Equal or shared parenting time: how is child support set in Ontario?

If each parent has the child at least 40 per cent of the time over a year, the usual table amount does not apply automatically. The court sets child support under section 9 of the guidelines, taking into account the table amounts for both parents, the extra costs of running two homes for the child, and each household's means and needs. Equal time does not automatically mean that no support is paid.

In most families one parent has the children most of the time and the other pays the table amount for their income, as our main page on child support in Ontario explains. Shared parenting changes that starting point. The rules below are in section 9 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines (used in a divorce) and section 9 of the Ontario Child Support Guidelines (used in a Family Law Act case), which say the same thing in slightly different words. How the schedule itself is set is a separate question, covered on our page on parenting time.

How is support set when parenting time is shared, step by step?

1. Count the parenting time over a full year. The 40 per cent test in section 9 is measured "over the course of a year", not week by week. Use the actual schedule, including holidays and summers, or the schedule in the order or agreement.
2. Decide which arrangement you have. If one parent has more than 60 per cent, that parent has the "majority of parenting time" (s. 2(1)) and the ordinary table rule in section 3 applies. If each parent has at least 40 per cent, section 9 applies. If there are two or more children and each parent has the majority of time with at least one child, section 8 applies.
3. Exchange income information. Under section 9 the court looks at the table amount for each parent, so both incomes matter, not only the paying parent's. Under rule 13 of the Family Law Rules, parties to a support claim generally serve a financial statement and income documents.
4. Work out both table amounts. Look up what each parent would pay the other under the applicable table for the number of children.
5. Add the evidence on costs and means. Section 9 also requires the court to consider the increased costs of shared parenting and the condition, means, needs and other circumstances of each parent and child, so each side's budget and the child's actual expenses in each home are part of the evidence.
6. Agree or ask the court. Parents can settle the amount in a separation agreement, through an application in court, or, in an existing case, through a motion to change. A request that is not in accordance with the tables needs the evidence required by section 9 (Family Law Rules, r. 15(21), paragraph 5).

The online Child Support Service run by the Government of Ontario cannot be used for this. Its own eligibility rules say it is not available where there is split or shared parenting time; it is designed for families where one parent or caregiver lives with the child 60 per cent of the time.

Which rule applies to which arrangement?

Section 8 is the only one of these rules that gives a formula, the difference between two table amounts. Section 9 does not. It lists three things the court must take into account and leaves the amount to the court, which is why shared parenting cases depend so heavily on evidence.

What exactly does section 9 require the court to consider?

Section 9 says that if each parent exercises not less than 40 per cent of parenting time over a year, the amount of the order "must be determined by taking into account" three things.

(a) The amounts set out in the applicable tables for each parent. The court looks at what each parent would pay the other under the table for their own income. Where incomes are very different, the gap between the two table amounts is usually large; where incomes are close, it is small.

(b) The increased costs of shared parenting time arrangements. When a child lives in two homes, some costs can be duplicated, such as a bedroom in each home or travel between them. The guidelines direct the court to these increased costs; they do not list them or set an amount.

(c) The condition, means, needs and other circumstances of each parent and of any child for whom support is sought. This is the broadest factor. It lets the court look at each household's actual income and expenses, who pays for what, and whether the child would have a very different standard of living in each home.

The guidelines do not rank these factors or say that any one of them controls. They do not say the result must be the difference between the two table amounts, and they do not say that equal time means equal costs. A parent who wants a particular result has to show the court why the three factors lead there.

How is parenting time counted toward the 40 per cent?

The guidelines set the threshold and the period: at least 40 per cent, measured over the course of a year. They do not set a method. They do not say whether the court counts hours, days or overnights, and they do not say how school days, travel or time with a babysitter are divided.

The statutes do define the term. The Divorce Act defines parenting time as the time a child spends in the care of a person with parenting time, "whether or not the child is physically with that person during that entire time" (s. 2(1)). The Children's Law Reform Act, which governs parents who were never married or are not divorcing, uses the same idea: the time a child spends in the care of a parent, whether or not the child is physically with the parent during that time (s. 18(1)). So the question is whose care the child is in, not only where the child sleeps.

Because the guidelines leave the method open, a parent near the threshold should keep a careful record of the time the child actually spends in their care, in a form a court can check, such as a calendar kept as the year goes on. If the parents' records differ, the court decides on the evidence.

What changes the answer?

• Time on paper versus time in practice. Section 9 refers to the time each parent "exercises", so a schedule that is not actually followed may not count the way it reads.
• The number of children and how they divide. With two or more children living mainly in different homes, section 8, not section 9, may apply.
• Very different incomes. The two table amounts under section 9(a) will be far apart, and the means of each household under section 9(c) carry weight.
• Section 7 expenses. Shared parenting changes how the monthly amount is set, but requests for special or extraordinary expenses are made under section 7; see what counts as a section 7 expense.
• Undue hardship. Section 10 applies to amounts set under section 9 as well, with the standard of living comparison in section 10(3).
• An agreement between the parents. A court can approve a different amount on consent if reasonable arrangements have been made for the child (Divorce Act, s. 15.1(7); Family Law Act, s. 33(14)). The court still has regard to the guidelines.
• A change in the schedule. If time moves above or below 40 per cent, the order may no longer fit; section 14(a) treats any change that would result in a different order as a change in circumstances. See how to change a support order in Ontario.

A worked example

For example, imagine Leila and Arash, who live a few kilometres apart in North York and Thornhill and have two children, aged 8 and 11. They are not divorcing, so the Ontario guidelines apply. Leila earns about twice what Arash earns. Their schedule gives Arash every other weekend from Friday to Monday morning, every Wednesday overnight, half the winter and spring breaks, and four weeks in the summer.

Leila says Arash has about 35 per cent of the time and should receive no more than the ordinary result, which here would mean Arash paying Leila the table amount for his income. Arash says that, counted over the whole year and including the school days on which he drops the children off and picks them up, the children are in his care more than 40 per cent of the time. Each brings a calendar for the last twelve months. If the court finds the 40 per cent threshold is met, it does not simply pick one parent's table amount. It looks at what each would pay under the table for two children, at the extra costs Arash carries for a second home for the children, and at the very different means of the two households. Because Leila's income is much higher, the result may well be that Leila pays Arash an amount, even though she also has the children more of the time. If the threshold is not met, section 3 applies and Arash pays the table amount for his income. This is a hypothetical walk-through, not a prediction of any result. Families who would like to work through a schedule like this in Farsi can read about our work with Persian-speaking families in Toronto.

What mistakes do parents make?

1. Assuming 50/50 time means no support. Section 9 starts from both table amounts; where incomes differ, one parent usually still pays something.
2. Assuming the difference between the two table amounts is automatic. That formula is in section 8 for split parenting. Section 9 adds increased costs and each household's means and needs.
3. Counting time loosely. The test is 40 per cent over a year. A parent who relies on "about half" without records may be unable to prove it.
4. Agreeing to a schedule just to reach 40 per cent. A parenting order is made only on the child's best interests (Divorce Act, s. 16(1); Children's Law Reform Act, s. 24(1)), not on the support result.
5. Leaving out income information. Under section 9 both incomes matter. Missing documents slow the case and can lead the court to impute income (s. 19(1)(f)).
6. Not revisiting the order. Schedules change as children grow. A support order built on an old schedule may need to change, and the change has to go through an agreement or the court.

What to do this week

1. Print or download a calendar for the last twelve months and mark each day and overnight the children were in your care.
2. Collect your last three years of tax returns and notices of assessment; our guide to which financial statement to file lists the other documents a court expects.
3. List the costs you carry for the children in your home: rent or mortgage share for their room, food, clothing, transport, activities.
4. Write down any special expenses, such as child care, braces or tutoring, and who pays them now.
5. If you are only starting to separate, read the first-week separation checklist before agreeing to a schedule.
6. If you live in Toronto and expect to go to court, check which Toronto family court handles your case.

Frequently asked questions

If we split time exactly 50/50, does anyone pay child support?

Often, yes. Section 9 begins with the table amount for each parent, so where incomes differ the parent with the higher income may still pay an amount. The court also weighs the increased costs of shared parenting and each household's means and needs.

Is the 40 per cent counted in hours, days or overnights?

The guidelines do not say. They set the threshold at not less than 40 per cent over the course of a year and leave the method to the evidence in each case. The statutes define parenting time as time in a parent's care, whether or not the child is physically with that parent the whole time.

What if one parent has 60 per cent and the other 40 per cent?

"Majority of parenting time" means more than 60 per cent (s. 2(1)). A parent with 40 per cent meets the section 9 threshold of "not less than 40" per cent, so section 9 applies rather than the ordinary table rule.

Can we agree that neither of us pays support?

Parents can agree, but a court asked to approve a different amount must be satisfied that reasonable arrangements have been made for the child, having regard to the guidelines (Divorce Act, s. 15.1(7) and (8); Family Law Act, s. 33(14) and (15)).

Does shared parenting change who pays for braces or daycare?

Special or extraordinary expenses are dealt with under section 7, usually shared in proportion to income. Shared parenting changes how the monthly amount is set, not the section 7 rules.

Can the Family Responsibility Office change the amount if the schedule changes?

No. The Family Responsibility Office enforces the order as written; its own guidance says it cannot change the amount of support and only a judge can change the amount in a support order. See what the Family Responsibility Office can and cannot do.

Sarbazevatan Law acts for parents on child support and shared parenting arrangements, in English and Persian (Farsi). Call +1 (416) 628-2041 or reach us through the contact page.