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  • Family benefits for broke single parents

    Somebody said once "Single Mothers don't get that much from the government for kids" I had checked quebec but I just checked ontario and this is what I found:
    @10k income, w/2 children, rent of 1000$/month

    Basic monthly amount $241.00
    National child benefit supplement monthly amount $351.91

    Ontario child benefit monthly amount $218.33


    $811.24 Total monthly amount

    ________________________________

    GST/HST credit quarterly amount $204.50
    _____________________________

    WITB basic annual amount
    $1,750.00

    WITB disability supplement annual amount
    $0.00

    Total WITB refundable tax credit
    $1,750.00

    * WITB advance payment (50% of WITB refundable tax credit)


    Ontario trillium benefit monthly amount (OTB)
    $112.75

    __________________________

    200$/mo for UCCB (children under 6 years old)
    __________

    For a grand total
    811 + 68 + 145 +112 + 200$ = 1336$/month in family benefits for 2 children @ 10k income



    ______________

    This is one of the reasons custody is so important because the family allocations ALONE cover the costs of 2 children (excluding daycare) + child support is mostly gravy + the fact that the broke parent can earn probably up to 20k salary which will be tax free (dependant tax break).
    Last edited by Links17; 06-17-2014, 09:01 AM.

  • #2
    Not sure I understand your point. So Single parent with a 10k income receives $1300 per month in subsidies. With their limited income of $833 a month that beings the total to $2133.

    Rent is $1000. That leaves $1133 for 4 weeks which means $283.25. Per week for food, bus fare ( no way they could afford a car), clothes (children grow fast), activities, vacations, toys, haircuts etc etc. We are talking budgeting down to the last $1 here.

    CS is not gravy its it required to ensure children do not go without. Anyone can put numbers down and say oh they get lots. But it has to be hard to live on a tight budget. No chance to save and get a head.

    I think your post is harsh and obviously based on your own bitter experience, which I feel for you in that respect, but not all single parents scam the system.

    Comment


    • #3
      but not all single parents scam the system.
      They aren't scamming, its the legal entitlement.

      I didn't say THEY can live off 1300$/month. I am saying that the cost of raising 2 kids comfortably (excluding childcare) can be 1300$/month. Obviously the parent should pay their own share of the rent, car etc....

      Throw in some amount of child support - lets say 700$/mo.

      Now the parent is getting $2000/month because they are the custodial parent of 2 children. If there were no children they'd be getting 0

      Comment


      • #4
        I think it the other way around. The government are saying a parent and 2 children cannot live off CS alone. We need to look at their income and assess how much help,they need.

        Now that being said with the huge salaries some parent now receive. In the 6 figures I am sure that some recipients of CS do very well. $ 700 is average for 1 child, based on a $60k income. If the payor only earners $40 k then the payments are going to be lower. At $60k for 2 its $1500 which means that parent can live quite well. Not wild vacations and swanky lifestyle but comfortable without deny everything to,the children. However, I have seen some pretty large CS payments based on high income earners and that is where the system is unbalanced.

        Family law is so diverse and everyones situation are unique it would be hard to paint everyone with the same solution. Numbers can be looked at both ways so interpretation can be angled to your own experience and biased.

        Comment


        • #5
          My ex gets 24k per year to stay at home with 1 child.

          She still feels the need to nickle and dime me for many small $30 expenses even though she receives more than $1300 per month for our son alone.

          Honestly this provides her with very little incentive to go out and work in any capacity...

          Comment


          • #6
            Cctb alone is near 800 a month for two kids. And this is with an income!

            Comment


            • #7
              Originally posted by Beachnana View Post
              I think it the other way around. The government are saying a parent and 2 children cannot live off CS alone. We need to look at their income and assess how much help,they need.

              Now that being said with the huge salaries some parent now receive. In the 6 figures I am sure that some recipients of CS do very well. $ 700 is average for 1 child, based on a $60k income. If the payor only earners $40 k then the payments are going to be lower. At $60k for 2 its $1500 which means that parent can live quite well. Not wild vacations and swanky lifestyle but comfortable without deny everything to,the children. However, I have seen some pretty large CS payments based on high income earners and that is where the system is unbalanced.

              Family law is so diverse and everyones situation are unique it would be hard to paint everyone with the same solution. Numbers can be looked at both ways so interpretation can be angled to your own experience and biased.
              Does CS even go on a tax return? CRA just sees a single parent with low income and majority responsibility for children, and calculates benefits accordingly. The tax system does not distinguish between a single parent who receives CS and one who doesn't. The benefits just get doled out as though there was no CS, I think. As the single parent's income increases, the benefits scale back until they ultimately vanish. Many parents consider this sufficient to live on (perhaps their earning potential isn't much better).

              Like many things though, the solution to this perceived unfairness is to have 50-50 access time. This affects the tax benefits.

              Comment


              • #8
                You are correct. CS is not considered income for most purposes including CCTB. The person who pays CS also has to pay the tax on their income before the CS is deducted.

                My ex receives $741 per month for ONE child.

                There's a reason the whole hood rat thing exists...

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Rioe View Post
                  Does CS even go on a tax return?
                  Most times, this answer is no.

                  You would only see child support on a tax return, for folks who have a support order dated before May 1997, and if it hasn't been revised since.

                  For any child support orders after that date, they are not included as income to the receipient, nor deductible by the payor.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Regardless - CS is not used to qualify or quantify CCTB, GST etc unless it predates the May 1997 change

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Links17 View Post
                      Somebody said once "Single Mothers don't get that much from the government for kids" I had checked quebec but I just checked ontario and this is what I found:
                      @10k income, w/2 children, rent of 1000$/month

                      Basic monthly amount $241.00
                      National child benefit supplement monthly amount $351.91

                      Ontario child benefit monthly amount $218.33


                      $811.24 Total monthly amount

                      ________________________________

                      GST/HST credit quarterly amount $204.50
                      _____________________________

                      WITB basic annual amount
                      $1,750.00

                      WITB disability supplement annual amount
                      $0.00

                      Total WITB refundable tax credit
                      $1,750.00

                      * WITB advance payment (50% of WITB refundable tax credit)


                      Ontario trillium benefit monthly amount (OTB)
                      $112.75

                      __________________________

                      200$/mo for UCCB (children under 6 years old)
                      __________

                      For a grand total
                      811 + 68 + 145 +112 + 200$ = 1336$/month in family benefits for 2 children @ 10k income



                      ______________

                      This is one of the reasons custody is so important because the family allocations ALONE cover the costs of 2 children (excluding daycare) + child support is mostly gravy + the fact that the broke parent can earn probably up to 20k salary which will be tax free (dependant tax break).
                      I'm not sure where your "basic monthly amount" comes from, but, if it is ODSP or OW (or a provincial equivalent), CS is clawed back from the government to offset the monthly amount they receive.

                      So, if someone receives $700 a month in ODSP/OW, and $650 a month child support - they still only get $700 a month (and not $1350 as some presume). The $650 is directed to the province that pays the support. This is why anyone who is on ODSP or OW is forced to file for child support/spousal support (to offset their welfare/disability).

                      The province will also make those on ODSP apply for CPP Disability/Pension to offset the ODSP (CPP comes from the FEDS, ODSP the province).

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Also WITB is a benefit available only to those that work. It's called Working Income Tax Benefit (emphasis on WORK). It's a working poor credit which is why they make an advance on the credit available. It's meant to offset the costs associated with employment that is at a poverty level (ie minimum wage, limited hours).

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by FightingForFamily View Post
                          My ex gets 24k per year to stay at home with 1 child.

                          She still feels the need to nickle and dime me for many small $30 expenses even though she receives more than $1300 per month for our son alone.

                          Honestly this provides her with very little incentive to go out and work in any capacity...
                          24k is a mediocre lifestyle so I have pity for your ex that she is content to live at that financial level. Would not excite me. I would want to go out
                          and improve that that number so my lifestyle would be better. If the system could again cope with so many different scenarios you ex should be required to work.

                          I used to teach single mothers back to work employment skills and so many times I witnessed someone finding a job which provided a decent income only to quit because all the benefits were cutoff. In some cases they were actually better off staying at home. The system is flawed because it tries to cover everyone and therefore it becomes inadequate for everyone.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by MS Mom View Post
                            I'm not sure where your "basic monthly amount" comes from, but, if it is ODSP or OW (or a provincial equivalent), CS is clawed back from the government to offset the monthly amount they receive.

                            So, if someone receives $700 a month in ODSP/OW, and $650 a month child support - they still only get $700 a month (and not $1350 as some presume). The $650 is directed to the province that pays the support. This is why anyone who is on ODSP or OW is forced to file for child support/spousal support (to offset their welfare/disability).

                            The province will also make those on ODSP apply for CPP Disability/Pension to offset the ODSP (CPP comes from the FEDS, ODSP the province).
                            This fictional person is not on OW/ODSP - she works and earns 10k/year - OW/ODSP isn't anywhere on this list.

                            I took these figures from the benfits calculator on the revenue canada website.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by MS Mom View Post
                              Also WITB is a benefit available only to those that work. It's called Working Income Tax Benefit (emphasis on WORK). It's a working poor credit which is why they make an advance on the credit available. It's meant to offset the costs associated with employment that is at a poverty level (ie minimum wage, limited hours).
                              This fictional person works and earns 10k/year. WITB makes sense when you're not getting CS and other child benefits.

                              Comment

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