Update current CRA family benefits and model benefit-year/family boundaries
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Assessment
- Difficulty
- 5/5
- Estimated time
- Over a week
- Newbie friendliness
- 45/100
Research direction
No files or test paths are named. Start by locating the existing CRA benefit parameter definitions and period/entity tests, then consult the linked CRA guidance. Done means updated metadata and parameters, benefit-year evaluation, zero-income handling, and tests for age bands, reductions, and multiple tax families.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Description
Problem
PolicyEngine Canada's parameters for several CRA-administered family benefits
stop in older benefit years. Current July 2026 to June 2027 calculations cannot
be compared reliably with the engine:
- Canada Child Benefit
- Child Disability Benefit
- Ontario Sales Tax Credit
- Nova Scotia Affordable Living Tax Credit
There are also two output-contract differences that parameter updates alone do
not resolve:
- CRA publishes these benefits for a July-to-June benefit year using prior-tax-
year adjusted family net income, while PolicyEngine variables use a generic
calendar-year period. - CRA calculations apply to a tax family, while PolicyEngine Canada's benefit
variables use its co-residentHouseholdentity.
Scope
- Update amounts, thresholds, and reduction rates through the July 2026 to June
2027 benefit year. - Define how the July-to-June benefit year is requested and represented.
- Audit whether the existing household entity can represent the CRA tax-family
boundary; introduce or derive the appropriate unit if it cannot. - Floor adjusted family net income at zero where the CRA formula requires it.
Acceptance criteria
- Parameter metadata cites current CRA guidance and records the applicable
benefit year. - Tests cover children in both CCB age bands, CDB phaseout, and the Ontario and
Nova Scotia credit reductions. - Tests include a negative adjusted-family-net-income case.
- Tests include a co-resident household containing more than one tax family and
show that benefits are allocated to the correct family. - Outputs can be evaluated for the July 2026 to June 2027 benefit year without
treating it as an undifferentiated calendar year.
Official sources:
- https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/canada-child-benefit/how-much.html
- https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/child-family-benefits/child-disability-benefit.html
- https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/publications/rc4210/gst-hst-credit.html
- Dominant language
- Python
- Stars
- 17
- Forks
- 35
- PR merge metrics
- No merged PRs in 30d
Getting set up
- No Dockerfile or Docker Compose file
- Has a pull request template
- Read the contributing guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
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