Newcomer First-Year Cost Calculator

Your own estimates

These three are your numbers, not figures this site asserts — they vary far too much to publish. The starting values are only a placeholder; change them to what you expect to spend.

What a landlord may lawfully ask for in Ontario

Newcomers are routinely asked for three, four or six months of rent up front, on the stated grounds of having no Canadian credit history. In Ontario that request has no legal basis, and it is worth knowing the exact words of the statute before you hand over money you cannot get back.

Section 105(1) of the Residential Tenancies Act, 2006 says the only security deposit a landlord may collect is a rent deposit under section 106. Section 106(2) caps that deposit at "the lesser of the amount of rent for one rent period and the amount of rent for one month." So the lawful maximum on signing is first month plus last month — two months, and no more.

A damage deposit, security deposit or pet deposit is not lawful in Ontario. Under section 234 of the Act, requiring one is an offence. A refundable key deposit at genuine cost is permitted; a non-refundable one is not. And the deposit can only ever be applied to the last month's rent under section 106(10) — never to repairs.

One provision almost nobody claims: section 106(6) requires your landlord to pay you interest on that deposit every year, at the rent increase guideline rate in effect when it falls due. Failing to pay it is an offence. If you have held a tenancy for several years and never received interest, you are owed it. The rent increase calculator carries the current guideline rate.

Money the government pays you in year one

You do not have to file a Canadian tax return before claiming these. Both are applied for on arrival, and both are tax-free.

The figures above are maximums. CGEB reduces above $46,432 of family net income, and the child benefit reduces above $38,237. For a precise child benefit figure at your income, use the CCB calculator rather than this page — it models the reduction properly.

If you hold a temporary permit, the child benefit waits. It begins in the 19th month you have lived in Canada, provided your permit is valid then — so a family arriving on a work permit should plan the first eighteen months without it. The CGEB has no such wait. Once child benefit payments start they stop the day a permit expires, so send every renewal to the CRA before the old one lapses.

What newcomers systematically under-budget

Furnishing from nothing. Not a shipping container — a bed, a table, pots, bedding, a shower curtain. It arrives as dozens of small purchases in the first fortnight and it is almost always the biggest surprise.
Winter clothing. A real coat, boots, gloves and a hat for each person. People from warm climates buy this twice, because the first attempt is not warm enough.
A phone plan without credit history. Expect to be put on prepaid or asked for a deposit until you have a payment record.
The gap before the first paycheque. Two to six weeks of living costs, depending on the employer's pay cycle.
Credentials and licensing. Assessment of foreign qualifications, exams, and a driver's licence exchange or road test.
A secured credit card deposit. Your own money, held as the limit — the standard route to a Canadian credit file.
The first tax bill. Federal credits are prorated by your arrival date while payroll deducts as though you claimed them all, so a first return often produces a balance owing. The newcomer money guide works that through with real numbers, and the paycheque calculator will show your take-home.

Frequently Asked Questions