What amount can I claim or report?

Answer a few questions to find out if the support payments received or paid are taxable to the recipient and deductible by the payer.

The rules that apply to your situation depend on whether your court order or written agreement was made:

• before May 1997
• after April 1997

Tax rules for court orders or written agreements made before May 1997

Support payments for a child or spouse or common-law partner, under a court order or written agreement made before May 1997, are taxable to the recipient and deductible by the payer unless one of the following four situations applies to you.

1. Changes to the amount of child support payments

If a court order or written agreement made before May 1997 is modified after April 1997 to change the amount of child support payable to the recipient, the tax rules in effect after April 1997 apply. This means that these payments are no longer taxable or deductible beginning on the date of the modification, which is the date that the payer pays the revised amount to the recipient for the first time.

2. A new court order or written agreement with the same person

If you have a court order or written agreement made before May 1997 that remains valid and a new order or agreement with the same person was made after April 1997, and the result of this new order or agreement is to change the total amount of child support payable, the tax rules in effect after April 1997 apply for support payable or receivable under both orders and agreements as of the commencement day of the new order or agreement.

3. The court order or written agreement specifies that payments will not be taxable or deductible

A court order or written agreement may specify that child support payments made after a certain date (not earlier than May 1, 1997) will no longer be taxable and deductible.

4. Election for child support payments

If you have a court order or written agreement dated earlier than May 1997, you can elect to have the tax rules in effect after April 1997 apply to you without having to change the order or agreement.

The payer and the recipient must both agree to make the election. Both parties must sign Form T1157, Election for Child Support Payments, and send it to us.

Once the election has been accepted, the order or agreement is subject to the tax rules that apply after April 1997. The election cannot be revoked.

If any of the previous situations apply, support payments made or received under that order or agreement will be subject to the tax rules in effect for orders and agreements made after April 1997.

Tax rules for court orders or written agreements made after April 1997

Generally, child support payments made under a court order or written agreement made after April 1997 (or before May 1997 if any other situations mentioned above apply) are not deductible by the payer and do not have to be included in income by the recipient. Spousal support payments continue to be deductible to the payer and must be included in the recipient's income. The following explanations provide more information about these rules.

Child support payments

Under court orders and written agreements made after April 1997, any support amount that is not identified in the order or agreement as being solely for the support of the recipient is considered to be child support. These amounts are not deductible by the payer and do not have to be included in income by the recipient.

Spousal support payments

Generally, support payments made under a court order or written agreement for the maintenance of the recipient are taxable to the recipient and deductible by the payer if the following conditions are met:

• the order or agreement clearly specifies the amount to be paid for the spouse or common-law partner
• all payments for child support are fully paid for the current and previous years

Priority of child support

If your court order or written agreement specifies child support payments and support payments for the recipient, priority is given to the child support.

This means that all payments made are first considered to have been made toward child support. Any amount paid over and above the child support amount is considered to be support payments for the recipient.

All child support payable to a recipient must be fully paid before any amounts paid as support for the recipient can be claimed as a deduction. Any arrears in the amount of child support is carried forward and added to the next year's support payable.

Example – Paying child support before deducting it

Forms and publications

• Guide P102, Support Payments
• Folio S1-F3-C3, Support Payments

Date modified:

2017-01-03