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  • cra and my accountant don't know this

    ex and I have been separated 5 years, we had a sep agreement. In the agreement it say I get one as a dependant my ex gets the other child as a dependant. They use to live one week with me one with ex. Now the one I had claimed as a dependant lives with ex full time and the other lives with me one week on and one off. I pay child support for the one living with my ex.

    My ex makes much more that I do, and my question is can I still claim one of the kids as a dependant as I have one still living part time with me, and I pay support for the other, who still comes over and sleeps over sometimes.

  • #2
    From my experience you will not be able to claim as a dependant. I just had to pay back the government as I was not allowed to claim one even though we have the children 50% of the time. The government indicated as long as I'm the Payor with the offset child support I can't claim one as a dependant.


    I still don't understand this at all

    Comment


    • #3
      Your separation agreement is not binding on the CRA. In this case, that's a good thing. Claim the kid who you share as a dependent. It doesn't really matter who is supposed to claim that particular kid in your agreement.


      Originally posted by happy to be out View Post
      I pay support for the other, who still comes over and sleeps over sometimes.

      Random point: The fact that the kid comes to sleep over sometimes is irrelevant. You have him less than 40% of the time, which means as far as anybody is concerned you spend a grand total of zero dollars on him directly.


      My ex makes much more that I do
      Question: How are you guys calculating the child support that you owe? If you guys share one kid, and she has the other full time, she might still owe you CS if her income is truly that much higher.

      Comment


      • #4
        zanman brings up a good point. I'm assuming that your agreement is structured in the classic:


        Mom pays Dad $X
        Dad pays Mom $Y


        For convenience sake only, Dad pays $X-Y




        ...so, again, how are you guys calculating support?

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Janus View Post
          zanman brings up a good point. I'm assuming that your agreement is structured in the classic:


          Mom pays Dad $X
          Dad pays Mom $Y


          For convenience sake only, Dad pays $X-Y




          ...so, again, how are you guys calculating support?
          CRA went and changed the acceptable wording of this, and now demand that in an offset arrangement the money has to actually flow both ways.

          Comment


          • #6
            Yes I just to fight this with the CRA and they said so sorry that is the way it is as long as I pay Child support I can't claim nor get the tax benefit of one of my children. even though I have 50/50 custody of my 2 girls.


            I still don't understand it but they kept telling me that is the way it is.

            Comment


            • #7
              The way it was worded from them in a letter was this...


              You are not able to claim an amount on lines 305 and / or 367 for a child if you have made or were required to make support payments for that child at any time of the year , whether the support payments are deductible or non

              Comment


              • #8
                There is a subclause for offset. I will find it later for you.

                Comment


                • #9
                  https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...dependant.html

                  Shared custody
                  If you and another person had to make support payments for a child, normally, no one would be able to claim the amount for an eligible dependant (line 305). However, you can still claim it, as long as you and the other person agree that you will make the claim. If you cannot agree, none of you can claim it.
                  A court order or written agreement that calculates child support obligations based on a statutory scheme (such as The Federal Child Support Guidelines) does not legally obligate both parents to pay child support. Under these types of agreement, only the payer is considered to have made support payments since there is no legal obligation for the recipient to pay an amount. In this case, the payer cannot claim the amount for an eligible dependant.
                  For more information about your eligibility to claim the amount for an eligible dependant, see line 305.
                  Example (show/hide)
                  William and Julie share custody of their children, Emily and Eric. Emily and Eric spend 50% of their time with William and 50% of their time with Julie. Based on William’s and Julie’s incomes, the court order states that William has to pay Julie $250 a month.
                  Even though Julie’s income was considered when determining the amount each parent had to contribute for the children, only the amount William pays is considered a support payment because he has a legal obligation to pay the amount to Julie. Therefore, William cannot claim an amount for an eligible dependant for either Emily or Eric. However, Julie can claim an amount for an eligible dependant on line 305 of Schedule 1 for either Emily or Eric.


                  Here is instructions on how to deal with it:

                  https://www.corkumfinancial.ca/share...unt-july-2017/

                  Essentially, now the only way around it is if your agreement specifically states that each parent pays the other, AND they actually make the payments to each other - so the cash flows both ways. Before, they would accept the "as a matter of convenience Parent A pays parent B the difference of $XX" but it seems that is no longer acceptable. The money needs to actually change hands from each parent to the other.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    The way it was originally done . Was offset were we both had to pay for two kids . I actually received a cheque . Now the way it is is I pay for two kids I. The federal guidelines and she pays for one . I actually get $50 a month but after this NOA I will be paying a little bit each month .

                    I just don’t like dealing with CRA on the phone as I don’t know if they are correct . He told me I could write off the child support payments on line 220. I was under the impression that only spousal support could be written off

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by blinkandimgone View Post
                      CRA went and changed the acceptable wording of this, and now demand that in an offset arrangement the money has to actually flow both ways.

                      When did this change?


                      Does this affect CTB?

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        So if I understand you correctly I can't do anything ?
                        Just want to understand this , if its worth me trying to argue with the CRA

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Child support can't be written off...only spousal. My biggest peeve dealing with CRA is getting a different answer to the same question from every person you speak to there.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            so.... does this affect CTB?

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Janus View Post
                              so.... does this affect CTB?
                              Two different sets of rules I believe. CTB vs Revenue Reporting.

                              What I don't get is why people don't just file their income taxes as outlined in the article Blink provided. With "side agreements". Look at the tables in the PDF linked at the bottom. The guy does the best job I have seen on explaining it all.

                              Comment

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