When a relationship ends—whether it's a marriage or common-law partnership—financial support becomes a key concern. In Ontario, child support and spousal support are legal obligations designed to ensure fairness and protect the well-being of everyone involved, especially children.
This guide explains how child and spousal support work in Ontario, who qualifies, how they’re calculated, and what your rights and responsibilities are.
📌 What Is Child Support?
Child support is money paid by one parent to the other to help cover the costs of raising a child after separation or divorce. In Ontario, every child has the right to be financially supported by both parents, whether or not the parents were ever married or lived together.
Key Facts:
Based on the Federal Child Support Guidelines
Calculated using the paying parent's gross annual income
Usually continues until the child turns 18, but can go longer if the child is in school or has a disability
What Does Child Support Cover?
Food and clothing
Shelter and basic necessities
School supplies
Basic extracurricular activities
Special or extraordinary expenses (e.g. daycare, tutoring, braces) may require additional payments (called Section 7 expenses), typically shared based on each parent’s income.
📌 How Is Child Support Calculated in Ontario?
Ontario uses the Federal Child Support Tables, which provide a monthly amount based on:
The number of children
The paying parent's gross annual income
The province of residence
👉 Use the official Child Support Calculator to estimate your support amount.
Example:
If a parent in Ontario earns $60,000 per year and has two children, they may pay about $894/month (as per 2024 guidelines). The exact amount may vary based on circumstances.
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In Ontario, child support is calculated using the Child Support Guidelines under the Divorce Act or Family Law Act. When a payor has children from different relationships, the calculation isn’t a simple flat amount — you have to apply the Guidelines separately for each set of children, based on income and parenting arrangements.
Here’s how it works:
Start with the gross annual income from Line 15000 of the payor’s most recent income tax return.
Adjust for special circumstances (e.g., non-taxable income, business deductions, union dues, etc.) under s.17–20 of the Guidelines.
Step 2 – Apply the Table Amount Separately
The Child Support Guidelines Table for Ontario provides a monthly amount per child, based on income.
For two children with the first wife, find the table amount for two children at that income level.
For one child with the second wife, find the table amount for one child at that income level.
Example (fictional numbers):
If income is $80,000/year (Ontario table, 2024):
2 children → $1,229/month to first wife
1 child → $744/month to second wife
The Guidelines allow you to reduce the income used for the second calculation if the payor is already under a binding court order or separation agreement for the first set of children. This is under s.9 and s.10 of the Guidelines (undue hardship and multiple obligations).
Courts will often treat the first order as a fixed obligation, deduct it from gross income, then calculate the second obligation on the reduced income.
If parenting time is at least 40% for any child, you may have to apply the set-off method under s.9:
Calculate what each parent would pay the other under the tables.
The higher-income parent pays the difference.
Step 5 – Add Special or Extraordinary Expenses (s.7)
On top of the table amount, each parent may have to share in proportion to income:
Daycare
Medical/dental not covered by insurance
Extracurricular activities
Post-secondary expenses
📌 What Is Spousal Support?
Spousal support (sometimes called alimony) is money paid by one spouse to the other after separation or divorce. It aims to:
Recognize economic disadvantages from the relationship
Support financial independence
Share the financial consequences of the breakdown
Who Can Get Spousal Support?
You may be eligible if:
You were married or in a common-law relationship (living together for at least 3 years or having a child together)
There’s a financial imbalance due to the relationship (e.g. one spouse stayed home to care for children or supported the other’s career)
📌 How Is Spousal Support Calculated?
Unlike child support, spousal support is not automatically awarded. It depends on:
Length of the relationship
Roles during the relationship
Income and earning capacity
Age and health of both parties
Ontario uses the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines (SSAG) to provide a range of suggested payments and durations. These are not mandatory but are widely followed by courts and lawyers.
Example:
A 15-year marriage where one spouse earns $90,000 and the other earns $30,000 may lead to support payments of $1,200 to $1,800/month for 7.5 to 15 years.
📌 How to Apply for Child or Spousal Support in Ontario
1. Separation Agreement
Most couples include support terms in a written separation agreement. This is a legally binding contract.
2. Family Court
If there’s no agreement, you can apply to the Ontario Family Court for an order.
3. Family Responsibility Office (FRO)
Once ordered or agreed upon, payments can be enforced through the Family Responsibility Office (FRO), which collects and distributes support payments.
📌 Enforcing Support Payments
If the paying parent stops making payments:
FRO can garnish wages, suspend driver’s licenses, or intercept tax refunds
You do not have to take legal action yourself if FRO is involved
📌 Modifying Support Payments
Support amounts can change if there is a material change in circumstances, such as:
A job loss or significant income increase
A child finishing school
A change in custody or parenting time
To change support:
Update your separation agreement (if both agree)
Apply to court to vary the order
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Can we agree to no child support?
No. Child support is the right of the child, not the parent. You cannot waive it by agreement.
What if the paying parent is self-employed or hiding income?
Courts can impute income—estimate what the person should earn based on evidence—and base support on that amount.
How long does spousal support last?
It depends on your situation. A general rule is half the length of the relationship, but it could be longer or indefinite, especially in long marriages.
Is spousal support tax deductible?
As of 2024:
Spousal support is tax-deductible for the payer and taxable for the recipient (if paid monthly and ordered/agreed in writing).
Child support is not tax deductible or taxable.
📝 Final Thoughts
Understanding child and spousal support in Ontario helps you make informed decisions and protects the well-being of your family. Whether you're paying or receiving support, knowing your rights and using the proper legal tools—like agreements, court orders, and the Family Responsibility Office—can help ensure fairness and consistency.
· For personalized advice, always consult a family lawyer or legal aid services in Ontario.
B.S. v. S.R.G.; L.J.W. v. T.A.R.; Henry v. Henry; Hiemstra v. Hiemstra, 2006 SCC 37 [retroactive child support]
Lewi v. Lewi (2006), 80 O.R. (3d) 321 (C.A.) [child support for adult children]
Park v. Thompson (2005), 77 O.R. (3d) 601 (C.A.) [adult children]
Francis v. Baker, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 250 [s. 4 of the Guidelines]
R. R. (2002), 58 O.R. (3d) 656 (C.A.) [s. 4 of the Guidelines]
Contino v. Leonelli-Contino, 2005 SCC 63 [child support where both parents have the children more than 40% of the time]
Froom v. Froom (2004), 136 A.C.W.S. (3d) 331 [s. 9 of the Guidelines]
Maultsaid v. Blair,2009 BCCA 102 [s. 9 of the Guidelines]
(L.) v. C.(M.),2013 ONSC 1801 [s. 9 of the Guidelines]
Chartier v. Chartier, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 242 [child support payable by a step-parent]
Ewing v. Ewing, 2009 ABCA 227, leave to appeal to SCC refused [2009] S.C.C.A. No. 386 [s. 4 of the Guidelines]
Tauber v. Tauber (2000), 48 O.R. (3d) 577 (C.A.) [s. 4 of the Guidelines]
Tauber v. Tauber (2001), 203 D.L.R. (4th) 168 (Ont. S.C.) [s. 4 of the Guidelines and spousal support]
Drygala v. Pauli (2002), 61 O.R. (3d) 711 (C.A.) [s. 19 of Guidelines, intentional underemployment]
Lavie v. Lavie, 2018 ONCA 10 [imputing income, intentional underemployment]
DiFrancesco v. Couto (2001), 56 O.R. (3d) 363 (C.A.) [rescission of arrears]
Senos v.Karcz,2014 ONCA 459 [child support for ODSP recipients]
Bak v. Dobell,2007 ONCA 304 [imputing income; gifts as income]
Thompson v. Thompson, 2013 ONSC 5500 [imputing pre-tax corporate income, intentional un/under-employment]
Miglin v. Miglin, 2003 SCC 24 [spousal support in the face of a spousal support release]
Fisher v. Fisher, 2008 ONCA 11 [the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines]
Bracklow v. Bracklow, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 420 [entitlement to spousal support]
Boston v. Boston, 2001 SCC 43 [pensions and “double dipping”]
Moge v. Moge, [1992] 3 S.C.R. 813 [entitlement to spousal support, objectives of spousal support, self-sufficiency]
Davis v. Crawford, 2011 ONCA 294 [broadens the circumstances in which lump sum spousal support payments can be awarded]
Mason v. Mason,2016 ONCA 725 [imputing corporate income for support calculation]
Halliwell v. Halliwell, 2016 ONSC 182, aff’d 2017 ONCA 349 [high income and SSAGs]
Whalen-Byrne v. Byrne, 2017 ONCA 729 [interrupted cohabitation for SSAG purposes]