What You Need to Know About Child Support in Canada

If you’re reading this, chances are you’re somewhere in the messy, confusing world of separation or divorce — trying to figure out how child support actually works in Canada.

It can feel like a maze of numbers, rules, and paperwork. My goal is to make this topic feel less overwhelming and a lot more doable. So, grab a coffee and let’s break down what child support is, how it’s calculated, and a few things that might surprise you.

What Is Child Support?

At its core, child support is built on a simple but powerful idea: your children shouldn’t have to feel the financial pinch of your separation.

For example, if your family lived under one roof with a combined income of $80,000 a year, your child shouldn’t suddenly drop to half that lifestyle just because they now live between two homes. It’s about protecting your child’s quality of life. It’s about making sure they’re warm, fed, housed, and able to keep up with everyday needs — without having to submit receipts or justify every penny.

And here’s where people get confused:
Child support isn’t just to cover the obvious — clothes, groceries, or soccer gear. It goes toward the whole cost of raising a child: housing, utilities, food in the fridge, transportation, and everything else that helps them thrive. For this reason, the law assumes if the child is well cared for, the money is doing its job.

Why It Needs to Be Crystal Clear in Your Agreement

Of all the parts of a separation agreement, child support is one of the least flexible.
Unlike spousal support, you can’t just negotiate it away. It’s a legal right of the child — not the parent. So when you submit your divorce paperwork (especially here in Ontario), the judge will look closely at your child support section. If it’s vague — or worse, missing — it can stall the whole process.

If you’re drafting your own agreement, make sure your child support section is clear, based on the Federal Child Support Guidelines, and leaves no guesswork.

How Is Child Support Calculated?

Here’s the good news: you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The Federal Child Support Guidelines do most of the math for you.

Two factors are considered:

1️⃣ Your gross income — that’s line 15000 on your tax return.
2️⃣ Your parenting schedule — basically, how much time your child spends with each parent.

• If your child lives more than 60% of the time with one parent, the other parent pays the full “table amount” based on their income.
  
  

• If you both share time equally — roughly between 40-60% of the time — you use what’s called a set-off calculation. You each determine how much you should pay the other, then the higher earner pays the difference.

Example:
John makes $90,000/year. Lilly makes $50,000/year. They share parenting time 50/50.

• John’s table amount: $1,000/month - to pay Lilly.

• Lilly’s table amount: $600/month - to pay John

• John pays Lilly the difference: $400/month

Even with equal parenting time, child support can still flow from one parent to the other — because it’s about balancing your child’s standard of living in both homes.

Tip: A handy free tool is MySupportCalculator.ca. Plug in both parents’ incomes, your children's ages, and parenting time, and you can receive an estimate.

Annual Income Updates

Because your income can change year to year, so should child support. For this reason, parents are legally required to exchange income information annually — usually after you file your taxes and receive your Notice of Assessment.

Again: child support is a child’s right. It’s not feasible to skip a payment. It’s based on what each parent can realistically afford — today.

Taxes and Child Support

Child support is tax neutral:

• The parent paying doesn’t get a deduction.
  
  

• The parent receiving it doesn’t report it as income.
  

What If You Have More Than One Child?

The Guidelines adjust for the fact that two children do not necessarily double the cost of raising one child. Based on “economy of scale” — the per-child cost goes down when you have more than one child living in the same home. This is because raising two children together is less expensive than raising them separately in two different households. 

However,  if you have kids from different relationships, you could be paying separate full table amounts for each child. How support is calculated depends not just on how many children you have, but with whom and where they live.

What If Your Child Is Over 18?

Child support does not always end on their 18th birthday. If your child is still financially dependent — maybe they are in full-time post-secondary school, living at home, or they have an illness or disability — child support may continue.

And if they’re away at college? It might get adjusted, but you’ll often still pay, especially if they come home on weekends or summers.

Big expenses like tuition or textbooks fall under “special or extraordinary expenses” (called Section 7 expenses). Those are typically shared between both parents in proportion to their incomes. 

Step-Parents: Yes, This Can Apply to You Too

This may come as a surprise: if you were a step-parent who acted in the role of a parent, a court might find you financially responsible for child support — even after you separate from the biological parent.

The legal term is in loco parentis — “in the place of a parent.” Courts look at:

• Did the child see you as Mom or Dad?
  
  

• Did you make family decisions, do bedtimes, attend school meetings?
  
  

• Did you pay for daily life costs?
  
  

• Did you show long-term commitment (example: including them in your will)?

The court wants to know if the child relied on you like a parent. If the answer is yes — you could be obligated for support, no matter what you and your ex spouse agreed on privately.

The Bottom Line

Child support is not about punishing parents; it is about safeguarding the well-being of children. It ensures that your child continues to have the best possible chance at a stable, secure life, even after a separation or divorce.

Need help working through your divorce through mediation or coaching? Schedule a free consultation by visiting www.zaykamel.com.

About the Author: Zaynab Kamel is an Accredited Family Mediator (OAFM), Certified Divorce Coach, and Certified High Conflict Divorce Coach. With a background in social work, she brings a deep understanding of family dynamics and conflict resolution. When she’s not helping families through transitions, Zaynab enjoys hiking, yoga, and exploring the connections between astrology and human behavior.