Version 2023.2.1
August 21, 2023
This is an update to ChildView® version 2023.2.0 and includes the “AFCC Alberta Parenting Plan Guide and Template.” See below for greater details.
Program Changes
- With permission from AFCC Alberta, the “AFCC Alberta Parenting Plan Guide and Template” has been included in the “Court Forms & Schedule” module for Alberta.
- Three more forms have been added to the “Court Forms & Schedules” module for Alberta; KB186 – Trial booking, KB 164 – Special Chambers, and the provincial disclosure.
- The “Monthly Spousal Support” input field in the top, right-hand corner of the “Guideline Amounts” window has been adjusted to accept amounts with two decimal places. This will minimize the rounding issues that arise when that number flows back to the “Annual Spousal Support” input field on the “Annual Income and Deductions” screens.
- The calculation of the federal “Grocery Rebate” has been added to “Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG) calculations, where appropriate.
- A back button (
) has been added beside the “Guideline Income” label in the top, left-hand corner of the “Guideline Amounts” window to provide quicker access to the “Simplified Income / Expenses” window. This may be particularly useful when doing “what if” scenarios with different levels of Guideline income.
Please download the update for 2023.2.0 from the link below.
Click to download the software update version 2023.2.1.
Click to download the software update version 2023.2.1. (Alternative Link)
Version 2023.2.0
July 21, 2023
This version of ChildView® includes the Nova Scotia family law court forms in the “Court Forms & Schedules” module, a revamped “Budget of Expenses” module and a new two to ten year cash projection feature. See below for greater details.
Program Changes:
1. Forty-six (46) Nova Scotia family law court forms have been included in the “Courts Forms & Schedules” module. This module allows you to generate forms that are populated by your ChildView® input and calculated results. This powerful tool incorporates the flexibility of the Word format for editing. The court forms module also currently includes one hundred and twenty five (125) Alberta forms, forty-seven (47) Manitoba forms, and forty-one (41) Saskatchewan forms. More court forms for other provinces will be added in subsequent releases.
2. The Alberta “Request for Financial Information” and the updated “Notice to Attend Family Docket” have been added to the “Court Forms & Schedule” module.
3. The lawyer contact information will now flow to the Alberta court forms.
4. The “Budget of Expenses” module in the program has been completely revamped to provide increased flexibility and better integration with various provincial and territorial court forms.
5. An option has been added to include the budget amounts as a line item on the cash projection reports.
6. Through the “cash projections” report choice on the “Guideline Amounts” screen, a new tool to create two to ten year cash projections has been added to the program. While the indexation default in the forward calculations of tax and benefits will be the current year, this may be changed on a year by year basis by double clicking in the indexation fields and changing the number. The projection will automatically increase the age of any child in the calculation of the taxes and benefits.
7. A feature to import data from the Settify online intake system has been added. You may access this feature when you click the “New” button on the main screen in either the Standard or Express mode of ChildView®.
8. When the “Shared Parenting Range” is checked off on the “With Child Support” SSAG screen, the presentation of the low or high end of the SSAG range has been corrected to reflect the amount of spousal support needed to achieve the lesser of 40% of INDI or 50% of the cash at the low end, and the higher of 46% of INDI or 50% of cash at the high end.
9. Access to the “Notes” feature has been added to the “Guideline Amounts” window.
10. On-going updates to the “Help” file have been made, including a new topic describing the expanded cash projections and an explanation of the new BC Renter’s tax credit, among others.
Income Tax Changes:
1. The one-time “Grocery rebate”, announced in the spring 2023 budget, received royal assent through Bill C-46 on May 11, 2023 and has been included in this release. Eligible individuals will receive an additional GST credit amount equivalent to twice the amount received for January 2023 with payments paid in July.
Province Specific Changes
Alberta
• A Private Member’s Bill received royal assent on December 15, 2022 proposing to increase Alberta’s provincial rate for the first $200 of charitable donations from 10% to 60%. Per the budget presented February 28, 2023 and Bill 10, which received royal assent on March 28, 2023, this will be effective starting in 2023, rather than on proclamation.
British Columbia
• Per the BC budget presented February 28, 2023 and Bill 10, which receive royal assent May 11, 2023, the BC Family Benefit increased effective July 1 with $145.83 per month for the first child, $91.67 for the second child and $75.00 per month for any additional children. A low-income, single parent supplement of $500 per year for families with adjusted net income of less than $27,354 was also announced. This will be clawed back through the regular calculations for incomes above the threshold.
• As part of the 2023 budget, the quarterly BC climate action tax credit for July 2023 to April 2024 increased to $447 for the basic credit, $223.50 for the spouse or AED child and $111.50 for each child except an AED child. The income thresholds have been increased to $39,115 for individuals and $50,170 for families.
• BC’s budget and Bill 10 also introduces a refundable renter’s tax credit where by renters could receive up to $400 per year on their 2023 and later personal tax returns if their adjusted net income is less than $80,000. The credit is clawed back at a rate of 2% for incomes between $60,000 and $80,000.
Manitoba
• Per Bill 14, which received royal assent April 3, 2023, the basic personal amount (BPA) will be increased to $15,000 for 2023 and indexation of the amount will resume in 2024. The bill also increases the tax brackets effective for 2024 with indexation of the brackets resuming in 2025.
Newfoundland and Labrador
• Per the Bill 38, which received royal assent May 25, 2023, the tax rate for the refundable “Physical Activity” tax credit is increased from 8.7% to 17.4% effective January 1, 2023.
New Brunswick
Per the spring budget presented March 21, 2023, and in line with a previous announcement in February, New Brunswick will once again be part of the federal government backstop program with respect to the carbon tax starting July 1, 2023. The first payment will be made in October for both the July and October quarters. The calculation for the New Brunswick CAIP has been included in this release.
Northwest Territories
• Due to changes to the federal carbon tax mandate, the Northwest Territories have been required to change the way in which they are providing rebates for the carbon tax. The NWT government has announced that, effective July 2023, the COLO will now have two parts. The base COLO will be $338 for each adult and $390 for each child under 18. An additional amount will be paid based on one of three zones identified as “Zone A - low fuel use”, “Zone B - moderate fuel use” and “Zone C - high fuel use.” Adults and children in zone A will receive an extra $103 per person. Those in zone B will receive an extra $145, and for zone C it will be $220. The “General Information” tab under “Party Information” in the Standard mode will allow you to choose the correct zone. The “Northwest Territories CAIP Zones” topic in the “Help” file provides a list of all the communities in each zone. In the Express mode, the default will be Zone A, but this may be changed by clicking on the “Party Information” label and choosing a different zone on the detailed window.
Nova Scotia
• The $250 increase to the Nova Scotia Child Benefit has been included in this release.
• As noted under “Program Changes”, forty-six (46) Nova Scotia family law court forms have been added to the “Courts Forms & Schedules” module.
Nunavut
• Per the 2023-2024 budget delivered February 23, 2023, and Bill 19 which received royal assent March 14, 2023, Nunavut has introduced a quarterly carbon rebate payment starting in July 2023 to replace the direct carbon rebate that is now disallowed by the federal government. The 2023 amount is $308 for all adults and children.
• The increases to the Nunavut Child Benefit are included in this release.
• Nunavut is providing a one-time $1,000, non-taxable “Homeowner Fuel Rebate” for 2023 effective April 1, 2023. This is found on the “Applicable Tax” screen for the 2023 tax year.
Prince Edward Island
• Per Bill 14, which received first royal assent June 21, 2023, the PEI government is implementing an increase of $750 to the “basic personal exemption” (BPE) in both 2023 and 2024. In addition, increases have also been made to the AED, spousal credit, age credit and the ‘Low-Income Tax Reduction” threshold. The bill also doubles the “Children’s Wellness” tax credit from $500 to $1,000 for 2024. Lastly, the bill eliminates the surtax for 2024, adds two additional tax brackets, increases the thresholds and reduces the rates for the original three brackets. The 2023 changes are included in this release. The 2024 changes will be in the first release that includes the 2024 tax year.
Yukon
• Per the March 2, 2023 budget and CRA disclosure, the increase to the Yukon Child Benefit has been included in this release.
Please download the full version 2023.2.1 from the link below.