When you separate from your spouse (common-law or married), your entitlement to government benefits may change significantly. Remember, the amount of your CCTB and your GST credit payments is dependent on your family net income based on the information Canada Revenue Agency has from your income tax returns.
Once you have been separated for 90 days, you become entitled to have your CCTB and GST credit payments be recalculated based on your new family net income, likely significantly lower than you and your spouse together. In order to have your benefits recalculated, you must submit a CRA document entitled “Marital Status Change” available through the Government of Canada website.
After separation, if the children spend about 50% of the time living with each parent, you may be entitled to share eligibility for the CCTB and for the child portion of the GST credit. If this is the case for your family, you must submit a CCTB Application form and indicate this shared parenting regime. Once the form is processed, each parent will be individually assessed for eligibility. Also, each parent will receive this credit on a 6-month on, 6-month off rotation. If one parent is ineligible for the credit because their family net income is too high, then the eligible parent will receive the credit for 6 months, and the ineligible parent will not receive any credit for the remaining 6 months.
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