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Income tax — child support deduction

My client was a divorced father who had paid child support, and had deducted the payments on his income tax return. The CRA reassessed him to disallow his deductions paid over several years, because the Court Order (in England) called for him to make payments "to" his son, and child support is only deductible when paid to the ex-spouse or partner.

I filed a Notice of Objection, demonstrating that all of the Income Tax Act's conditions for deductibility were met. Even though the Court had ordered my client to make payment "to" his son, this could only mean payment to his ex-wife, since his son was two years old when the Court Order was issued and payment directly "to" him was impossible. Also, the son was not a party to the agreement that led to the Court Order, so it was only the ex-wife who could enforce the agreement. All parties (including the English Court when subsequently revising its Order) had clearly understood that payments were to be made to the child's mother.

The CRA appeals officer agreed, and my client's deductions were allowed.

(2003)