Eligibility

Age requirement

To be eligible to receive Income Assistance (IA) you must be 18 years of age or older.

Financial requirements

To receive Income Assistance, you must meet the criteria to be considered a person in need based on an assessment with an Income Assistance Worker. To qualify as a person in need, your basic living expenses must cost more than your monthly income. Your basic living expenses include things such as food, shelter, and utilities.

Earned Income

Your earned income is your net salary. This includes income from sources such as employment, self-employment, as well as income from hunting, trapping, and fishing. Earned income will be considered in your net monthly income when determining if you are eligible to receive Income Assistance.

Net Monthly Income

Your net monthly income is the amount that will be used to determine your eligibility to receive Income Assistance. This will be your total income (including your earned income and your unearned income) minus the allowable income inclusions.

Allowable Income

You will be able to keep a certain amount of the income you earn from earned income, such as having paid employment. This is called your allowable income. For a single person without dependents, the allowable income includes:

• The first $200 of earned income
• 50% of the next $600 of earned income

Unearned Income

Unearned income will also be considered when determining if you are eligible to receive Income Assistance. Unearned income can come from a variety of sources including:

• A portion of the income received from roomers, lodgers, and boarders
• Income from annuity, pension plans, or insurance benefits
• Benefits from benevolent organizations or other agencies
• Payments received under mortgage, agreement for sale, or loan agreement
• Money that is held in trusts for a child
• Money that is under the terms of maintenance or support orders, parent’s maintenance or support orders, separation agreements, court orders, divorce decrees, inheritance settlements, or other types of settlements/agreements
• Income received from:
  • Pension Act (Canada)
  • Canada Pension Plan
  • Employment Insurance Act (Canada)
  • Old Age Security Act (Canada)

Income that will not be included in the net income

Some types of income will not be included in the calculation of your net income. This means that you can receive these types of income without it impacting your eligibility to receive Income Assistance. This includes money from sources such as:

• Child tax benefits
• Child disability benefit
• Casual gifts of small value
• Payments made by the Director for maintenance of a dependent adult
• The value of any Indian Treaty money or good received in accordance with the provisions of Treaty No. 8 and Treaty No. 11.
• The value of the property that is your primary residence
• The value of real property that is necessary for the operations of a business
• For a person who is disabled, assets to a total of $5,000
• Funds accumulated or received from a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP)

Ability to work

To be eligible to receive Income Assistance, typically you must demonstrate that you are trying to find employment. If you are a person with a disability, you will need to provide documentation that shows that your disability impacts your ability to work.

To be considered a person with a disability that qualifies for Income Assistance, you must have physical or mental impairments that limit your ability to perform daily living activities on a permanent or temporary basis, which requires you to have assistance with your activities of daily living. A temporary disability is a disability that lasts for at least six months. You may also qualify if you have a medical treatment that would not heal.