Alimony and Child Support as Income

[David Bray]

I am processing a tenant application. 1/3 of the income is coming from alimony and child support. I have no idea what the likelihood of her continuing to receive this income regularly is. I am looking for ideas on what others do in this situation.

[Roy N.]

@David Bray

Here spousal support (alimony) is definitely treated as income (the recipient pays income tax on it and the provider can deduct it from their income).

Child support no longer carries the transfer of taxation (meaning the provider pays the income tax on the child support s/he pays in support of their children). Technically child support belongs to the children and not the custodial spouse - but since the children are almost always minors, its a mute point.

If these support payments were set by a separation agreement or court order, then there should be a document which specifies how long the spousal support enures. The child support payments typically persist until the children reach the age of majority (or beyond if they pursue post secondary education).

While the documented support payments may be sufficient to qualify the rent, you will want to look at the payment history to see if the providing parent has been fulfilling their obligations - "deadbeat dads" {sadly, it is almost always the Dad} are, unfortunately, all too common.