Benefit Validation / Clawback Letter (CCB, GST/HST Credit)
The CRA is checking you still qualify for a benefit — usually marital status, residency, or who the children live with, often triggered by a separation or a move. High stakes: silence stops payments AND turns past payments into a debt.
⏰ The deadlines
| Response due | The date on the letter — commonly ~45 days |
| If payments already stopped | Respond anyway — benefits are restored retroactively once eligibility is shown |
✅ How to defuse it: Sending the requested proof (lease/utility bills for address, school/doctor letters showing the children live with you, separation documents).
🛡️ Defenses & defects to check
- Complicated situation (shared custody, informal separation)? Partial proof beats silence — send what you have with a cover note.
- Shared custody generally means each parent gets 50% of the CCB — letters often follow a custody change.
💡 What the pros know
- Update your marital status and address with the CRA within the required timelines — most clawback debts are really "the CRA found out late" debts.
- If a clawback debt is real but the amounts seem wrong, you can still object to a benefit determination within 90 days.
Related forms: Review Letter ("We are reviewing your return") · Collections Letters (Reminder → Legal Warning)
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Open the right toolGeneral tax information, not tax or legal advice — verified against official guidance but programs and deadlines change. Confirm on canada.ca or with a licensed tax professional; free help exists at community tax clinics (CVITP).