Split Parenting time
Question & Answer
When can a parent pay less child support?If you and your partner each have one or more of your children living with you more than 60% of the time, this kind of parenting arrangement is called . This used to be called .
The court usually decides the amount of by first looking at the table amount for each parent based on their gross annual income and the number of children living with the other parent. Gross income means income before taxes and most other deductions. There are 2 ways to find this amount:
- Look at line 150 income on the 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.
There is an online calculator at the Child Support Table Look-up that can help you figure out the table amount of child support.
The court then subtracts the smaller amount from the larger amount. The parent who would pay more in child support pays the difference to the parent who would pay less in child support.
Example: Charmaine and Louis have three children. When they separated, they agreed that 2 of the children would live with Charmaine most of the time, and the other child would live with Louis most of the time.
Charmaine's gross income is $70,000. Louis's gross income is $40,000. Using the Ontario Child Support Tables, Charmaine would have to pay monthly child support of $654 based on her gross income of $70,000 for the one child living with Louis. Louis would have to pay monthly child support of $597 based on his gross income of $40,000 for the two children living with Charmaine.
The difference between $654 and $597 is $57. Charmaine pays Louis $57 in monthly child support.
