Child Support in Ontario
Child Support Guidelines
To view the Federal Government's Simplified Table for Ontario:
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/child-enfant/fcsg-lfpae/2017/pdf/ona.pdf
The Child Support Guidelines require parties to child support orders or agreements to exchange support information annually. Serious financial consequences may arise for those who fail to comply.
Section 24.1 of the Ontario Child Support Guidelines came into effect in 2010. The section specifies that the tax return for the most recent year, including any materials included in the return such as T4 slips and the Notice of Assessment or Reassessment from CRA MUST be supplied to the other party each year. There is no doubt that payors who do not comply with this requirement will be liable for retroactive child support based on annual income increases. Payor’s who experience an income reduction will not likely receive a retroactive arrears reduction on a motion to change if the annual income disclosure has not been provided. This has now been specifically confirmed by two Supreme Court of Canada decisions in 2020 and 2021 to be discussed below.
Apart from these mandatory requirements in Ontario, most separation agreements contain clauses which require the parties to annually exchange tax information and special expense details.
The risk of ignoring this annual disclosure requirement can be financially devastating.
To view the Federal Government's Simplified Table for Ontario:
https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/fl-df/child-enfant/fcsg-lfpae/2017/pdf/ona.pdf
The Child Support Guidelines require parties to child support orders or agreements to exchange support information annually. Serious financial consequences may arise for those who fail to comply.
Section 24.1 of the Ontario Child Support Guidelines came into effect in 2010. The section specifies that the tax return for the most recent year, including any materials included in the return such as T4 slips and the Notice of Assessment or Reassessment from CRA MUST be supplied to the other party each year. There is no doubt that payors who do not comply with this requirement will be liable for retroactive child support based on annual income increases. Payor’s who experience an income reduction will not likely receive a retroactive arrears reduction on a motion to change if the annual income disclosure has not been provided. This has now been specifically confirmed by two Supreme Court of Canada decisions in 2020 and 2021 to be discussed below.
Apart from these mandatory requirements in Ontario, most separation agreements contain clauses which require the parties to annually exchange tax information and special expense details.
The risk of ignoring this annual disclosure requirement can be financially devastating.