Calculating Child Support in Ontario

Child support (or child maintenance) is an ongoing, periodic payment made by a parent for the financial benefit of a child (or parent, caregiver, guardian, or province) following the dissolution of a marriage or other relationship in family law and public policy. Child support is money paid directly or indirectly by an obligor to an obligee for the care and support of children from a previous relationship.

After deciding to separate or divorce, there are many legal issues that will need to be resolved between the parties. If the marriage produced a child (or children), then one of these issues will be child support. 

All provinces in Canada, including Ontario, have definite laws that provide for child support. No matter how you intend your divorce to proceed, whether through the court system or by mediation, you must have a plan for child support if you have kids. 

Your plan for child support should include the amount of child support, who should pay and how it should be paid. But these issues will not be left solely to the discretion of you and the other parent. 

There are specific rules in Ontario that provide for who should pay child support and how much they must pay. In order to determine the amount of child support in your divorce, you will need to do the calculation based on these rules, and this may require the use of a child support calculator. 

In this article, we will explain how child support is calculated in Ontario aka “how much is child support” and the factors you should keep in mind. 

Child support in Ontario is a reasonable amount that will be sufficient to maintain a reasonable standard of living for a child. 

It is payable every month and is determined based on the government’s projection for what is reasonable for a child to live on considering their parents’ income. In addition, the amount of child support may include special monthly expenses such as special classes or activities for a child. 

As a result, there is no specific figure for how much child support should be paid each month. It depends on several factors including: 

• Gross Income of each Parent
• Table Amount Support
• Special or extraordinary expenses 
• Parenting arrangement 

The parent who has the children most of the time receives child support, while the other parent, has the responsibility to pay. This is a general rule though. To determine how much should be paid as child support (and who should pay), follow these steps.

The next step will be to determine if any special or extraordinary expenses apply in your case. These are also called section 7 expenses and may be added to the table amount. Expenses that fall within this category include: 

• The part of medical and dental insurance premiums that the other parent pays to cover the children
• Child care needs that a parent living with the child would face due to their job such as daycare expenses, illness etc. 
• Children’s healthcare needs, over that covered by insurance such as eye care, counselling, hearing aids etc.  
• Expenses for extra-curricular activities such as music lessons or sports
• Expenses for post-secondary education
• Expenses for primary and secondary education

Not all expenses will make this list though. To be considered special or extraordinary expenses, they must be necessary and reasonable. Being necessary means they are required for the child’s best interests and being reasonable means they are within the family’s financial means. 

Here’s how you can calculate these expenses, either manually or with a child support calculator. If you have one child who has basketball at a cost of $200 monthly, this amount may be added to your table amount. If the table amount was $311, then it means your child support payment is now $511. 

There is no set provision for who must pay these special or extraordinary expenses. You may agree to have one parent pay the whole amount, split them equally or in relation to how much each parent earns. 

If you agree to split 50-50, it means the paying parent only pays 50% of the special expenses plus the table amount. Here’s how that works: if the special expense is $200 and you agree to split half and half, then that leave $100 for each of you. Add this $100 to the $311 table amount, and the child support will be $411.

Not all the time. There are certain specific circumstances where this may be the case though. For instance, where there is shared custody or split custody between the parents, the amount may change. 

Shared custody is what happens when the child spends more than 40% of his or her time with each parent. In this case, both parents now have an obligation to pay child support. So, you’ll have to calculate each parent’s annual income to arrive at the table amount and determine special or extraordinary expenses. Remember that in this case, you’re both treated as if you have 1 child living with you. 

Once you determine how much each parent should pay, then the parent who has to pay more only pays the difference between the two amounts. Assume John and Sarah go through the calculation and determine their amounts are $300 and $500 respectively. It means, in this case, Sarah pays John the difference between $500 and $300 in child support. That’s $200. 

Split custody is similar to shared custody. Only now, there are two or more children and each parent has at least one child that lives with them most of the time. In this case, both will also have to pay child support. Likewise, when they determine how much each should pay, the parent who has to pay more only pays the difference.

Keep in mind that in calculating child support for split custody, you should pick the table amount that applies to how many children live with you.

When all the details are agreed upon, you should think about how you want to arrange and schedule child support. This may be in one of three ways: 

• Online, through the official Ontario portal
• By written agreement
• In court

If you choose to go by a written agreement, a mediator can help you take care of all the details. If you would like to have the agreement enrolled with the Family Responsibility Office, you can enroll an agreement in the court as well. 

Keep in mind that your agreement should contain enough details on when payment should be made and how.

You’re still responsible for child support whether you haven’t seen your children in a year or five years. Because your ex refuses to let you see your children, the family court will not lessen the amount of child support you owe. Paying child support late, on the other hand, can backfire.

Bankruptcy does not relieve you of your need to pay court-ordered spousal support, or child support. This includes both past-due and current payments. Furthermore, you will be required to continue making regular payments.

Yes. Child support is usually determined annually based on your income, as stated in your separation agreement/parenting plan. If there has been a major change in circumstances, either parent can request that child support be increased, lowered, or even cancelled.

Failing to pay child support can result in serious consequences such as wage garnishment, unemployment benefit withholding, tax refunds, asset seizure, credit bureau reporting, or even the suspension or rejection of your driver’s licence or passport.

The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) is a provincial organization in charge of enforcing child and spousal support obligations. The FRO collects support directly from the person who is responsible for paying it, keeps track of the amounts paid, and then pays it to the person who is responsible for receiving it.

You can register your separation agreement with the FRO by filing a copy of the separation agreement, the affidavit for filing, and a completed FRO registration package with the Ontario Court of Justice or Superior Court of Justice, and then mailing a copy of the separation agreement, the affidavit for filing, and a completed FRO registration package to the FRO.

When a spouse is self-employed, the situation becomes much more complicated because their genuine earnings are likely not reflected in their tax returns due to write-offs, deductions, and exemptions. The real income will then be negotiated between you and your spouse. This can be accomplished easily through mediation or a collaborative process, but if required, you can take the matter to court, where a judge will determine (make a decision) about your actual income.

Such expenses aren’t usually included in child support, therefore you may both be forced to make additional payments, known as exceptional and extraordinary expenses (also called Section 7 expenses). These unusual and extraordinary expenses must be essential and reasonable, according to the rules. They are necessary in the sense that they are in the best interests of the child, and they are reasonable in light of the parent’s financial resources and the family’s spending habits previous to the separation.

There is no necessity that the spouse receiving Child Support spend the money on the children because it is thought that the parent who lives with the child on a daily basis is responsible for their financial well-being, thus flexibility and discretion are granted accordingly. Child Support, to put it another way, is supposed to help with household expenses and basic requirements as if the paying parent lived with the child.

Child Support is usually paid directly to the other parent.

You are not permitted to enter into any agreement that is in violation of the laws of Ontario. You or your spouse cannot contract out of Child Support since it is a right of the child rather than a right of one of the parents.

If you have “taken the position of a parent,” you may be compelled to pay Child Support. The adult cannot unilaterally break such a link once it has been created.

Child support is not tax-deductible for the paying parent and is not added to the income of the receiving parent.

The Ontario Child Support Table Guidelines must be used to calculate child support in Ontario. You will have to pay child support if you are a parent. Both parents are financially responsible for their children, and that support is determined by your income and the number of children involved.

Support will be provided until your children reach the age of 18 or complete their post-secondary education.

The Family Responsibility Office (FRO) was established by the Ontario government to enforce support payments (support orders) if necessary. The FRO will require all support payments to be made to the FRO, who will then transmit the payment to the other parent.

If payments are not made, the Family Responsibility Office may garnish earnings, place a lien on a property, seize money from a bank account, order a collection, cancel a passport, or suspend a driver’s licence in order to execute the order or agreement.

Yes, because it makes no difference if one of you remarries.
Child Support payments are unaffected by changes in your ex’s living arrangements. Both parents are responsible for child support, which remains independent of any subsequent partnerships.

This approach can be worth its weight in gold in helping spouses reach agreement over child support issues. Its effectiveness depends on how deep the divisions and disputes are between former partners, and how willing each parent is to work with the other to find a solution.

Child Support Mediation aka ADR is characterized by its more casual and less adversarial approach. Many believe it’s these factors that contribute to its success in facilitating early settlements. Mediation and collaborative family law permit parents to play an active role in suggesting ways to resolve their disagreements. This is seen as preferable to leaving the decision in the hands of a third party (Family Court Judge) which is often the outcome when the issue is dragged through the courts.

Aside from mediation, arbitration is another, more structured ADR option, during which a neutral third-party will hear the arguments of and study the evidence provided by each spouse and then come to a decision based on the facts.

When couples split, and the thorny question of child support has to be tackled, expect disagreement. Very few spouses are able to sail through the process and agree on everything. More often than not, there will be disputes, and that’s when you need to call in third-party help in the form of mediators or lawyers, preferably mediators.

But in this situation, another option is often laid on the table by one of the spouses, and at the time it seems appealing because it presents a way past the stresses and expense of a court hearing,

Usually, it will be the parent who is due to pay guideline child support who will suggest another option. It could be:

• An agreement to split expenses 50/50
• An offer of payments towards the house or car instead of child support
• An offer to split expenses on mutually agreed terms

Often, there is no malice intended with these suggestions. It’s just one spouse hoping to find an alternative to the cold and calculated guideline child support. They may not fancy the idea of fixed monthly payments, preferring a more meaningful role in the raising of their children. Or they may be seeking a more flexible arrangement that would allow both parents to help out as and when they can, and to respond to any unexpected requirements without involving lawyers and judges.

These are all plausible reasons for seeking alternatives to guideline child support. However, in my experience, there’s a more subtle and perhaps more sinister reason why a parent will suggest an alternative. And that’s because they want to continue to control their spouse, and pay less money to do so.

When couples with children decide to part ways, one of the issues that is always at top of mind is support. Who pays it, how much will it be per month, etc. So, how do you calculate Ontario child support payments?  Link to child support tables for Ontario and other provinces in Canada

In cases where both partners have reached an agreement with regards to where the child will be living, you will need to start working out a child support payment that is fair. If a child is spending all (or the majority) of their time with one parent, the child support will be received by that parent.

In order to determine the amount of child support, the annual earnings of both parents will be considered. This means total annual income, prior to the deduction of taxes. In many cases, this simply means looking at the amount on your income tax return. However, in cases where your job situation seems very complicated, you own your own business for example, getting legal advice or assistance from a Divorce Financial Analyst is never a bad idea.

Once you have established the annual earnings of the paying parent, it’s fairly easy to determine child support using the Ontario child support guidelines calculator on the Federal Department of Justice website. You can find this tool under the Child Support Table Look-up for the province or territory where the paying parent lives.

Fill out the boxes to get a general idea of the amount of child support that will be required each month.

This tool has been designed to be in line with Child Support Guidelines to ensure that children are receiving adequate care and that the amount fairly reflects parental income. Keep in mind, however, that this amount is just a guideline. Separated parents will need to take other expenses into consideration, and there may be extraordinary circumstances or special expenses that will also be taken into account.

If you happen to be a parent who is receiving some form of income assistance, be sure to get some professional advice from anyone at child support services. This will ensure every arrangement pertaining to child support accurately reflects your income situation.

Why do I have to pay child support with joint custody?

With shared parenting, when children are spending an equal amount of time (or at least 40%) with both of their parents, child support is calculated differently, child support is based on household income. Unless the separation agreement stipulates otherwise, child support will still be paid, even though the parenting is shared. In most cases, the amount is, as with sole custody cases, calculated depending on annual household income.

To calculate Ontario child support in these cases, follow the same steps as you would with a sole custody case (use the Ontario child support guidelines calculator), but do it for both parents.

Once you’ve arrived at the monthly payments for child support, calculate the difference. The parent who earns more pays child support to the other parent using an offsetting calculation.  Here’s an example.

Joseph and Emily have 2 children, and are sharing the parenting responsibilities. Their children will spend half their time with Joseph and half their time with Emily.

Emily earns $67,000 a year, which, according to the child support calculator, means an estimated monthly payment of $1021. Joseph earns $59,000 annually. This results in an estimated payment of $899 per month.

If this were a sole custody case, those amounts would have to be paid to the parent with whom the children are spending their time. However, because this is a shared parenting case, you calculate the difference ($1021 – $899 = $122), and the parent who earns more pays the parent who earns less. So, in this example, Emily would have to pay Joseph $122 per month.

A split parenting arrangement is when there are 2 or more children and each parent will be taking care of one (or more) of the children most of the time. For example, there are 2 children, and each parent has 1 of the children the majority of the time (or at least 60% of the time)

Again we turn to the Ontario child support calculator. In this case, both parties input annual earnings as well as how many children are living with the other person (rather than how many children there are in total).

The amount of child support paid in a split parenting situation is the difference between both amounts. Here’s an example:

Helen and Mark have 3 children. After the separation, the parents have decided that the two oldest children are going to live primarily with Mark, while the youngest child will be staying primarily with Helen.

Mark inputs his earnings ($73,000) and enters one child. That is the child who isn’t staying with him. The calculator says Mark’s payment is $681 per month.

Helen inputs her own earnings ($48,000) and enters 2 children. Those are the 2 children she isn’t living with. Her total payment is $725 per month.

To determine the amount to be paid, and to whom, calculate the difference. Based on this, Helen will have to pay Mark $44 per month.

Before reaching a final child support amount, you will also need to consider any additional/extraordinary costs/expenses (Section 7 Expenses). These are paid by each parent, in proportion to their annual income, in addition to the regular child support amounts discussed above. Extra expenses like child care, tutoring, post-secondary  education and dental & medical not covered by a plan are known as extraordinary/special expenses, and are often referred to as “section 7 expenses.” These costs will need to be included in your agreement for child support.