Common-Law Separation With Children in Quebec: The Money

When common-law partners with children separate in Quebec, the money that changes fastest is the family benefits. Retraite Québec’s Family Allowance and the federal Canada Child Benefit (CCB) are recalculated on each parent’s income instead of the couple’s. For the parent who earns less, payments often go up, but only after both governments have been told.

Then comes child support, which is set with an official grid, and a few changes on your tax return. Here’s what changes, by how much, and who to tell.

Which family benefits change when you separate?

Two benefits change, and each has its own agency. The CRA pays the federal CCB, and Retraite Québec pays the Family Allowance. Both recalculate your amount on your family income alone once you’ve lived apart for at least 90 days. Telling one doesn’t tell the other.

At Retraite Québec, the separation counts from the day you stopped living together. Once the 90 days have passed and the request is processed, it pays what’s owed back to that date. Our guide to common-law separation rights by province explains the CRA’s 90-day rule in detail.

How much is the Family Allowance in 2026?

The Family Allowance pays $1,221 to $3,068 per child in 2026, depending on family income. A single-parent family gets a supplement of $430 to $1,077. It’s the part of the allowance that starts only after a separation, once you’re raising your child without a spouse.

Source: Retraite Québec, benefit amounts and key data (opens in a new tab). The amounts are indexed every January 1.

The CCB comes on top of these amounts, since it’s federal. Our page on the Canada Child Benefit amount shows what a payment based on one income looks like, and the benefit payment calendar lists the dates for both.

How does shared custody work?

In shared custody, the child lives with each parent 40% to 60% of the time in the month. Both parents then get a share of the benefits at the same time, each based on their own income. A parent who has the child less than 40% of the time gets no benefit for that child.

For the CCB, the CRA’s rule is exact: each parent gets 50% (opens in a new tab) of what they would get with the child full time, calculated on their own adjusted family net income. The CRA won’t split it any other way, even if the parents agree on a different split.

For the Family Allowance, Retraite Québec (opens in a new tab) uses the same 40% threshold. You don’t need a judgment to report shared custody, but you do have to phone Retraite Québec with the date it started.

How much child support?

In Quebec, child support is set with the Quebec child support determination model, from both parents’ incomes, the number of children and the custody time. The government offers an online calculation tool (opens in a new tab). In court, you have to fill out the official form, and a printout from the tool doesn’t replace it.

Is it taxable?

No. The parent who pays child support can’t deduct it, and the parent who receives it doesn’t report it as income, according to Revenu Québec (opens in a new tab). If the judgment doesn’t separate the children’s share from the ex-partner’s, the whole amount is treated as child support.

Who makes sure it gets paid?

Revenu Québec. Its collection program applies in principle to every support judgment made in Quebec: the paying parent sends the money to Revenu Québec, which passes it on to the other parent. Both parents can ask the court for an exemption, and the paying parent then provides security equal to one month of support.

What changes on your tax return?

In the year you separate, the change worth the most is often federal: the amount for an eligible dependant (line 30400), which can reach $16,452 in 2026. A parent living alone with their child can claim it as if the child were a spouse. The CRA’s rules (opens in a new tab) have a few traps:

• You can’t claim it for a child you pay support for. In the year of separation, you can choose between this amount and deducting the support, if it’s deductible.
• If both parents pay support, only the parent you both agree on can claim it.
• In shared custody, if you can’t agree, neither of you can claim it. The amount can’t be split.

In Quebec, line 361 (opens in a new tab) gives an amount for a person living alone, but only if you lived alone, or only with certain people, for the whole year. So in the year of separation, most parents don’t qualify yet. The solidarity tax credit is recalculated on your tax return, based on your situation on December 31.

What if you’re in a parental union?

If your child was born or adopted on or after June 30, 2025, you’re probably in a parental union. When it ends, the value of the family residence, furniture and family vehicles is split half and half, and a parent can ask for a compensatory allowance (opens in a new tab). The deadlines are short: Éducaloi (opens in a new tab) gives 120 days after the union ends for some claims, so talk to a lawyer or notary early. For the house and other property, our rights by province guide explains what happens without a parental union.

Savings in your own name, one deposit at a time

After a separation, much of the money coming in arrives in small pieces: the CCB around the 20th, the Family Allowance on Retraite Québec’s schedule, support on the 1st and 16th. It’s a good time to set some aside in an account in your own name, even if it’s only $25 at a time.

Lodavo makes those small deposits more motivating. You track your savings each week, and every $25 in your savings account earns you a free ticket in a weekly draw with prizes up to $10,000. The app works with the account you already have, at almost every bank and caisse in Quebec, and someone wins at least $100 every week.

Where to start

Write down the date you stopped living together. After 90 days, tell the CRA and Retraite Québec, each on its own, and run a first support calculation with the government tool. Then start building the savings for your new budget. Download Lodavo free on the Apple App Store (opens in a new tab) or Google Play Store (opens in a new tab) and start earning tickets for the weekly draw.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. A lawyer, a notary, a family mediator or your legal aid office can tell you how these rules apply to your situation.

Terms and conditions apply. No purchase necessary (alternate method of entry available). Skill-testing question required. Open to legal residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Odds depend on the number of eligible entries received. Full rules and odds at our contest rules.