Support Payments

P102 (E) Rev. 23

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Find out if this guide for you

This guide is for you if, under a court order or a written agreement, you are in either of the following situations:

If you do not have a court order or written agreement, the payments are not subject to the tax rules that apply to support payments.

This guide gives information on:

Definitions

Allowance – a specific sum of money established in a court order or written agreement. It states the amount the payer has to pay to the recipient. It can include a sum that has to be adjusted based on a formula or index (such as the cost-of-living index or a percentage of the payer's income), even though the exact future amounts are not specified in the order or agreement. An allowance must be payable on a periodic basis to be considered support payments.

Child – a child can be one of the following:

Common-law partner – a person to whom you are not married, with whom you are in a conjugal relationship, and to whom one of the following situations applies. They:

Court order – a decree, order, or judgment made by a court or other tribunal, such as a family law court or other competent tribunal.

Payer – a person who makes support payments to a recipient under a court order or written agreement. A payer can be one of the following:

Periodic payments – the term "periodic" means there is a series of payments, but does not necessarily mean "frequent". For example, the payments could be made monthly, quarterly, semi-annually, or annually. The court order or written agreement must set out the timing of the payments. Only a new order or agreement can change the payment schedule.

Recipient – a person who receives support payments from a payer under a court order or written agreement. A recipient can be one of the following:

A child cannot be considered the recipient of support payments for income tax purposes.

Separated – you have been living apart from your spouse or common-law partner because of a breakdown in the relationship for a period of at least 90 days and you have not reconciled.

Once you have been separated for 90 days (because of a breakdown in the relationship), the effective day of your separation is the date you started living apart.

Note

You are still considered to have a spouse or common-law partner if you were separated involuntarily (not because of a breakdown in your relationship). An involuntary separation could happen when one spouse or common-law partner is living away for work, school, or health reasons, or is incarcerated.

Spouse – the person to whom you are legally married.

Written agreement – under a written agreement, a person agrees to make regular payments to support their current or former spouse or common-law partner, children of the relationship, or both. The written agreement should be signed and dated by both parties.

Support payments

A support payment is an amount payable or receivable as an allowance on a periodic basis for the support of the recipient, children of the recipient, or both.

There are two types of support payments:

The tax rules are different depending on the type.

Spousal support is to support a current or former spouse or common-law partner as states in a court order or written agreement. The support payments are made only to support the recipient.

Child support is to support a child, or a child and a current or former spouse or common-law partner, as stated in a court order or written agreement. The support payments are not only made to support the recipient.

Support payment conditions 

Your payment is considered a support payment if the following five conditions are met:

  1. The payment is a specific amount made to the recipient according to a court order or written agreement.

    Note

    A written paternity agreement is not valid on its own, even if it is registered with the court. Paternity agreements must be a court order issued by a court or tribunal in accordance with the laws of a province.
  2. If the recipient is the payer's current or former spouse or common-law partner, the payer is living separate and apart from the recipient at the time the payment is made because of a breakdown in the relationship. Otherwise, the payer must be the legal parent of a child of the recipient.
  3. The payment is made to support the recipient, the child of the recipient, or both. The recipient can use the payment at their discretion.
  4. The payments are payable on a periodic basis (see allowance and periodic payments). The timing of the payments must be set out in the court order or written agreement.
  5. The payments are made to the recipient or to an agent enforcing the collection of the amount.

Exceptions

In certain situations, your payments are considered support payments even if they do not meet the above conditions. These situations may arise when any of the following situations apply. The payments are:

Payments made before the date of the court order or written agreement

An amount paid before a court order or written agreement takes place or comes into effect is recognized if the order or agreement states that any amount previously paid is considered paid and received under the order or agreement. However, the payments must be made in the year the order or agreement was made, or in the previous year.

Example

Since the couple separated in January 2021, Brendan has been paying $500 monthly to Sarah in spousal support. On January 8, 2023, a written agreement was made and states that Brendan must pay $500 monthly in support.

The agreement also states that the amounts paid before January 2023 are considered paid and received under this agreement.

The agreement is deemed to have been made on January 1, 2022 and all payments made from January 1, 2022 and January 8, 2023 inclusive are deemed to be made under the agreement.

The payments made in 2022 and 2023 are considered support payments because they were paid in the year of the written agreement and the previous year. Brendan may deduct the payments for 2022 and 2023 in the year the amounts were paid. Sarah will include the amounts received for 2022 and 2023 in the year the amounts were received. The 2021 payments are not considered support payments because they were not paid in the year of the written agreement or in the previous year. They cannot be deducted by Brendan and are not included in Sarah's income.

Specific-purpose and third-party payments

Specific-purpose payments are amounts payable under a court order or written agreement for specific expenses (for example, rent) to support the recipient or the child in the recipient's custody.

Specific-purpose payments include:

If the recipient can use the specific-purpose payments as they see fit, they are considered support payments if they meet conditions 1, 2, 3, and 4.

However, if the recipient cannot use the specific-purpose payments as they see fit, they are not considered support payments, unless the court order or written agreement states that the recipient will include the payments in income, and that the payer can deduct them.

These amounts may be paid directly to the recipient or to a third party.

Third party payments are specific purpose payments made under a court order or written agreement to someone other than the recipient.

For more information, see Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C3, Support Payments.

Example

Under a written agreement, Melissa has to pay $900 per month to her former spouse, Alex, as an allowance for support. This written agreement states that Melissa will pay an amount of $300 directly to Alex. She also has to give $600 directly to Alex's landlord for the rent of his apartment. The agreement also states that Alex may, at any time, change the arrangement and ask that the entire $900 be paid directly to him.

The monthly amount of $600 paid directly to the landlord and the monthly amount of $300 to Alex are considered support payments because he can use the money as he sees fit.

Lump-sum payments

An amount paid as one lump-sum will generally not be considered a support payment because it is not paid on a periodic basis.

However, if periodic payments required by a court order or written agreement were overdue and one payment is made to bring them up to date, that lump-sum payment would be considered a support payment.

Also, a lump-sum payment would be considered a support amount if it is paid under a court order clearly stating that retroactive support has to be paid for a specific period that happened before the court order.

The following are generally not support payments:

For more information, see Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C3, Support Payments.

Example

Jason and Tracy have been living apart since August 2021. In their court order, Jason has to pay $500 per month for Tracy's support. In June 2022, Jason lost his job and was unable to make the spousal support payments. In February 2023, he got a new job. He owes $4,000 in support payments. Jason and Tracy returned to court where it was agreed that Jason will pay $3,500 of the $4,000 he owes. The other $500 will not be paid.

The $3,500 lump-sum payment has released Jason from his obligation to pay these overdue amounts. The lump-sum payment does not qualify as a support payment because it was not part of the original agreement.

Self-assessment questionnaire

Answer a few questions to find out if the payments made or received are considered support payments.

Tax rules

The tax rules that apply to your situation depend on whether your court order or written agreement was made either:

Tax rules for court orders or written agreements made before May 1997

Support payments for a child or a current or former spouse or common-law partner, under a court order or written agreement made before May 1997, are taxable to the recipient and deductible by the payer unless any of the following four situations applies.

1. Changes to the amount of child support payments

If a court order or written agreement made before May 1997 is modified after April 1997 to change the amount of child support payable to the recipient, the revised amount has to follow the tax rules in effect after April 1997. For more information, see Tax rules for court orders or written agreements made after April 1997.

Note

Automatic changes in the amount of support, based on cost-of-living increases or changes in the payer's income, that are stated in the order or agreement are not included in this rule. For more information on cost-of-living increases, visit the Statistics Canada website. If you live in Quebec, visit the Institut de la statistique du Québec.

2. A new court order or written agreement with the same person

The amounts under the original and the new court order or written agreement have to follow the tax rules in effect after April 1997 if all of the following apply:

The tax rules in effect after April 1997 apply to both orders or agreements, starting on the date specified in the new order or agreement or on the day it was made. For more information, see Tax rules for court orders or written agreements made after April 1997.

3. The court order or written agreement specifies that payments will not be taxable or deductible

A court order or written agreement may specify that child support payments made after a certain date will no longer be taxable and deductible. However, this date cannot be before May 1, 1997.

4. Election for child support payments

If you have a court order or written agreement dated before May 1997, you can choose to follow the tax rules in effect after April 1997 without having to change the order or agreement.

The payer and the recipient must both agree to this election. Both parties must complete and sign Form T1157, Election for Child Support Payments, and send it to us.

Once the election has been accepted, the order or agreement will follow to the tax rules that apply after April 1997. It cannot be reversed.

Note

A separate form must be sent for each order or agreement.

Tax rules for court orders or written agreements made after April 1997

Generally, child support payments made under a court order or written agreement made after April 1997 (or before May 1997 if one of the situations mentioned above apply) are not deductible by the payer and do not have to be included the recipient's income. Spousal support payments continue to be deductible to the payer and must be included in the recipient’s income. The following explanations give more information about these rules.

Note

For an order or agreement made after April 1997, federal, provincial or territorial child support guidelines may automatically change the support amounts. For more information, see Child Support from the Department of Justice Canada.

Child support payments

Under court orders and written agreements made after April 1997, any support amount that is not stated in the order or agreement as being only for the support of the recipient is considered to be child support. These amounts are not deductible by the payer and do not have to be included in the recipient's income.

Spousal support payments

Generally, support payments made under a court order or written agreement for the maintenance of the recipient are taxable to the recipient and deductible by the payer if both of the following situations apply:

For more information, go to Support payments.

Priority of child support

If your court order or written agreement specifies child support payments and support payments for the recipient, priority is given to the child support. This means that all payments made are first considered to have been made toward child support. Any amount paid over and above the child support amount is considered to be support payments for the recipient.

All child support payable to a recipient must be fully paid before any amounts paid as support for the recipient can be claimed as a deduction. Any overdue child support amounts are carried forward and added to the next year’s support payments.

Note

The priority of child support does not apply when the child support and spouse or common-law partner support are payable under different court orders or written agreements and the recipients are different people.

Example

Mark and Dana are separated. Beginning January 2022, Mark had to make monthly support payments of $400 ($150 for Dana, and $250 for their children). Mark paid $400 from January to March for a total of $1,200. He made no other payment for the rest of the year. Mark owes $2,250 in child support.

When he filed his 2022 tax return, Mark could not deduct the spousal support payments because he did not fully pay his child support. However, Dana still had to report the spousal support payments received ($150 x 3 =  $450) on her 2022 tax return.

In 2023, Mark must fully pay all child support owing for 2022 and 2023 before he can deduct anything he pays for spousal support.

For more information, see Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C3, Support Payments.

Child custody and the amount for an eligible dependant

Generally, if you are required to make child support payments to a current or former spouse or common-law partner for a child, you cannot claim an amount for an eligible dependant on line 30400 for that child.

If you and another person each have a clearly established requirement under a court order or written agreement to make child support payments for a child, normally neither of you would be able to claim the amount for an eligible dependant for that child. However in this case, you may still be eligible to claim the amount for an eligible dependant, as long as you and the other person agree that you will make the claim. If you cannot agree, neither of you can claim an amount for an eligible dependant for that child.

One person paying child support

If you make child support payments for a child and the other parent does not, you cannot claim an amount for an eligible dependant for that child. Only the parent who does not pay child support can claim the amount for an eligible dependant on line 30400 of their tax return (Step 5 – Federal tax) for that child.

More than one person paying child support

Change in custody

If there was a change in custody during a year and, as a result, you both were required to make child support payments at some point during the year, you have to agree who will claim an amount for an eligible dependant for that child. If you cannot agree who will claim the amount for the child, neither of you can make the claim.

Example

Terry and Jordan are separated and Drew is their only child. Their court order states that Jordan has sole custody of Drew and Terry pays $500 a month of child support to Jordan for Drew. In 2023, Jordan accepts employment in another province. An amended court order is made in July 2023 stating that Terry now has sole custody of Drew and that Jordan pays Terry $400 a month in child support for Drew.

For the tax years before 2023, Terry cannot claim an amount for an eligible dependant on line 30400 of his tax return, because he had a legal obligation to pay child support. Jordan can claim an amount for an eligible dependant for Drew for those years, since he had no obligation to pay child support and has custody of Drew.

For the 2023 tax year, both parents had an obligation to pay child support to the other parent for Drew at some point during the year. Terry and Jordan agree that Terry will claim an amount for an eligible dependant on line 30400 of his tax return. If they did not agree, neither of them could claim the amount on line 30400 for Drew.

Shared custody 

If you and another person share custody of a child throughout the year, and you each have a clearly established requirement under a court order or written agreement to make child support payments for that child, normally, neither of you would be able to claim the amount for an eligible dependant for that child. However, in this case, one of you may still be eligible to claim the amount, as long as you and the other person agree who will make the claim. If you cannot agree, neither of you can claim the amount for that child.

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 necessarily establish a requirement for both parents to make child support payments for purposes of the Income Tax Act. Also, the fact that both parent's income is used to calculate child support is not sufficient to establish a requirement that both parents make child support payments. Unless the order or written agreement clearly establishes that both parents are required to pay child support, only one parent is considered to be making child support payments. In this case, the payer cannot claim the amount for an eligible dependant, and the recipient may be able to claim the amount, provided they are otherwise eligible to claim the amount.

Example

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 for child support.

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 to have, for purposes of the amount for an eligible dependant, a legal obligation to make child support payments. 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 30400 of her tax return for either Emily or Eric, provided she is otherwise eligible.

For more information about your eligibility to claim the amount for an eligible dependant, see line 30400.

For more information on tax rules for support payments, see Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C3, Support Payments.

For more information about the Federal Child Support Guidelines and how to determine child support, see Child Support.

Filling out your tax return

Payer

If you are claiming deductible support payments, enter on line 21999 of your tax return the total amount of support payments you paid under all court orders and written agreements. This includes any non-deductible child support payments you made. Do not include amounts you paid that are more than the amounts specified in the order or agreement, such as pocket money or gifts that you sent directly to your children.

Enter on line 22000 of your tax return the deductible part of the support payments that you paid.

Make sure that both line 21999 and line 22000 are filled out correctly to avoid your claim being delayed or denied.

You also have to register your court order or written agreement with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). For more information, see Registering your court order or written agreement.

Example

Diane and Gene recently divorced. In their court order made in December 2022, Gene has to pay Diane $1,000 per month for their two children, and $500 per month for spousal support.

Gene started making monthly support payments of $1,500 in January. He paid a total of $18,000 for 2023.

Gene enters the total support payments amount of $18,000 on line 21999 of her 2023 tax return. On line 22000 of his 2023 tax return, he enters $6,000. This is the spousal support amount, which is the deductible part of his support payments.

Note

If your court order or written agreement includes support paid for your current or former spouse or common-law partner in a year for which you have already filed a tax return, you can ask for an adjustment. See How to change a return in the Federal Income Tax and Benefit Guide.

Year of change in marital status

In most circumstances, you cannot claim a personal tax credit(s) for a particular person (spouse or common-law partner or child) if you had to make support payments for that person to your current or former spouse or common law partner. This rule applies in any of the following situations:

If you had to pay spousal support and you lived separate and apart from your current or former spouse or common law partner for only part of that year because of a breakdown in your relationship, you may claim the applicable personal tax credit(s) for your spouse or common-law partner or child. This will be the case as long as you do not claim a deduction for the deductible spousal support amounts paid in the year to your current or former spouse or common-law partner. This rule allows, for example, an individual who is entitled to a deduction for support amounts paid in the year in which the relationship breakdown occurs to claim the deduction for support amounts or the personal tax credit(s), whichever is more beneficial.

All other requirements to claim the applicable personal tax credit(s) for your spouse or common-law partner or child must be met. For more information, see the applicable lines of your tax return:

If you reconciled before the end of that year and you choose to claim the spouse or common‑law partner amount on line 30300 of your tax return, you may also be able to claim an amount on line 32600, Amounts transferred from your spouse or common-law partner, of your tax return (Step 5 – Federal tax).

If you are claiming amounts for the applicable personal tax credit(s) instead of the support payments, enter the total support paid on line 21999, and enter zero on line 22000 of your tax return. Otherwise, the CRA will have no record of your payments.

Example 1

Roger and Mary separated on September 1, 2023. Under the written agreement, beginning on that date, Mary pays $300 monthly in spousal support. Roger had no other income in 2023.

When filing her 2023 tax return, Mary could deduct one of the following:

  • the deductible spousal support she paid = $1,200 ($300 × 4 months)
  • the spouse or common-law partner amount for Roger (line 30300 of his tax return)

Since Roger had no other income, Mary would be able to claim to the full spouse or common‑law partner amount. Therefore, Mary decides to claim the spouse or common‑law partner amount at line 30300 of her tax return since it is the most beneficial. She should enter the amount of support she paid on line 21999 and enter zero on line 22000 on her tax return.

Roger has to report the $1,200 he received in support payments on his 2023 tax return.

Example 2

Lauren and Rosa separated on November 1, 2023 and Gabriella is their only child. Their court order, beginning on that date, states that Lauren has sole custody of Gabriella and has to make monthly spousal support payments of $800 to Rosa. Rosa had other income, exceeding Lauren’s basic personal amount, in 2023.

When filing her 2023 tax return, Lauren could deduct one of the following:

  • the deductible spousal support she paid = $1,600 ($800 × 2 months)
  • the spouse or common-law partner amount for Rosa (line 30300 of her tax return)

Due to Rosa’s other income, Lauren decides to claim the deductible support payments she made since it is the most beneficial. She should enter the amount of support she paid on line 21999 and $1,600 on line 22000 of her 2023 tax return.

Since Lauren does not have to pay a child support amount to Rosa for Gabriella, she may also be able to claim the amount for an eligible dependant for Gabriella.

Rosa has to report the $1,600 she received in support payments on her 2023 tax return.

Note
If you have more than one recipient to whom you are making support payments, your tax situation may vary. For more information, see Income Tax Folio S1-F3-C3, Support Payments.

Retroactive lump-sum payments

You have to give to the recipient a filled out Form T1198, Statement of Qualifying Retroactive Lump-Sum Payment, if all the following situations apply:

For more information, see Lump-sum payments.

Reimbursement of support payments

If support payments received were reimbursed to you because of a court order, you have to include the reimbursed amount in income on lines 12799 and 12800 of your tax return for the year it is received. It must be included in income if one of the following situations applies:

Legal and accounting fees

As the payer, you cannot claim legal and accounting fees on line 22000, 22000, or 23200 incurred:

Supporting documents

When you file your tax return, do not send any supporting documents. Keep them in case the CRA asks to see them.

However, if the CRA asks for receipts, acceptable receipts must state your name, the date of payment, and the amount you paid.

Any of the following documents may be accepted to support your claim:

Recipient

If you are reporting taxable support payments, enter on line 12799 of your tax return the total amount of support payments you received under a court order or written agreement. This includes both spousal and child support payments received as well as any support payments you received under a social assistance arrangement.

Do not include amounts you received that are more than the amounts specified in the order or agreement, such as pocket money or gifts that your children received directly from the payer.

Enter on line 12800 the taxable part of support payments you received.

Make sure that both line 12799 and line 12800 are filled out correctly to avoid a delay in assessing your tax return.

You also may have to register your court order or written agreement with us. For more information, see Registering your court order or written agreement.

Example

Diane and Gene recently divorced. In their court order made in December 2022, Gene has to pay Diane $1,000 per month for their two children, and $500 per month in spousal support.

Monthly support payments of $1,500 began in January, making a total support payments amount of $18,000 for 2023.

Diane enters the total support payments amount of $18,000 on line 12799 of her 2023 tax return. On line 12800, she enters $6,000. This is the spousal amount, which is the taxable part of the support payments.

Note

If you received a payment before the end of the year, you have to include it in income for that year, as long as it meets the conditions of a support payment. You cannot delay including a payment in income by not cashing the cheque.

Retroactive lump-sum payment

If you received a lump-sum support payment, parts of which were for previous years, you have to report the whole payment in the year the lump‑sum payment is received.

However, you can ask the CRA to tax the parts for the previous years as if they were received in those years if all of the following situations apply:

The payer of the support payments should give you a filled out Form T1198, Statement of Qualifying Retroactive Lump-Sum Payment. Include this form with your tax return to ask for this special tax calculation on a retroactive lump-sum payment. The CRA will tell you the results on your notice of assessment or notice of reassessment. For more information, see Lump-sum payments.

Repayment of support payments

If you repaid support payments because of a court order, you may be able to claim a deduction on line 220 of your tax return for that year (or in either of the following two years). You can claim this deduction if both of the following situations apply:

Legal and accounting fees

As the recipient, you can deduct, on line 22100 of your tax return, legal and accounting fees incurred:

You can also deduct, on line 23200 of your tax return, legal and accounting fees incurred to try to make child support payments non-taxable.

As the recipient, you cannot claim legal and accounting fees incurred:

Legal and accounting fees paid to collect a lump-sum payment that does not qualify as a support payment are not deductible (see Lump-sum payments).

If you have transferred the rights to your support payments

You may assign or transfer your rights to your support payments to your provincial government so you can receive social assistance. If you have transferred your rights to your support payments, report the total amounts you received on line 12799 (and any taxable part on line 12800). These amounts are not included in box 11 of Form T5007, Statement of Benefits.

Supporting documents

When you file your tax return, do not include your receipts or cancelled cheques, or your court order or written agreement. Keep them in case the CRA asks to see them.

Registering your court order or written agreement

If your court order or written agreement includes a payment of spousal support, you must register it with the CRA. This will allow usthe CRA to verify the part of your payments that is spousal support and, if applicable, the part that is child support. You will also avoid unnecessary delays and adjustments to your tax return.

To register your court order or written agreement, follow the instructions on Form T1158, Registration of Family Support Payments. Do not include your order or agreement with your tax return.

Notify the CRA if the spousal or child support payable changes (other than cost-of-living adjustments or changes already stated in the court order or written agreement).

Do not register your court order or written agreement if it requires child support payments only.

Note

Send a separate Form T1158 for each court order or written agreement you are registering.

Deductions from your pay

Payer

If you are employed and you make deductible support payments, you can ask the CRA to allow the reduction of the amount of income tax that your employer is deducting from your pay.

Send Form T1213, Request to Reduce Tax Deductions at Source, to your tax services office.

If you qualify, you can take our letter of authority to your employer to adjust the tax deducted from your pay.

Recipient

If you are employed and you receive taxable support payments, you may want to increase the amount of tax that is deducted from your pay.

To increase tax deducted from your pay, fill out Form TD1, Personal Tax Credits Return, and give it to your employer.

Payments made after death

Payments made after the death of the recipient are not deductible by the payer. Whether the payments are made to the estate or to the children, these payments would not meet the conditions of a support payment.

Payments made by the estate of a payer to the recipient are neither deductible nor taxable. The amounts do not meet the conditions of a support payment because an estate cannot have a spouse or common-law partner.

Payments to or from a non-resident

Payer

If you are a resident of Canada who makes support payments to a non-resident, you do not have to withhold tax on the payments. You can deduct the payments if the conditions are met.

Recipient

If you are a resident of Canada who receives support payments from a resident of another country, you have to include the payments in your income if the conditions are met.

However, you may be able to claim a deduction for the support payments you received. You can do so if the support payments you reported as income are tax-free in Canada because of a tax agreement (treaty) between Canada and the other country. For more information, see line 25600 in the Federal Income Tax and Benefit Guide.

You may be able to claim a foreign tax credit if both of the following situations apply:

For more information, see line 40500 in the Federal Income Tax and Benefit Guide.

Example

Carol and Doug divorced on December 9, 2022. Doug lives in Australia. Carol is a Canadian resident. Under a court order, Doug paid Carol $500 a month in spousal support beginning January 1, 2023.

Under the terms of the Canada-Australia Income Tax Treaty, alimony and other support payments are only taxable in the source country. The payment is taxable only in Australia.

Carol must report $6,000 on lines 12800 and 12799 of her tax return. Carol also claims $6,000 as a deduction on line 25600 because of the terms of the Canada-Australia tax treaty.

Note

For tax treaty information, visit the Department of Finance Canada website.

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If you need more information after reading this guide, go to Support Payments or call 1-800-959-8281.

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Service-related complaints

You can expect to be treated fairly under clear and established rules, and get a high level of service each time you deal with the CRA. For more information, see the Taxpayer Bill of Rights.

You may provide compliments or suggestions, and if you are not satisfied with the service you received:

  1. Try to resolve the matter with the employee you have been dealing with or call the telephone number provided in the correspondence you received from the CRA. If you do not have contact information for the CRA, go to Contact the Canada Revenue Agency.
  2. If you have not been able to resolve your service-related issue, you can ask to discuss the matter with the employee’s supervisor.
  3. If the problem is still not resolved, you can file a service related complaint by filling out Form RC193, Service Feedback. For more information and to learn how to file a complaint, go to Submit service feedback.

If you are not satisfied with how the CRA has handled your service-related complaint, you can submit a complaint to the Office of the Taxpayers' Ombudsperson.

Reprisal Complaints

If you have received a response regarding a previously submitted service complaint or a formal review of a CRA decision and feel you were not treated impartially by a CRA employee, you can submit a reprisal complaint by filling out Form RC459, Reprisal Complaint.

For more information, go to Reprisal complaints.

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