Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

getting receipt for spousal support

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • getting receipt for spousal support

    My bf is paying spousal support through FRO.

    Last year and the year before he paid his ex directly and they are still in the midst of getting a separation agreement and determining the final spousal support order.
    Last year the ex refused to give him a receipt for spousal support paid, as a result he didn't get his full tax refund. She only gave him one right before they were scheduled to go to court (I think in order to not look bad to court)
    They are due to go to trial in Sept and hopefully settle everything and get divorced.

    I'm anticipating that every year,if he is required to pay spousal support, she will deny him a receipt and he will not be able to claim the support on his income tax and short of taking her back to court at great expense there will be no way he can guarantee a receipt for money paid in spousal support.

    Has anyone else dealt with this? FRO apparently does not issue statements or receipts and REvenue Canada requires one, or the equivalent.

    HELP! I'm seeing a huge fight every year ending in her saying no and LOL! like she did last year.

  • #2
    In Alberta you have a choice: go through maintenance enforcement and you are not allowed to pay your ex directly (you are actually fined if you do), or go it on your own and then you have the problem your boyfriend now has.

    For the years he doesn't have a tax receipt I'd still claim it. Chances are he won't get audited and if he does he can simply write CRA a letter. If he doesn't have cancelled cheques or some sort of proof he paid then he will likely lose the tax benefit. Worse thing that will happen is that he is disallowed the deduction and will have to pay back. If that happens he could then pursue it legally. Keep in mind that you may not know all the facts. I'd stay out of it and let the two of them sort it out.

    Comment


    • #3
      I do know all the facts. I'm fully involved ( in the background only, she doesn't know how involved I am)

      He originally paid her directly as ordered by a judge. They then switched to FRO because it automaticall does that unless you opt out. She refused to oopt out.
      Revenue Canada will NOT give him credit for the spousal support unless he includes a receipt that includes his name, her name, the amount paid. FRO does not supply any sort of record of amounts paid. So he will have to depend on getting a receipt from her every year.

      She thinks it's funny to deny him the receipt.

      So he either gets screwed for spousal support paid that SHOULD be a deduction or he spends huge dollars to go thru legal channels to force her to give him one every single year.

      Comment


      • #4
        If you pay through FRO don't you have a pin number where you can look up everything on your computer? If so you just print it off once a year. Maybe I'm missing something here but if someone is paying through a maintenance enforcement program you have access to a data base which records the payments - how else would they know when someone was in arrears or not? Maybe I'm not understanding what you are trying to say. Doesn't your bf have a pin number?

        Comment


        • #5
          When being questioned about spousal by Revenue Canada a couple of years ago, my husband was able to send a copy of the Court Order stating the spousal amount to be paid. That alone cleared it up.

          Comment


          • #6
            Suchislife - good advice. There is a deadline to appeal past decisions. Appealing isn't difficult you just have to write a detailed letter and enclose substantiating documents (the court order for example). I would definitely have your b/f appeal if it's within the 2 yr time period (I think it's two years, could be wrong) Info is on the CRA website.

            Comment


            • #7
              The first year, he did send the court order but Revenue Canada said that wasn't enough, he had to send something that showed that he paid it and that he paid TO HER. He even had bank receipts showing a weekly deposit of the amount going into her account but because it didn't have her name on it and his name on it they wouldn't use it.

              We finallly got her to write a receipt a year and a half later after going through lawyers. So up until now he's good he's gotten his deduction. It;s the years to come that I'm worried about.

              My concern is that in the future when we are done with the lawyers and have a separation agreement she will just refuse to give us a receipt.

              LIke she did last time...texting him LOL! every time he asked for one.

              We may be able to go online and get a statement but he pays child support and spousal support together so any statement FRO has is just going to say $1725 without a breakdown. And FRO told us that they do not supply any sort of statement or receipt.

              I guess I just wanted to know if there was any way to enforce her giving us a receipt without having to pay hundreds or thousands to the lawyer.

              Comment


              • #8
                I just checked at FRO, you can't access your account online. You can only access your account via an automated phoneline.

                Comment


                • #9
                  So she isn't declaring it as income on her taxes then? It is taxable income to her. If she is concealing it then she is the one who is in trouble with CRA.

                  I'll admit it sounds like a pretty of a difficult paper trail.

                  I would go with:

                  1. The court order which shows the support is due.
                  2. The registration of the order with FRO which shows the details of how the amount will be paid or deducted.
                  3. Proof that FRO has obtained the money, such as bank statements, payroll slips or cashed cheques.

                  You won't be able to get proof that FRO has paid her but it should show up in her income. Doesn't FRO have to provide a T4 equivalent each year? I repeat, she is not doing her part with CRA so you need to get them on HER butt.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    That was our thought to...that she didn't claim it and so doesn't want to give him a receipt.

                    It would be easiest if she did just give him a receipt each year for the money he's paid her but I guess we will have to try sending in all the paperwork that we have to CRA and see if that works. It didn't last time but maybe since they've gotten a receipt for last year, this year they'll accept just the paperwork
                    And in a perfect world, when he goes to trial in Sept. the judge will tell her that she won't be getting any spousal support. After all they've been separated for 5 years during which he paid all her bills, she lived in the matrimonial home and didn't bother to get anuything more than a 1 or 2 day a week job, just before we went to court and magically lost it shortly after.


                    And no, FRO does not issue ANYTHING for income tax purposes or proof purchases. Which, in my opinion. is incredibly detrimental to those people who have a bad relationship with their ex. We're talking an almost $2000 difference in income tax refund with the receipt as opposed to without it.

                    If FRO just sent a statement to all spousal support payors each year it would be a non issue.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Is FRO getting the support amounts from your bf through garnishment via your bf's employer? If so, perhaps your bf could ask his employer if they/their HR department would write him a letter confirming that they are redirecting X amount of his wages to FRO as support payment on a bi-weekly/monthly basis. A letter like that I think would be good enough for Revenue Canada.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        I do not know much about FRO, but when they garnish his wages, does this amount show up on his pay stubs? If so, there should be an annual total as well. That may help out his case a little bit.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          It is not being paid through garnishments. He just pays it as per their court order.
                          From his bank account he pays via the internet directly to FRO.

                          There is no need for him to have it garnished.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            You can request statements from FRO but they charge a fee for doing so beyond the first statement. I'm not sure what information is included in the statement, you'd best check with them.

                            Comment

                            Our Divorce Forums
                            Forums dedicated to helping people all across Canada get through the separation and divorce process, with discussions about legal issues, parenting issues, financial issues and more.
                            Working...
                            X