Line 23200 – Other deductions

Claim the allowable amounts not deducted anywhere else on your return. Specify the deduction you are claiming in the space provided on the return. 

To claim deductions, losses or credits from tax shelter investments, see your T5003 slips or T5013 slips and complete Form T5004, Claim for Tax Shelter Loss or Deduction.

You can claim the following amounts on line 23200 of your return:

• repayment of amounts included in income
• legal fees
• other deductible amounts

Topics

• Repayment of amounts included in income
• Legal fees
• Other deductible amounts
• Completing your tax return

Repayment of amounts included in income

Income (other than salary and wages)

If you repaid amounts in 2024 that you received and reported as income (other than salary or wages) for 2024 or a previous tax year, you can claim most of these amounts on line 23200 of your 2024 return. However, if a court order made you repay support payments that you reported on line 12800 of your return, claim the repayment amount on line 22000 of your return.

Repayment of certain pension and government assistance amounts

For 2019 and later tax years, repayment of certain overpaid pension benefits and government assistance can be claimed in the year that the benefits were included in income to the extent that the repaid amount is more than your income in the year of repayment and is not otherwise deducted from your taxable income.

In general, this applies to an overpayment of pension benefits, a retiring allowance, a death benefit, an employment insurance benefit, a prescribed benefit under a government assistance program, a parental insurance benefit or financial assistance provided by a government or government agency in Canada or by an organization, for 2019 and later tax years.

Employment insurance (EI) benefits

You may have received more benefits than you were entitled to and have already repaid them. If the payer of your benefits reduced your EI benefits after discovering the mistake, your T4E slip will show only the net amount you received so you cannot claim a deduction.

If you repaid excess benefits that you received directly to the payer of your benefits, box 30 of your T4E slip will show the amount that you repaid. Include this amount on line 23200 of your return.

Scholarships, fellowships, bursaries and artists' project grants

If you repaid a scholarship, fellowship, bursary or artists’ project grant amount in 2024 that you received in 2024 or a previous tax year, you can claim for repayment the part of the amount that you reported as income on line 13010 of your return.

Old age security (OAS) pension

If you had an amount recovered from your gross OAS pension in 2024 (shown in a letter or box 20 of your T4A(OAS) slip) because of an overpayment you received before 2024, you can claim a deduction on line 23200 of your return for the amount you repaid.

Canada pension plan (CPP), Quebec pension plan (QPP), Registered pension plan (RPP) or Pooled registered pension plan (PRPP)

If you repaid an amount in 2024 that you received from CPP, QPP, RPP or PRPP and reported as income in 2024 or a previous tax year, you can claim the amount on line 23200 of you return.

If the repayment was for RPP income:

• the deductible repayment includes related interest
• the repayment must either be an amount:
  • that may reasonably be considered to have been paid from the RPP in error
  • that was previously paid from the RPP but you were determined to be ineligible

Registered disability savings plan (RDSP) or Registered education savings plans (RESP)

If you repaid an amount in 2024 that you received from an RDSP or RESP and reported as income in 2024 or a previous tax year, you can claim the repayment amount on line 23200 of your return.

The initial taxable RDSP income received would have been reported on line 12500 from amounts reported in box 131 of a T4A slip. The initial taxable RESP income received would have been reported on line 13000 from amounts shown in box 040 or 042 of a T4A slip.

Rollover of amounts to an RDSP

You may be entitled to a deduction if you make a rollover to an RDSP of any of the following amounts:

• designated benefits from a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) shown in box 22 of your T4RIF slip
• refund of registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) premiums shown in box 28 of your T4RSP slip
• RPP or PRPP amount shown in box 194 of your T4A slip
• specified pension plan (SPP) amount shown in box 18 of your T4A slip

Attach Form RC4625, Rollover to a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) under Paragraph 60(m), or a letter from the RDSP issuer to your paper return.

Life insurance policy loan repayment

If you included a gain from a policy loan under a life insurance policy in your income for the current or a previous tax year, you can claim a deduction for the repayment made in the current tax year. The amount you can deduct in the current year cannot be more than the amount of the gain included in your income for the current or previous tax year minus the amount of any repayments of the policy loan that were deductible by you in previous tax years.

Shareholder's loan

If the repayment is not part of a series of loans and repayments, you can claim a deduction if you previously reported an amount from box 117 of your T4A slip and the repayment was made in 2024.

If the repayment is part of a series of loans and repayments, you can deduct the amount of the net decrease in the shareholder's debt balance for the year.

Other types of income

You can claim a deduction for an amount you repaid in 2024 that you received:

• as a retiring allowance and initially reported on line 13000 of your return
• as a research grant and initially reported on line 10400 of your return

Legal fees

You can claim the following expenses:

• fees including any related accounting fees that you paid:
  • for advice or assistance to respond to the CRA when the CRA reviewed your income, deductions or credits for
    a year
  • to object to or appeal an assessment or decision under the Income Tax Act, the Employment Insurance Act,
    the Canada Pension Plan or the Quebec Pension Plan
• fees that you paid to collect (or establish a right to) a retiring allowance or pension benefit. You can claim only up to the retiring allowance or pension income you received in the year minus any part of these amounts transferred to a RRSP or RRP. You can carry forward the legal fees that you cannot claim in the year for up to seven years
• certain fees you incurred to try to make child support payments non-taxable

You must reduce your claim by any award or reimbursement you received for these expenses. If you are awarded the cost of your deductible legal fees in a future year, report that amount as income for that year.

For more information about other legal fees you may deduct, see consolidated and archived Interpretation Bulletin IT-99R5, Legal and Accounting Fees.

Other deductible amounts

Following are examples of other deductible amounts that you can claim:

• income subject to tax on split income (complete Form T1206, Tax on Split Income)

• certain unused RRSP, PRPP or SPP contributions that were refunded to you or your spouse or common-law partner in 2024 (attach to your paper return an approved Form T3012A, Tax Deduction Waiver on the Refund of your Unused RRSP, PRPP or SPP Contributions from your RRSP, PRPP or SPP, or a completed Form T746, Calculating Your Deduction for Refund of Unused RRSP, PRPP and SPP Contributions)
• the excess part of a direct transfer of a lump-sum payment from your RPP, PRPP and SPP to an RRSP or RRIF that you withdrew and are including on line 12900 or line 13000 of your 2024 return (complete Form T1043, Deduction for Excess Registered Pension Plan Transfers you Withdrew from an RRSP, PRPP, SPP or RRIF)
• designated benefits from a RRIF (box 22 of your T4RIF slips), a refund of RRSP premiums (box 28 of your T4RSP slips), an RPP or PRPP amount (box 194 of your T4A slips) or an SPP amount (box 018 of your T4A slips), if you rolled over an amount to an RDSP (for more information about RDSPs, see What is a registered disability savings plan (RDSP) or see Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement, and Guide RC4460, Registered Disability Savings Plan)
• security for a loan if a property in a first home savings account (FHSA) is no longer being pledged as security (amount in brackets from box 28 of your T4FHSA slip, if any)

Completing your tax return

Claim on line 23200 of your return the allowable amounts not deducted anywhere else on your return.

Specify the deduction you are claiming in the space provided on the return.

Attach a note to your paper return if you are claiming more than one type of deduction, deducting more than one amount or to explain your deductions in more detail.

Forms and publications

• Income Tax Package
• Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement
• Guide RC4460, Registered Disability Savings Plan
• Guide P102, Support Payments
• Form T746, Calculating Your Deduction for Refund of Unused RRSP, PRPP and SPP Contributions
• Form T1043, Deduction for Excess Registered Pension Plan Transfers you Withdrew from an RRSP, PRPP, SPP or RRIF
• Form T3012A, Tax Deduction Waiver on the Refund of your Unused RRSP, PRPP or SPP Contributions from your RRSP
• Form RC4625, Rollover to a Registered Disability Savings Plan (RDSP) under Paragraph 60(m)
• Interpretation Bulletin IT-99R5 CONSOLID ARCHIVED, Legal and Accounting Fees

Related topics

• Line 12799 and 12800 – Support payments received
• Line 22100 – Carrying charges, interest expenses and other expenses
• Line 22900 – Other employment expenses
• Lines 21999 and 22000 – Support payments made
• Line 23500 – Social benefits repayment
• Line 43700 – Total income tax deducted
• First Home Savings Account (FHSA)