Social Assistance payments are paid to low-income or no income Canadians to offset the cost of basic living needs. These benefits are reported in Box 11 of the T5007 statement of benefits slip. Although these payments affect your eligibility for other federal and provincial benefits, they are not taxable.

Reporting Your Social Assistance Payments

When completing your income tax return, claim the amount from Box 11 of the T5007 on line 14500 of your Income Tax and Benefit Return. This amount will be added to the net income which is the base of determining the eligibility for the GST tax credit, provincial benefits, the amount of Canada Child Benefit, etc.

Since these payments are not taxable, you will have to deduct them on line 25000 before you reach the amount of the taxable income. However, if you received the payments on behalf of a foster person living with you, in most cases, you do not have to report them.

Calculating Which Payments to Report

• If you received SA payments on behalf of a foster child, subtract that amount from the total in box 11. The remainder is the amount you need to report on your income tax return.
• If you only received SA payments for a foster person and you did not receive SA payments for yourself or anyone else in your home, the difference should be zero, and you don’t have to report anything.

Save your T5007 slip as well as payment receipts from the foster agency with your tax records.

Note for Married Couples and Common-Law Partners

If you are married or in a common-law partnership, the person who has the higher net income must report the SA payments. For the purposes of this reporting requirement, the CRA takes into account your marital or partnership status on the last day of the tax year for which you are filing.

For example;

If you receive SA payments and you got married in March, and if your new spouse earns more than you do, your spouse should report the payments on his/her return, regardless of the fact that the T5007 slip is in your name.

To compare your income levels, use the number from line 24600 (net income) of your and your spouse’s income tax returns.

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