Ontario Works pays on the last business day of each month, and each deposit covers the month ahead. Here's the 2026 schedule, the $733 single rate, and the local quirks your municipality adds.
The next Ontario Works payment arrives on Friday, July 31, 2026, and it's August's support paid in advance. OW shares its month-end rhythm with ODSP, so both programs pay Ontario households the same day this month.
The province-wide pattern is the last business day of each month. One honest caveat: OW is delivered by your municipality, so local offices occasionally shift dates, and Toronto's early January payment is the one everyone's heard of.
| Month | Payment date | Day of week | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| January Toronto paid December 22, 2025 for January | January 30, 2026 | Friday | Paid |
| February | February 27, 2026 | Friday | Paid |
| March | March 31, 2026 | Tuesday | Paid |
| April | April 30, 2026 | Thursday | Paid |
| May | May 29, 2026 | Friday | Paid |
| June | June 30, 2026 | Tuesday | Paid |
| July | July 31, 2026 | Friday | Upcoming |
| August | August 31, 2026 | Monday | Upcoming |
| September | September 30, 2026 | Wednesday | Upcoming |
| October | October 30, 2026 | Friday | Upcoming |
| November | November 30, 2026 | Monday | Upcoming |
| December Toronto issues January 2027 money about 9 days early | December 31, 2026 | Thursday | Upcoming |
A single person receives up to $733 per month: $343 for basic needs plus $390 for shelter. The rate hasn't moved since 2018, with no inflation adjustment applied.
Basic needs of $343 plus a shelter portion matching your actual housing cost up to $390. Renters below the cap receive their real cost, not the maximum.
Couples and families receive higher combined amounts, and children bring the fully exempt CCB on top, since the CRA benefit never reduces OW.
OW rates froze in 2018 while ODSP has risen every July since 2023. The gap widens every year, and it's why the ODSP application is worth understanding.
Those are program maximums, not a promise of your entitlement; your caseworker's calculation from your housing costs, income and family size is the real number. Employment earnings interact with the amount through OW's earning exemptions, and the details run through your local office rather than a provincial calculator.
OW is general social assistance; ODSP supports people with disabilities at roughly double the single rate: that's $733 versus about $1,435 after July's increase. Both pay at month end for the month ahead, and plenty of households move from OW to ODSP once a disability application is approved.
See ODSP payment datesCheck MyBenefits first; it shows your payment status and any letters from your caseworker. Direct deposits post overnight into the payment date, and a deposit that hasn't shown by morning usually traces to banking details or a reporting requirement your file is waiting on.
Missed income reporting is the most common holdup unique to OW: monthly reports keep the file active, and a late one pauses the payment run until it's processed. Your local office resolves it, since OW flows through municipalities rather than a provincial payment system, and that's also who confirms your area's exact dates.
The schedule pattern comes from Ontario government publications and municipal payment calendars, including the City of Toronto OW schedule. Last verified July 8, 2026, re-checked quarterly, corrected within 24 hours when anything changes.