2. Calculate the income of the payor parent

Basic monthly amounts of child support are set out in the Child Support Guidelines and the Government of Canada's child support tables. It is based on the gross annual income of the payor parent and the number of children they have to support.

Gross income means income before taxes and most other deductions. There are two ways to find this amount:

• Look at line 150 of the payor parent's income tax return or notice of assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency.
• Look at pay stubs for a full year and add up the earnings before deductions.

Payor parents must give detailed information about their income. This can include:

• income tax returns and notices of assessment
• pay stubs or statements from employers
• financial statements of any business they own
• statements from employment insurance, social assistance, a pension, worker's compensation, or disability payments
• proof of income from a trust

Sometimes these documents do not show the whole picture of what the payor parent makes or could be making. This can be because they are trying to avoid paying child support by:

• working for cash
• not actively looking for a job
• being underemployed by only working part-time or in a low paying job
• not reporting all their income
• giving false information

In these situations, you can ask the judge to impute income. This means asking the judge to decide that your partner earns more than they say or can earn more.

A judge imputes income based on what the payor parent is capable of earning or what the judge thinks the payor parent actually earns. The judge looks at things like their work history, past income, education, lifestyle, and job opportunities.