Posted in Another question that I am asked quite frequently is can you use child tax credit income towards qualifying for a mortgage?
Certain lenders (including most banks) will not take the income into account whatsoever, while others will consider it. In order to use the income, the children you are receiving the credit for must be under the age of 13 (as they want to see that the income stream is likely to continue for the first 5 years of the mortgage). Proof of the children's ages via either birth certificates or the entitlement notice for the child tax credit may be required. The extra $100/child universal child care benefit for children under the age of 6 is not used.
In addition to this, most lenders who will consider this income stream also have a rule that no more than 30% of the total income is allowed to come from the child tax credit. Depending on the size of your family and the amount of other income streams that you have coming in, this could certainly have an impact on your ability to get approved. Other tax credits such as the Ontario Trillium Benefit, GST credit, etc. are not considered by lenders as income for mortgage qualification purposes.
Update Sep 2017 - We still do have a few lenders that allow this income for CMHC insured deals. If you are close to being approved and need this income to qualify, we might be able to assist you!
