What Happens to Child Support in Shared Parenting Arrangements?
When children spend substantial time in both parents' homes, child support is calculated differently than it is in a more traditional parenting arrangement.
The number most parents hear about is 40%.
Under Ontario's Child Support Guidelines, shared parenting applies for child-support purposes where each parent exercises at least 40% of the parenting time with the child over the course of a year. The Federal Child Support Guidelines use the same threshold.
But reaching 40% does not mean child support disappears.
It does not automatically mean the parents simply subtract one table amount from the other.
And it should not determine what parenting schedule is appropriate for the child.
The threshold changes how child support is calculated. It does not decide what the parenting arrangement should be.
What Is the 40% Rule for Child Support?
Section 9 of the Child Support Guidelines applies when each parent has at least 40% of the parenting time over the course of a year.
Once that threshold is met, the court must consider three things:
The child-support table amount for each parent, the increased costs associated with shared parenting, and the condition, means, needs and other circumstances of each parent and child.
That is different from the ordinary table-support calculation where one parent's income is generally used to determine the basic amount payable to the parent with the majority of parenting time.
Shared parenting recognizes that both households may be paying substantial ongoing costs for the child.
Is Child Support Just the Difference Between the Two Table Amounts?
Not necessarily.
A common first step is to calculate what each parent would pay under the applicable child-support table and subtract the lower amount from the higher amount.
This is commonly called the set-off amount.
For example, if Parent A's table amount were $1,200 per month and Parent B's were $700 per month, the simple set-off would be $500.
But that does not automatically mean $500 is the final child-support amount.
In Contino v. Leonelli-Contino, the Supreme Court of Canada confirmed that simple set-off can be a convenient starting point, but section 9 requires a broader analysis. The court must also consider the increased costs of the shared arrangement and the actual financial circumstances of the parents and child.
Set-off starts the analysis. It does not necessarily finish it.
Why Does Shared Parenting Cost More?
A child living substantially in two homes can create costs that do not disappear simply because parenting time is divided.
Both households may need appropriate housing for the child.
Both may maintain clothing, personal items, food, transportation and other necessities.
The Supreme Court of Canada recognized in Contino that shared parenting can involve duplicated fixed costs and additional expenses associated with maintaining the child in two households.
Those costs may not be equal.
One parent may carry significantly higher housing or child-related costs than the other. The parents may also have very different incomes.
That is why section 9 directs the court to look beyond a mathematical set-off.
Does 50/50 Parenting Mean No Child Support?
No.
Equal parenting time does not automatically mean equal financial circumstances.
If one parent earns substantially more than the other, child support may still be payable even where the schedule is exactly 50/50.
The Supreme Court has also made clear that once section 9 applies, there is neither a presumption that the ordinary table amount must continue nor a presumption that support must be reduced from that amount. The result depends on the three section 9 factors and the evidence in the particular case.
A shared schedule therefore answers one question:
How is parenting time divided?
It does not answer another:
What child-support amount appropriately reflects the family's financial circumstances?
Is 40% a Target Parents Should Try to Reach?
No.
The 40% threshold exists for the purpose of determining which child-support calculation applies.
It is not a parenting recommendation.
When a court determines parenting time in Ontario, the governing consideration is the best interests of the child, with primary consideration given to the child's physical, emotional and psychological safety, security and well-being.
A parenting schedule should therefore be built around factors such as the child's age, routine, school, needs, relationships, stability and the practical circumstances of the family.
Child support can then be calculated based on that parenting arrangement.
The financial threshold should follow the parenting arrangement—not create it.
Does the Agreement Have to Say “Shared Parenting”?
No particular label creates the section 9 calculation.
The Guidelines focus on whether each parent actually exercises not less than 40% of parenting time over the course of a year.
A parenting agreement might describe the arrangement as shared, equal, 50/50 or simply set out a detailed schedule.
For child-support purposes, what matters is whether the arrangement actually falls within the statutory threshold.
This becomes important where the schedule in an agreement and the family's actual routine begin to move apart.
What If the Parenting Schedule Changes Later?
Parenting arrangements change.
A young child's schedule may evolve as they get older. A teenager may begin spending more time in one household. Work schedules, school commitments or other circumstances may alter what the family is actually doing.
If a shared arrangement later becomes something closer to 70/30, the assumptions on which child support was originally calculated may no longer be accurate.
Because section 9 depends on parenting time exercised over the course of a year, a substantial and continuing change in the actual arrangement may require the child-support calculation to be revisited.
This is one reason a separation agreement should provide a practical mechanism for reviewing support when parenting arrangements or incomes materially change.
What Happens to Section 7 Expenses in Shared Parenting?
Shared parenting does not make section 7 special or extraordinary expenses disappear.
Qualifying childcare, healthcare, education, post-secondary and extraordinary extracurricular expenses can still be payable in addition to the base child-support arrangement.
The Guidelines generally use proportional sharing based on the parents' respective incomes, after considering the child's contribution and applicable subsidies, benefits and tax consequences.
A shared-parenting agreement should therefore explain how these expenses will be handled separately from the section 9 child-support amount.
For example, the agreement can identify how income proportions will be updated, how new section 7 expenses will be discussed, how receipts will be exchanged and when reimbursement is due.
This helps avoid confusion between expenses already reflected in the shared-parenting analysis and separately qualifying section 7 expenses.
What About the Canada Child Benefit in Shared Parenting?
The Canada Child Benefit has its own rules.
For CCB purposes, the Canada Revenue Agency generally considers parents to have shared custody where the child lives with each of them between 40% and 60% of the time.
Where the CRA considers the parents to have shared custody, each parent receives 50% of the CCB amount they would have received if the child lived with them full-time, calculated using that parent's own adjusted family net income.
That is important because the CCB calculation should not be confused with the section 9 child-support calculation.
They both use a 40% threshold, but they operate under different legislation and answer different questions.
The child-support agreement should not simply assume that a particular parent will receive 100% of a government benefit if the CRA's shared-custody rules say otherwise.
Do Both Parents' Incomes Matter?
Yes.
Because section 9 requires the court to consider the table amount for each parent, both parents' guideline incomes need to be determined.
That means financial disclosure matters on both sides.
The Ontario Superior Court's family-law guidance specifically notes that where parents share parenting time, both parents may be required to provide financial statements because each parent's financial circumstances are relevant to the support calculation.
If one parent is self-employed, owns a corporation or has fluctuating income, the same income-determination issues that arise in other child-support cases can arise here as well.
A simple set-off based on inaccurate incomes simply produces an inaccurate starting point.
Can the Final Amount Be Higher Than the Set-Off?
Yes.
It can also be lower.
The purpose of the section 9 analysis is not to mechanically reward or penalize either parent for having shared parenting time.
The Supreme Court said the calculation should be flexible enough to reflect the economic reality of the particular family. None of the three section 9 factors automatically takes priority over the others.
Depending on the evidence, the court may conclude that the simple set-off is appropriate.
In another case, an adjustment may be necessary because of the increased costs of the shared arrangement, significant differences in the parents' financial circumstances or the needs of the child.
In some cases, even the ordinary table amount could remain appropriate after all three factors are considered.
Should a Separation Agreement Explain How the Amount Was Calculated?
Yes.
A shared-parenting child-support clause is more useful when it records the assumptions behind the number rather than stating only the final monthly payment.
For example, it can identify each parent's guideline income, each parent's table amount, the simple set-off and whether an adjustment was made after considering the other section 9 factors.
It can also state what parenting arrangement the calculation assumes.
That becomes useful later.
If one parent's income changes significantly or the parenting schedule shifts, the parties can see what the original support figure was based on rather than trying to reconstruct the calculation several years later.
Should the Agreement Include an Annual Child-Support Review?
Often, a regular disclosure process is useful.
Child support depends on current income, and Ontario's Guidelines already contain annual income-disclosure requirements in many child-support arrangements.
The agreement can make that process practical by identifying when tax returns and Notices of Assessment will be exchanged and when any revised child-support amount will take effect.
For shared parenting, the agreement may also identify what happens if the parenting schedule changes enough that the 40% threshold is no longer met.
That does not mean support should change every time one parent keeps the child for an extra weekend.
The purpose is to address meaningful changes to the arrangement on which the support calculation was based.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is considered shared parenting for child support in Ontario?
For child-support purposes, shared parenting generally applies where each parent exercises at least 40% of the parenting time with the child over the course of a year.
Does child support stop when parenting time is 50/50?
No. Child support may still be payable, particularly where the parents have different incomes or different financial circumstances.
How is child support calculated in shared parenting?
The court considers each parent's table amount, the increased costs of shared parenting and the condition, means, needs and other circumstances of the parents and child.
What is the set-off amount?
The set-off is the difference between the child-support table amounts calculated for each parent. The Supreme Court of Canada has recognized it as a useful starting point, but not necessarily the final result.
Does one parent have to earn more for child support to be payable?
A difference in income is often an important part of the calculation, but section 9 requires consideration of more than income alone.
Do section 7 expenses still apply with 50/50 parenting?
Yes. Qualifying special or extraordinary expenses can still be payable and should be addressed separately in the parents' child-support arrangement.
What happens to the Canada Child Benefit with shared parenting?
Where CRA considers the parents to have shared custody, each generally receives 50% of the amount they would receive if the child lived with them full-time, based on their own adjusted family net income.
What if our agreement says 50/50 but the child now spends most of the time with one parent?
A substantial and continuing change in the parenting arrangement can affect whether section 9 continues to apply and may justify reviewing the child-support calculation.
Start With the Parenting Arrangement, Then Calculate Support
The 40% threshold matters, but it should not be the reason a parenting schedule looks the way it does.
Build the parenting arrangement around what works for the child. Then calculate child support using the legal framework that applies to that arrangement.
If you are separating and organizing parenting schedules, financial disclosure and child support, Willing Law's Separation Checklist can help you identify the information and documents worth gathering before those terms are finalized.
Download the Separation Checklist and use it as a starting point for the decisions ahead.
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This article provides general legal information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create a solicitor-client relationship.
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