Is Child Support Taxable in BC? Tax Rules for Child and Spousal Support

No. Child support paid under a court order or written agreement made after April 1997 is not income for the parent who receives it, and the parent who pays it cannot deduct it. The rule is federal, and it applies in BC as it does across Canada.

Spousal support is treated the opposite way, and that is where the expensive mistakes are made. How your order or agreement labels each payment, and whether you have one at all, decides who pays the tax.

The short answer

• Child support. The parent who receives it pays no tax on it. The parent who pays it cannot deduct it.
• Spousal support. Generally deductible for the payer and taxable to the recipient, where it is paid periodically under a court order or written agreement that clearly states the amount for the spouse.
• No order or written agreement. The payments are outside the tax rules: nothing is deductible and nothing is reported.

These rules are as of 10 November 2026. Child support amounts themselves come from the Federal Child Support Guidelines; see how child support is calculated in BC.

Why the wording of your agreement matters

The Canada Revenue Agency treats any support amount that is not identified in the order or agreement as being solely for the spouse as child support. If an agreement sets one combined monthly figure for support, the whole amount is treated as child support. The payer loses the deduction, and the recipient pays no tax on it.

That can suit one of you and cost the other, and it changes what the figures in a settlement are really worth. Spousal support that was negotiated on the footing that it would be deductible costs the payer more if the drafting takes the deduction away. Our guide to spousal support in BC explains how the amount is worked out.

Nothing in writing means no deduction

Support paid informally, without a court order or a written agreement, is not a support payment for tax purposes at all. A spouse who has been paying the other every month on a handshake cannot deduct any of it, unless a later order or written agreement states that payments already made that year or the year before are to count as paid under it.

That alone is a practical reason to put the arrangement into a written agreement. Our guide to separation agreements in BC explains what one covers.

Child support is counted first

The tax rules put child support ahead of spousal support. All child support owed to a recipient must be fully paid before any payment counts as deductible spousal support, and unpaid child support carries forward and is added to the next year's.

A payer who falls behind on child support may find that payments they thought of as spousal support are not deductible that year. If you are behind, read our guide to child support arrears in BC.

Lump sums, legal fees and the eligible dependant credit

• Lump sums. A single lump-sum payment is generally not treated as periodic support, so it is usually neither deductible nor taxable. There are exceptions, including some payments of arrears.
• Legal fees. A recipient can generally deduct legal fees paid to establish or increase support or to collect late payments, and that includes fees to obtain child support even though the child support is not taxable. A payer cannot deduct legal fees for establishing, negotiating or contesting support. Neither of you can deduct the cost of the separation or divorce itself, or of settling parenting arrangements.
• The eligible dependant credit. A parent who is required to pay child support for a child generally cannot claim the amount for an eligible dependant for that child. Where the order or agreement clearly requires each parent to pay the other, as it can in shared parenting, one of you may claim it if you agree who will; if you cannot agree, neither can. Using both incomes to work out the figure is not enough: unless the document clearly makes both of you payers, the CRA treats only one parent as paying.

Reporting and registering

If your order or agreement includes spousal support, you must register it with the CRA using Form T1158. An order or agreement for child support only is not registered.

On the tax return, the payer enters total support paid on line 21999 and the deductible part on line 22000. The recipient enters total support received on line 12799 and the taxable part on line 12800. Keep proof of every payment, because the CRA can ask for it.

Orders made before May 1997

Orders and agreements made before May 1997 can still follow the old rule, under which child support was deductible and taxable. They move to the current rule when the child support amount is changed after April 1997, in a few other situations, or if both of you elect by filing Form T1157.

When to have the support terms checked

The tax return is where a drafting problem shows up, but the agreement or order is where it is fixed. Have the terms looked at if:

• you are negotiating support now, because the tax treatment changes what each figure is worth to both of you;
• your agreement states one combined amount, or does not say which part is for the spouse;
• spousal support is being paid with nothing in writing;
• incomes have changed and the amounts no longer fit. See changing a child support order.

A family lawyer deals with the agreement or order. For advice on your own tax return, speak to an accountant.

Setting or changing support? Get the wording right before you sign

Our family lawyers draft and review the support terms of separation agreements and court orders so that child support and spousal support are each clearly stated, and prepare the documents to change terms that no longer work.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.