How much is child support in British Columbia, and how is it calculated?
This answer covers the law of British Columbia.
In British Columbia, child support is usually the table amount for the paying parent's income and the number of children, plus any special or extraordinary expenses. BC table amounts depend on the payor's income only, not the recipient's. Courts must follow the guidelines when making these orders under both the Family Law Act and the Divorce Act.
Each table row gives a monthly basic amount plus a percentage of income over the row's floor figure. For one child, the $50,000 row in the BC table is $468 plus 0.94% of income over $50,000. For two children the same row is $792 plus 1.54% of income over that floor. Rows run in $1,000 steps, so you need your exact row or the official table lookup.
Several exceptions can change the result, including shared parenting, split parenting, undue hardship and payor income over $150,000. On a parent's request, the court may add an amount for special expenses such as child care, and these are shared in proportion to the parents' incomes after deducting any contribution the child can make. Which applies depends on your facts, so confirm with a lawyer.
Key takeaways
- The presumptive amount is the table amount for the payor's province plus any section 7 special or extraordinary expense amount.
- The BC monthly table figures depend on the payor's income and the number of children, not on the recipient's income.
- A parent's annual income is generally determined from the Total income heading of the T1 General tax form, adjusted under Schedule III.
- A court can depart from the guideline amount if the parties consent or have an agreement and reasonable arrangements exist for the child's support, or if other financial arrangements or property division benefit the child, and it must give reasons. Parents cannot waive child support altogether, because support is the child's legal right.