Reddit threads: experiences with CCB clawbacks

From most recent to least

$5000 clawback: "CCB Help"

r/PersonalFinanceCanada thread (summer 2024)

An excerpt from OP's original post:

"A friend of mine has been through the wringer. She isn't able to prove that her children belong to her. She lives in small northern town, she's a stay a home mom, and doesn't have a family doctor. CRA asked for proof that her children lived with her before they were enrolled in school. She's sent all she can- but they still don't believe her because she didn't have a doctor sign off. She's been on hold hours a day trying to figure it all out."

Excerpt from comment thread by OP:

"She took them to a Strong start program. But that was only a sign in sheet- no records. She has immunization records but apparently that's not proof that the children lived with her full time. She is a stay at home mom. Dad is still in the picture so no court docs. Not religious and the time they are asking for pre- dates the age for a dentist appointment. It's a mess. She took them for baby check ups but again that also isn't enough for CRA to pay out CCB for full time care."

Advice upstream of this comment says to get written letters from authority figures.
A letter from an authority figure should vouch for the specific fact that the CRA wants proof for. In this case, the CRA is probably holding out for satisfactory proof that this parent is the primary caregiver.

My thought: get the letters from authority figures, even if they actually don't know you well

My speculation: Each authority figure just has to say in their own voice that to the best of their knowledge, you do in fact have the eligibility criteria that the CRA is demanding proof for. Maybe it doesn't need to get much deeper than that, although if any of these people could do a house visit, that could potentially help the letter.

My thought: make the letters from authority figures cover all eligibility requirements at once

I'm also getting the sense that the CRA is actually evaluating parents for proof of multiple eligibility requirements at once, but inconsistently and incompletely explains what they are looking for. That is to say, they may be looking for many pieces of information but only tell you about one at a time/focus on a different thing each time you contact them. Letters from authority figures can therefore attempt to cover all criteria for eligibility for CCB, to be thorough and prevent the CRA from coming back and asking for evidence of some other eligibility criteria.

See eligibility requirements for CCB here

Have your authority figures write letters that clarify your marital status. If you are separated and the merging of you and your ex's incomes/common-law status would make you ineligible for CCB, invoke the legal definition of separation to make clear you fit it. Make sure that letters affirm you are the primary caretaker and reside with your kids.

If there is racism at play, you may need proof of citizenship status. Yet another barrier.

No resolution posted.

$6000 clawback: "Why is the CRA so shit?"

r/PersonalFinanceCanada thread (early 2024) Disabled mother with no income had CCB cut off November 2023, with no other explanation aside from a claim that she was no longer the primary caretaker of her son. This was not true. She complied with asks for documents and followed up many times asking for clarification or updates. The CRA demanded payments going back to July 2022 and also $700 for GST.
She is common-law with her partner. If their combined incomes were high enough, she would not have been eligibile for CCB. However, she is unemployed and her partner is on EI.
Most importantly, the CRA's stated reason for pulling benefits had nothing to do with income or marital status, only primary caregiver status. Even if she were technically ineligible due to filing her marital status incorrectly -- and this were the *actual* reason CCB was being denied -- they inappropriately flagged her as no longer being primary caretaker and provided inaccurate information how to reinstate benefits. No resolution posted.

Comment: it may be someone else claiming CCB for the same child

User senor_kim_jong_doof:

"Just trust me on this:
They wouldn't have cut off eligibility for no reason. Based on your second paragraph, someone somewhere for some reason decided to apply for CCB for the child in question. CRA usually trusts people when this happens for the first time, so they switch eligibility assuming this "other person" is being truthful.
So now, you need to establish that you have been the primary caregiver all along. Out of all of this: " I sent them every bit of info, birth certificate, hospital card, health card, everything. ", nothing in those documents confirms you have been the PCG since July 2022. You need to provide letters from third parties, ideally individuals in a position of authority, who can confirm you have been the sole PCG since 07/2022. Considering your child's age, this would generally be a pediatrist or a family doctor.
If you provide them with these documents confirming you have been the sole PCG since July 2022, your CCB and GSTC debt will eventually disappear and you'll be paid retroactively for whatever you missed.
In some cases, the "other person" will also be sent a questionnaire asking that they prove what they claiming, in which case, even if you jump through all of these hoops to provide your proof, they still need to give the "other person" a reasonable amount of time to reply."

$8,000 clawback: "Issues with CCB" and "Ongoing issues with CCB"

original r/PersonalFinanceCanada thread | follow-up thread (late 2023/early 2024): Single mother had been recieving CCB until her ex claimed their child on his taxes without her knowledge, falsely claiming shared custody. CRA demanded $8000 repayment. In the update thread, the CRA told her the proof she sent was insufficient and she is at a loss for what more she could give. CRA's quoted processing time: 14 weeks. No resolution posted.

$25,000 clawback: "CRA won't believe I'm separated with ex despite legal documents. My child's tax benefit/all other benefits are being withheld. What can I do? "

r/LegalAdviceCanada thread (late 2023): Single mother had broken up with her partner and was forced to cohabit for nearly two years. Since then, she had been separate and living apart for years, but the CRA refuses to accept proof that she is legally separated and continues to deny CCB. The CRA also demanded $25000 in CCB payments back for the time she was cohabiting. In the eyes of the law, this person was not eligible for CCB while living with her ex. This is a punishment for being too poor to afford just picking up and moving. However, once she and her ex had separate addresses, she should have been entitled to CCB as a legally separated single parent. No resolution posted.

Advice: Pin down a precise, exact reason for CCB denial and what they want.

User hererealandserious:

"The basic play is to force the CRA staffer to articulate what are the issues. You write CRA and ask them what facts do they need clarification on. You reply thanking them for identifying issues and provide evidence on each point. You reference the appropriate document that resolves issue."

Letters written on your behalf cannot be too familiar or allude to being your friend

NOTE: There is some bad advice in this reddit comment thread. A letter can be rejected as proof of separation if the CRA thinks a friend or family member wrote it, even if they are literally an authority figure in an institution/community organization.

Ask your MP to advocate on your behalf

User lost-cannuck:

" If you get your MP to investigate, they get a much faster response than if you try to get an answer yourself.

The taxpayers ombudsman is useless (CRA messed up my siblings taxes for 2017 which cascaded into the following years. We would finally get a senior agent, explain what the issue was, they would forward it to get it fix and it would get more messed up. There was 29 notice of assessments for 3 years and not resolved. The ombudsman told us this was not his responsibility to resolve this, we had to deal with CRA).... the MP finally got someone to help her get it sorted within a week. "

Find your MP here

Mention that you are a constituent when you contact them (you are encouraged to include your name and address). Explain your situation, and the MP's office should send you a consent form to fill out. This lets them interface with the CRA on your behalf. MPs do get a faster response, but they may not fight that hard for you. It's still worth a shot, as some people have had their CCB reinstated because their MP made the CRA move.

General advice

User [deleted]:

"CRA can go fuck themselves. I am so sick of their bullshit. They do SO much that is against tax laws only most people don’t know them well enough to see it.

Email a few different tax layers and book a free consultation with one. Have your questions prepped before hand because the time goes by quick.

Things that will help: -Photos of living arrangements in the house during that time proving different sleeping quarters. -Affidavits from witnesses, family anyone who can contest this breakup and separation. -proof of financial hardship(why he couldn’t move out)

In the letter keep it straight to the evidence and facts. Quote the laws In the letter that show what a marriage is, what common law is; what separation is defined by the law - and state that you are complying with all those laws based on evidence provided. State that you have spoke with legal counsel and will not be tolerating any further harassment and gaslighting from a tax authority person. State how much you have done up to now and how you’ve been treated and ignored.

Have everything in writing as a matter of fact, keep the emotions or defended out and just stick to your rights and laws as much as you can.

Mention names or ID numbers of people you have spoke with and duration of calls over this. Mention how this is affecting your life now and would like this to be dealt with as soon as possible.

The more information and evidence - the better. If someone calls you - record the call on your end. You will never get their recorded calls so don’t think they will help you. Record the calls on your end and make sure to mention it on the phone “this call will be recorded for legal purposes”

And document absolutely everything for yourself. Time of calls, to who, ID numbers, length of calls etc. this will help you if they choose not to accept your new evidence provided.

You will prove you did everything possibly and they would not accept the evidence"

From people who have been through the same thing

Many self-reports from single mothers especially tend to get disbelieved and downvoted, in defense of the CRA's reputation as impartial and fair.
Bootlicking and misogyny go hand in hand.

User idesignedmyself:

"Has your ex been filing his taxes? This happened to my best friend. Turns out her ex was couch surfing for years, and still using her address. So the CRA had T4s for him, which had her address, and years of no tax returns. CRA assumed they were common law. She eventually had to escalate to Tax Court (went without CCB the whole time). They ruled in her favor and she got like 22k back. But it took YEARS."

User Minimum_Purple2873:

"You’re not alone; every single mom I know is dealing with this right now.
They began garnishing CCB for me and two others in March, and two more I know got no CCB at all beginning in March. If you google it you’ll find several articles about CRA “targeting single moms” to recoup losses from the last several years.
Despite the fact that none of the moms I know ever did CERB, and one has never lived with the father of her child, this seems to be the common narrative.
As another poster has mentioned, with the current federal strike, it’s going to be a lot harder to get your case escalated. You can appeal for financial hardship this is causing you, though, and work with someone there so that you don’t completely go under due to this.
I know this isn’t super helpful, because none of us has figured it out yet, either, but this is not a unique situation and know that there are thousands of women right now working on fixing it."