add to the total, due to rounding.
Data are as of June 30, 2019 and are subject to change.
Not married includes all single, separated, divorced, and widowed recipients. Married includes all married and common-law recipients.
With children or without children refers to whether the recipient or their spouse reported having children.

Table 4: Number of WITB recipients and amount credited by Census Metropolitan Area, 2017

Notes:

All counts are rounded to the nearest ten and all amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand.
Data are as of June 30, 2019 and are subject to change.
Census metropolitan areas were assigned using the 2017 Standard Geographical Classification.

Table 5: Number of WITB recipients and amount credited by Federal Electoral District, 2017

Notes:

All counts are rounded to the nearest ten and all amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand.
Data are as of June 30, 2019 and are subject to change.
Federal electoral districts were assigned as per the 2013 Representation Order.

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Date modified:: 2020-02-25

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Working Income Tax Benefit Statistics – 2017 Tax Year

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