Line 232 - Legal fees

You can claim your expenses in any of the following situations:

• You paid fees (including any related accounting fees) for advice or assistance to respond to us when we reviewed your income, deductions, or credits for a year or to object to or appeal an assessment or decision under the Income Tax Act, the Employment Insurance Act, the Canada Pension Plan, or the Quebec Pension Plan.
  
• You paid fees to collect (or establish a right to) a retiring allowance or pension benefit. However, you can claim only up to the retiring allowance or pension income you received in the year, minus any part of these amounts transferred to a registered retirement savings plan or registered pension plan. You can carry forward, for up to seven years, legal fees you cannot claim in the year.
  
• You incurred certain fees to try to make child support payments non-taxable. Fees relating to support payments that your current or former spouse or common-law partner, or the natural parent of your child, paid to you must be claimed on line 221. You cannot claim legal fees you incurred to get a separation or divorce or to establish custody of or visitation arrangements for a child. For more information, see Guide P102, Support Payments.

You must reduce your claim by any award or reimbursements you received for these expenses. If you are awarded the cost of your deductible legal fees in a future year, include that amount in your income for that year.

For fees paid to collect (or establish a right to) salary or wages, see line 229.

For fees paid to collect (or establish a right to) other amounts that must be reported in employment income even if they are not directly paid by your employer, see line 229.

For more information about other legal fees you may deduct, see Interpretation Bulletin IT-99, Legal and Accounting Fees.

Completing your tax return

Claim on line 229 or line 232 the allowable amount of legal fees.

Supporting documents

If you are filing electronically or filing a paper return
Do not send any documents. Keep all your documents in case we ask to see them later.

Forms and publications

• General income tax and benefit package - Guide, return and schedules
• Guide P102, Support Payments
• Interpretation Bulletin IT-99, Legal and Accounting Fees

Related topics

• Line 221 - Carrying charges and interest expenses
• Line 229 - Other employment expenses

Date modified:

2017-01-04