Tags
cohabitation, court, income, income order, Legal separation, marriage separation, Spousal support, spousal support law, spousal support order, support agreement
Spousal support is the payment of funds from income of the Payor spouse to the Recipient spouse to adjust for the difference in income between them or for the lack of income by the non-working Recipient spouse following a marriage or cohabitation separation that follows a period of living together in a way that has developed a financial dependence or income difference between the spouses. Spousal support is taxable as income to the Recipient and is a tax deduction for the Payor provided that the spousal support is paid in a way that the income tax authority recognizes as legal spousal support. Spousal support has to be paid in a way that is accountable. The spousal support must be documented in a support Agreement or support Order by the Court. Spousal support must be paid in a way that provides a record of the payments, such as by monthly post-dated cheques that are marked with the date, the amount and the description line “spousal support” so that is no discrepancy at year-end that the funds were paid as spousal support. To be counted as taxable income to the Recipient, cheques have to be cashed so that the funds are received by the Recipient. An annual written receipt should be issued by the Recipient to the Payor to file with his or her tax return, for the total annual spousal support with a date and a signature and contact information so that the income tax authority can verify that the Receipt is genuine.