ChildSupportCalculator.ca

Child Support Calculator

Child support is the amount of money paid by one parent (the Payor) to the other (the Recipient) for the care and financial support of dependent children. Children need the financial support of both parents, even after separation or divorce.

The basic principle underlying Canada’s child support laws is that children should continue to benefit from the financial resources of both parents just as they would if the parents were still living together.

Use this Child Support Calculator to calculate your payment amounts*:

It is in the children’s best interests that both parents have a financial obligation to support them. By law, if you are divorced or separated from your child’s other parent, each of you are responsible for supporting your children financially. This support continues as long as your children are under the age of majority and dependent on their parents.

Child support obligations are set out in Canada’s Divorce Act. The Divorce Act is a law passed by the Canadian federal government and governs how divorce is regulated everywhere in the country. An important part of the Divorce Act are the Child Support Guidelines which set out how parents’ income is to be determined and how much child support is to be paid.

The Child Support Guidelines are designed to:

• Protect the best interests of the children,

• Make the calculation of child support fair, consistent and predictable.

The guidelines establish a fair standard of support for children to ensure that the children continue to benefit from the financial means of both their parents even after separation or divorce.

Child Support Guidelines are the law. They are comprised of a set of rules and tables that can tell you and a judge how todetermine the applicable amount of child support.

Definition of “Child” for Child Support Purposes

The Divorce Act defines a “child of the marriage” as a child who is under the age of majority and still in the care of one or both parents, or a child who is the age of majority or over but is still being cared for by the parents by reason of illness, disability or other reason (such as attending school) and is therefore unable to withdraw from their care or obtain the necessities of life on their own.

The age of majority in Canada is 18 or 19 years, depending on the province or territory where the child lives. If your children are over the age of majority in your province, they may be entitled to support if they cannot become independent because of an illness, disability or "other cause", such as pursuing their post-secondary education on a full-time basis. For example, courts often order parents to support an older child going to university or college. This level of education can be considered a valid "other cause". Otherwise, financial support for an older child is optional.

Once you have worked out where your children will be residing, you and your children’s other parent will need to deal with the issue of child support. You are obligated to pay child support even if you were not married to, or did not even live with, the child’s other parent. The amount of money one parent pays the other for the support of children in the care of that other person is now determined by the Child Support Guidelines.

*The Child Support Calculator оn this page is based on the latest data from the Department of Justice of Canada. Note that data is provided for general information only and not as a legal advice. You may wish to consult a lawyer for advice with regard to your individual situation.