Practice with case studies

Social assistance recipients

Reporting social assistance income

Pre-test question

Select True or False

Since social assistance payments are not taxable, you are not required to report them on a tax return.

  • True
  • False

Instructions

  1. Open the tax software
  2. Review the Background information and Required slips (tax slips, receipts, etc.)
  3. Provide all required information for the appropriate sections of the tax software
  4. Once completed, compare your results with the solution provided
  5. Afterwards, refer to the Takeaway points

Background information

Situation

Nathan and Sophia are common-law partners who live together and received social assistance payments in 2023. Nathan also has an interest payment to report.

Identification information

Identification information
Name Nathan Kearns
Social insurance number (SIN) 000 000 000
Address 123 Main Street
City, Province  X0X 0X0
Date of birth (DOB) September 21, 1989
Marital status

Common-law with:
Sophia Kearns on June 7, 2020
SIN: 000 000 000
DOB: May 16, 1992

Required slips

T5007 – Statement of Benefits (for Nathan)

Text version of the above image

T5007 – Statement of benefits
Protected B
Recipient’s name and address:
Last name: Kearns
First name: Nathan
123 Main Street
City, Province X0X 0X0
Box 11: Social assistance payments or provincial or territorial supplements: 10,476.00
Box 12: Social insurance number: 000 000 000

T5 – Statement of Investment Income (for Nathan)

Text version of the above image

T5 – Statement of Investment Income
Protected B
Recipient’s name and address:
Kearns, Nathan
123 Main Street
City, Province X0X 0X0
Payer’s name and address:
Bank 1
456 Main Street
City, Province X0X 0X0
Box 13: Interest from Canadian sources: 12.00

T5007 – Statement of Benefits (for Sophia)

Text version of the above image

T5007 – Statement of Benefits
Protected B
Recipient’s name and address:
Last name: Kearns
First name: Sophia
123 Main Street
City, Province X0X 0X0
Box 11: Social assistance payments or provincial or territorial supplements: 9,120.00
Box 12: Social insurance number: 000 000 000

Review your results

Solution to Reporting social assistance income.

Takeaway points

Steps to follow

  1. Review the background information and required slips
  2. In Nathan's Interview setup, tick the box next to Social assistance, worker’s compensation (T5007/RL-5) in the Employment and other benefits section and tick the box next to Interest, investment income and carrying charges/interest expenses/CNIL (T3, T5, T4PS, T5008, RC359) in the Investment income and expenses section
  3. Click Social assistance, worker’s compensation in the left side menu, then click the + sign next to T5007 – Workers’ compensation benefits, social assistance, etc. (federal lines 14400, 14500, 14600), complete the required fields and select Family head from the Select the person whose name appears on the slip drop-down menu
  4. Click Interest, investment income and carrying charges from the left side menu, then click the + sign next to T5 – Investment income and enter the amounts from the T5 slip
  5. Using Sophia’s profile, repeat step 3 and enter the amounts from Sophia’s T5007, but select Spouse of family head from the Select the person whose name appears on the slip drop-down menu

For couples receiving social assistance payments, the individual with the higher net income must report all of the payments. The net income calculation does not include the social assistance payments (line 14500), child care expenses (line 21400) or social benefit payments (line 23500).

Since Nathan’s net income before the social assistance payments is $12 and Sophia’s is $0, the software automatically reports each individual’s social assistance payments on Nathan’s tax return. If both individuals have the same net income, the amounts are reported by the individual who is issued the tax slip.

For more information, refer to UFile Instructions.

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