T1213 calculator + filing guide · Ontario · 2026
Paying spousal support means you may not need to wait for a refund. Form T1213 moves the deduction into your paycheque.
Spousal support is tax-deductible. By default, your employer ignores that and takes tax off your full pay — you get the difference back as a refund a year later. Filing Canada Revenue Agency Form T1213 changes that. The calculator below shows the gap. The guide below shows you how to close it.
The gap, in dollars
Per pay period and per year — the money you stop loaning the government once your paycheque is adjusted.
Both paycheque scenarios
What hits your account before and after T1213 is approved, side by side.
Plus a seven-step filing guide
From the calculator output to the moment your payroll office cuts you a new paycheque.
Cairn's T1213 calculator is a free Ontario spousal support calculator that shows the paycheque gap a T1213 closes — no account, no fee. If you pay spousal support under a signed separation agreement or a court order, that payment is deductible from your taxable income. But the payroll system at your employer does not know that. They take tax off your full gross pay all year, and you get the difference back as a refund twelve to sixteen months later when you file your tax return.
For someone in a thirty-to-forty-three percent combined federal and Ontario tax bracket, that is typically three hundred to fifteen hundred dollars per month sitting with the government for the rest of the year — money you cannot use for rent, groceries, or the next thing the kids need.
Canada Revenue Agency Form T1213 — 'Request to Reduce Tax Deductions at Source' — is the form that closes the gap. You send it in with proof of your support obligation. Canada Revenue Agency sends your employer a letter telling them to reduce the tax taken off your paycheque to reflect the deduction. The money stays in your account each payday from that point on.
The calculator runs both scenarios side by side: what your paycheque looks like by default (the refund-at-year-end version) and what it looks like once Canada Revenue Agency has approved your request. The 'per pay period gap' is what stops sitting with the government every two weeks.
One honest caveat before you start: T1213 only moves a deduction that exists. If your spouse earns as much as you or more, the guidelines may indicate no spousal support flowing from you — then there is nothing to deduct and T1213 does not apply. The calculator will show you that outcome too, with the reasons.
Your income, and your spouse's
Both of your gross annual incomes — what you each make in a year before tax.
What you make in a year before tax. Use last year's tax return if it's handy, or your most recent T4.
The same number for your spouse — what they make in a year before tax. Your best honest estimate is fine.
Your kids and how time is shared
How many, their ages, and where they live most of the time.
Children of the relationship who still depend on the two of you. Enter 0 if there are none.
Time together, and ages
How long you've been a couple, plus both your ages.
Count the years you've been a couple, even before marriage. If you lived together for two years before getting married six years ago, enter 8.
We need this to figure out the realistic range for how long support might be paid.
Same reason — age and length of relationship together affect how long support typically lasts.
Methodology reviewed May 6, 2026 · Cross-validated against DivorceMate Tools One · See full sources · Read the guide
How to file Form T1213, in seven steps
Run the calculator
Enter both incomes, your kids, and your relationship details. The calculator works out the spousal support range and shows what your paycheque looks like without T1213 and with T1213 approved, side by side.
Download the form
Get the current Form T1213 PDF from the Canada Revenue Agency website. Fill in the spousal support deduction in the right section.
Attach proof
Photocopy your signed separation agreement or court order. Canada Revenue Agency needs to see the support obligation in writing.
Send it in
Mail or upload the form and proof to the tax centre that handles your file. The address list is on the form itself.
Wait for approval
Typically six to ten weeks. Once approved, Canada Revenue Agency sends your employer a letter telling them to reduce the tax taken off your paycheque.
Give the letter to your payroll office
Your employer adjusts your paycheque on the next pay run. The gap between the old paycheque and the new one is what was sitting with the government.
Re-file each January
Approval is calendar-year only. Re-submit the form at the start of each tax year for as long as you are paying spousal support.
Common questions
The questions men ask about Ontario support.
Plain-language answers about how the Federal Child Support Guidelines and the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines actually work in Ontario.
About Cairn
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