Tax season is yet again upon us. Keep in mind that if you provided payment for legal fees in relation to a family law matter in 2017, you may be able to claim those fees on your taxes. In particular, legal fees can be claimed in relation to the following:
- Legal fees paid to collect or establish a right to a retiring allowance or pension benefit (you can only claim up until the actual amount of retiring allowance or pension received in that year, but these legal fees can also be carried forward for up to seven years);
- If you are the recipient of spousal support or child support, you may also have an ability to deduct legal fees (and accounting fees) paid in relation to the following:
- Collecting overdue support owing;
- Establishing an amount of support; and
- Attempting to get an increase in support payments.
Note there are some exceptions, so now is the time to contact your legal counsel in order to determine whether you qualify for such deductions, and to obtain the necessary correspondence from them to prove the expense.