How to Change Child Support in Alberta When Your Income Changes

Child support is based on the paying parent's income, and incomes rarely stay the same. A raise, a layoff, a move to part-time work or a new business can all leave an old order feeling out of step with real life.

This article explains in general terms how an order can be changed in Alberta, how income is counted, and what to keep doing in the meantime. Your own situation may turn on details, so a lawyer can confirm how the rules apply to you.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

What counts as a change in circumstances

For an order based on the child support tables, a change in circumstances is any change that would result in a different child support order. That is a fairly low bar. The question is whether the numbers, run through the tables today, would give a different amount.

For other kinds of orders, the test is a change in the condition, means, needs or other circumstances of the child or a spouse.

Under the Divorce Act, before varying a child support order the court must satisfy itself that a change of circumstances as provided for in the applicable guidelines has occurred.

What a court can do, and which rules apply

Under the Divorce Act, a court may vary, rescind or suspend a child support order, retroactively or prospectively, on application by either or both former spouses. A variation must follow the applicable guidelines.

There is an exception. The court may award an amount different from the guideline amount if special provisions in an order or agreement directly or indirectly benefit a child and the guideline amount would be inequitable.

The same tables are used whether you are divorced or not. Divorcing spouses are under the Divorce Act, and the Federal Child Support Guidelines apply unless both are habitually resident in a province designated by order. Unmarried, separated-but-not-divorced and adult interdependent partners proceed under Alberta's Family Law Act and the Alberta Child Support Guidelines, which adopt the federal guidelines, so the table amounts are the same.

Updated tables took effect on October 1, 2025. Existing orders are not changed automatically, but a different table amount may count as a change in circumstances.

How income is measured

Table amounts are driven by the paying parent's annual income, the number of children and the payer's province. Income is taken from the Total income line of the T1 General tax form, adjusted under Schedule III.

• If this year's income would not fairly reflect a person's income, for example because it fluctuates or is non-recurring, the court may look at the last three years.
• For a shareholder, director or officer of a corporation, the court may attribute all or part of the corporation's pre-tax income where the salary does not fairly reflect the money available for support.
• Spouses may agree in writing on income, and the court may accept the figure if it is reasonable.
• Where the payer's income is over $150,000, the court may depart from the plain table amount.

Quitting or cutting back work on purpose

A real drop in income can support a change. But the court may impute income it considers appropriate, for example for intentional under-employment or unemployment, or unreasonable deductions of expenses. In plain terms, reducing your hours or leaving a job to pay less support may not lead to a lower amount.

If you are asking for a decrease, be ready to explain why your income fell and what you have done to earn what you reasonably can.

Updated income information and MEP

After an order is made, while the child is a child under the Guidelines, a spouse must provide updated income documents on written request, not more than once a year, within 30 days if in Canada or the United States, or 60 days elsewhere. If a spouse does not comply with the disclosure rules, the other may apply for an order requiring the documents, and the court may also impute income.

If the order is enforced by the Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP), support recalculations are timed around the anniversary date of the court order, based on the most recent tax return.

Once an MEP file opens, the payor must stop paying the recipient directly and pay through MEP. An existing order is not changed automatically, so how to handle payments while you seek a change is worth confirming with a lawyer. A court-ordered stay of enforcement can last up to 9 months, but it does not erase the arrears.

What to do next

• Gather your tax returns, notices of assessment and recent pay information. On an application, the three most recent years of returns and assessments are expected.
• Run your current income through the tables to see whether the amount would differ.
• Once an MEP file is open, the payor pays through MEP rather than directly to the recipient. Ask a lawyer how to handle payments while you sort out a change.
• Check your order or agreement for special provisions that benefit the child.
• Speak with a lawyer before applying, especially if your income is irregular, you own a business, or arrears have built up.

Frequently asked questions