How Much Child Support Will I Pay in Saskatchewan?

If you are the paying parent, you probably want a realistic number. Child support is not set by guesswork or by what each side thinks is fair. It follows guidelines, and the main input is your income.

This article explains how the federal table amount works in a divorce, what can be added to it, and the situations where a court can depart from it. It cannot give you an exact figure, because that depends on your current income and your family's arrangements.

This article covers the law of Saskatchewan.

The basic formula

Under the Divorce Act, child support orders must be made in accordance with the applicable guidelines, and this includes interim orders. Under the Federal Child Support Guidelines, the presumptive amount is the table amount for the paying spouse's province plus any special or extraordinary expenses.

The table used is that of the province where the payor habitually resides, with a different rule where the payor lives outside Canada. The exact figure for your family depends on your own income and arrangements, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

How your income is counted

Income for child support is determined under sections 15 to 20 of the Guidelines. It starts from the Total income on the T1 General tax form, adjusted under Schedule III. The court may look at the last three years of income.

A court may also impute income, for example where a parent is intentionally under-employed. Choosing to earn less will not necessarily lower your support.

Because the starting point is a figure on a tax form, it helps to know what your own return shows before any discussion about support begins. If your income varies from year to year, or you are unsure how an adjustment applies to you, that is a good question to raise with a lawyer or accountant.

What can be added to the table amount

Section 7 covers special or extraordinary expenses, which include child care, health and education costs. These are shared in proportion to the spouses' incomes.

• Child care costs, such as daycare or after-school care.
• Health-related costs.
• Education costs.

Which specific expenses qualify, and how much, depends on the facts and is worth confirming with a lawyer.

When the straight table amount does not apply

Parenting time is the time a child spends in the care of a person, whether or not the child is physically with that person the whole time. How your schedule is counted can affect which rule applies.

Settling support before it goes to court

The Divorce Act says that, to the extent appropriate, parties shall try to resolve the matters that may be the subject of an order through a family dispute resolution process. Since July 1, 2022, family law matters coming to court anywhere in Saskatchewan are required to attempt a family dispute resolution process by the close of pleadings before continuing with further court proceedings.

There is an exception. A person can apply to the court for an exemption from that requirement where there has been interpersonal violence, the other parent has abducted a child, or there is other urgency.

Support can be heard by a court of the province where either former spouse is habitually resident when the proceeding starts. It can also be heard where both former spouses accept that court's jurisdiction.

Parents who have not fully agreed on parenting must complete a parenting course. Saskatchewan's Parenting After Separation Program has two online courses, one standard and one for high-conflict families, in English and French.

What to do next

If your income or your family's situation changes, an order is not necessarily permanent. A court may vary, rescind or suspend a support order, prospectively or retroactively.

• Gather your last three years of tax returns and notices of assessment, since the court may look at that period.
• Find the Total income figure on each T1 General.
• List child care, health and education costs for the children.
• Write down your actual parenting schedule.
• Ask a lawyer to run the numbers and to explain whether any exception could apply to you.

Frequently asked questions