Are gifts included in income for support purposes?

In order to determine the quantum of child support for a payor in Ontario, one must refer to the Child Support Guidelines.

The case of Horowitz v. Nightingale, 2015 ONSC 190 referred to the Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Bak v. Dobell with respect to whether gifts should be included in income and whether the recipient of the gift should be imputed income.

In Bak v. Dobell, the Court of Appeal reasoned that gifts were not to be included in income. However, the Court did note that certain extraordinary gifts may call for the imputation of income. The Court stated as follows:

"Since the legislature did not include gifts within the ambit of imputed income, it can be presumed, in the normal course, that the legislature did not intend the receipt of gifts to be 'appropriate circumstances' in which to impute income. For this reason, usual gifts such as those given to mark a special occasion are not included as income  . . .

Although it seems the legislature intentionally did not include the receipt of gifts given in the normal course in presumptive income, or as an example of an appropriate circumstances under s. 19(1), a court will consider whether the circumstances surrounding the particular gift are so unusual that they constitute an "appropriate circumstance" in which to impute income."

To learn more about gifts and imputing income as well as the services provided by Krol & Krol, call 905.707.3370 today.