Child support guidelines in British Columbia

When you are going through a child support case, it is likely you have questions about the amount you may be expected to pay or the amount you may expect to receive. In order to make child support orders consistent across Canada, the federal government has issued child support guidelines. Additionally, each province, including British Columbia, has their own provincial tables on which courts rely. You can expect the judge in your case to follow these guidelines and tables.

The guidelines take into account the relative incomes of both parents. Even if you were not married to the other parent, you may end up either paying child support or being the recipient of it. If you are ordered to pay child support, you will not be able to deduct the amount from your taxes. If you are the recipient, your child support is not taxable income.

In addition to the guideline amounts, if your child has an extraordinary expense, such as daycare expenses so you or your ex can attend school or work, medical expenses, tutoring costs or extracurricular program expenses, those will be split according to income in addition to the child support amount. If the amount ordered is an undue hardship for you, you can show the court that you have an excessive debt level, that you already pay to support other children, that you care for a disabled person or that you incur significant expenses in visiting your child. The court may then order a lower amount than the guideline amount.

Our firm has multiple locations to serve clients throughout both British Columbia and across the nation. We have a good understanding of how child support is calculated. If you would like more information, we have compiled a page that discusses child support. You can get more information at our Vancouver child support page.

Source: QUAY Law Centre, “Child Support and Special and Extraordinary Expenses,” Nov. 20, 2014

This entry was posted in Child Support and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.