If a court orders each spouse to pay a support amount for their children, each might be able to claim the dependent tax credit for one of the children. If the court calculates the support amount due from each parent and orders that only one parent pay a net amount to the other: the payer gets no credit.
[8] … I am perturbed by the implications that in the same circumstances of a shared custody arrangement, that simply due to the crafting of an order or agreement a parent will or will not get the eligible dependant amount. For example, where there is a shared custody arrangement with two children it strikes me there are three possible ways to craft the child support, where each parent earns some income:
1. Each parent agrees to or is ordered to pay support for one child ($400 for one for example and $300 for the other – net $100.00): both could claim the eligible dependant amount.
2. As in example 2 above, both parents agree or are ordered to pay support for both children (one pays $300 for example and one pays $400 – net $100.00: both can rely on subsection 118(5.1) of the Act kicking out the effect of subsection 118(5) of the Act).
3. As Mr. Ochitwa did, the higher earning parent is obligated to pay support for both children (net $100.00: no eligible dependant amount would be allowed).”
See Ochitwa v. The Queen, 2014 TCC 263 (C. Miller); See also CJ Miller’s more recent decision: Letoria v. The Queen 2015 TCC 221 where he makes similar points.