Deduction for Maintenance Payments

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Legally Enforceable Maintenance

Legally enforceable maintenance payments are made under:

  1. An order of court
  2. Deed of separation
  3. Rule of court
  4. Trust
  5. Covenant
  6. Any other arrangement - which gives rise to a legally enforceable obligation

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Maintenance of a former spouse

  • Payments must be made gross
  • An individual is entitled to a deduction in arriving at total income
  • Recipient is taxable on payments (*see exception below)
  • Both parties are assessed as single individuals

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Child Maintenance

  • This is effectively ignored for tax purposes
  • Payments must be made gross; no deduction allowed
  • The recipient is not taxable on the payment and it is not classed as income of the child

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*Alternative Basis for legally enforceable maintenance

A couple with a legally enforceable maintenance agreement may jointly elect in writing at any time during the tax year to be treated as a married couple for tax purposes.

Where such an election is made:

  • The maintenance payments are ignored for tax purposes
  • The couple are assessed on the basis of Separate Assessment

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Voluntary Maintenance

In the case of Voluntary Maintenance:

  • An individual is not entitled to a deduction from total income
  • The recipient is not assessed to income tax on the payments
  • Both spouses are assessed on their own incomes as single individuals

Note - Where a spouse 'wholly or mainly' maintains a former spouse, i.e., the maintenance payments exceed the former spouse's income, this spouse is entitled to the married persons tax credit but will not be due the married persons rate band.

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Documentation Required

  • Claim for Relief for Legally Enforceable Maintenance Payments - pdfClaim Form (PDF, 113KB)
  • Copy of Legal Document if any
  • Personal Public Service (PPS) Number of other spouse

Reference Material

(Adobe Acrobat Reader PDFExternal link)

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