Is Child Support Taxable in BC? Tax Rules for Both Parents

Whether you pay or receive child support, tax time raises the same question: does this money go on my return? The answer for most families today is simpler than people expect, but older arrangements can be different.

This article sets out the general rules for British Columbia families, which come from federal tax rules, and flags the situations where you should check the details.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

The general rule for current orders and agreements

Child support paid under an order or agreement made after April 1997 is not deductible by the payer. It also does not have to be included in the recipient's income.

In plain terms, the payer cannot claim the payments as a deduction, and the recipient does not add them to income. The money is treated as support for the child rather than income of the parent.

Older orders and agreements

Orders or agreements made before May 1997 are taxable to the recipient and deductible by the payer. That treatment ends in any of these cases:

• the amount was changed after April 1997;
• a new order changes the total amount;
• the order states that payments after a certain date (not before May 1, 1997) are non-taxable;
• both parties elect post-April 1997 treatment using Form T1157, which is irreversible.

If you have a very old order, read it carefully and check whether it has been changed since. A change can alter the tax treatment, so get advice before agreeing to one.

What tax rules do not decide

Tax treatment does not set the amount. The usual starting point is the table amount for the payor's income plus any special expenses. Parents cannot agree that no support is payable, since support is the child's legal right. The court may also impute income where a parent unreasonably deducts expenses, and whether a deduction is reasonable is not decided only by whether the Income Tax Act permits it.

Income for support purposes is determined from the Total income heading of the T1 General, adjusted under Schedule III. That is a support calculation, separate from whether support payments are reportable. If your order covers other payments as well as child support, it is worth confirming how each part is handled with an accountant.

The table amount is based on the payor's income only. For one child in British Columbia, the monthly figure is a basic amount for an income row plus a percentage of income over that row's floor. The sample rows below come from the table as last amended on 2025-10-01. Look up the exact $1,000 income row, or use the official table lookup, for your own figures.

Agreements, changes and unpaid support

A child support agreement is binding only if it was made after separation or when the parties were about to separate. On application, a court may set aside or replace all or part of it with an order if it would order something different applying the factors in the Family Law Act. A written agreement that is filed in court is enforceable as if it were a court order.

Support can also change over time. Under the Family Law Act, before changing, suspending or terminating an order, the court must be satisfied of a change in circumstances under the guidelines, substantial new evidence that was unavailable at the earlier hearing, or evidence of a lack of financial disclosure discovered after the last order. The BC Child Support Recalculation Service reviews eligible orders and agreements each year using the paying parent's income tax information and the Guidelines tables, so a court application is not always needed.

Because a change to the amount can affect how an old pre-May 1997 arrangement is taxed, it is worth asking an accountant before you agree to any change. Whether an adjustment affects your tax position depends on your documents and is worth confirming with a lawyer or accountant.

What to do next

• Find the date of your order or agreement, and note any later changes.
• Check whether the document sets out child support separately from any other payments.
• Keep records of each payment, whether through an agency or directly.
• If your arrangement predates May 1997, ask an accountant whether it is still taxable and deductible.
• Raise the tax effect with a lawyer before signing a new or changed agreement.

If support is unpaid, a written agreement or order can be enrolled with the BC Family Maintenance Agency, though an agreement must first be filed with the court registry.

Frequently asked questions