Do the New 2025 Child Support Tables Change Your Alberta Order?

If you already have a child support order or agreement in Alberta, you may have heard that the federal child support tables were updated. It is natural to wonder whether your payments, or the amount you receive, have changed on their own.

This article explains what the updated tables do and do not change, how a different amount can lead to a variation, and what practical steps you can take. Your own situation may have details that matter, so a lawyer can confirm how this applies to you.

This article covers the law of Alberta.

Why the same tables apply in Alberta whichever law you are under

Divorcing spouses are under the Divorce Act. Unmarried parents, separated-but-not-divorced spouses and adult interdependent partners proceed under Alberta's Family Law Act and the Alberta Child Support Guidelines.

Alberta says the Federal Child Support Tables are used to calculate child support under both laws, and that the Federal Child Support Guidelines are adopted by the Alberta Child Support Guidelines in Schedule 1. Because of that, the table amounts are the same.

Which tables apply to which periods

Updated Federal Child Support Tables took effect October 1, 2025, and use 2023 tax rules, where the previous tables used 2017 rules.

For exact dollar amounts, check the 2025 tables on justice.gc.ca rather than relying on memory or older figures.

Your existing order does not change automatically

Existing orders are not automatically changed by the 2025 tables. Until an order is changed, it generally keeps operating as written.

If the new tables produce a different amount, that may count as a change in circumstances, and parents can seek a variation order or use a recalculation service. For a table-based order, a change in circumstances is any change that would result in a different child support order.

Under the Divorce Act, a court can vary, rescind or suspend a child support order, retroactively or prospectively, on application by either or both former spouses. Before varying, the court must be satisfied that a change of circumstances as provided for in the applicable guidelines has occurred, and the variation must follow the applicable guidelines.

What sets a table amount

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.

• Where the payer's income is over $150,000, the court may depart from the plain table amount.
• Special or extraordinary expenses, such as child care, can be added on top of the table amount for a child under the age of majority.
• Where each spouse has at least 40% of parenting time with a child over the course of a year, the court must also consider the shared parenting factors.

A different table amount does not necessarily mean a different order for you. Your income, parenting time and other facts may mean the result is the same or differs.

Practical steps to take next

Start by finding out whether the 2025 tables would give a different amount for your current facts. Then decide whether to ask the other parent to agree to a change or to apply for a variation.

• Find your current order or agreement and note the income and number of children it was based on.
• Gather recent income documents for both parents.
• Look up the amount in the 2025 tables on justice.gc.ca.
• If you are registered with the Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP), know that its support recalculations are timed around the anniversary date of the court order, based on the most recent tax return.
• If an order is in place, expect that a spouse may make a written request for updated income documents, not more than once a year, and you must respond within 30 days if in Canada or the United States, or 60 days elsewhere.
• Speak with a lawyer before applying to vary, especially if income is over $150,000 or parenting time is shared.

Frequently asked questions