Hello, my name is Megan Jamieson and I am an associate at the Feldstein Family Law Group. Today, I will be discussing child support based on the Federal Child Support Guidelines and more specifically, what happens when a parent’s income is over $150,000.00.

Calculating child support in Ontario is governed by the Federal Child Support Guidelines, which set out a Table that prescribes monthly child support payments, based on the income of the paying spouse and the number of children he or she is responsible for supporting. The range of annual income accounted for on the Table is $8,000.00 to $150,000.00.

This Table is the starting point for determining monthly child support payments, as per Section 3 of the Guidelines.

However, section 4 of the Guidelines deals with incomes above $150,000.00, because, the Court may deem the amount of child support based on an income of $150,000.00 to be inappropriate for a recipient child whose paying parent makes, for example, hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

In deciding how to deal with the paying parent’s income over $150,000.00, the Court will consider the conditions, means, needs, and other circumstances of the children entitled to support, as well as the financial ability of each spouse to support the children. The Court will also consider the special and extraordinary expenses of the children, such as orthodontics, hockey, dance, camp, and other activities of that nature. The Table amount for one child at an income of $150,000.00 annually is $1,263.00 per month for one child. A certain percentage of income above $150,000.00 is added to the monthly support amount where the paying parent makes more than $150,000.00 per year.

Typically, the Court sticks to the Table formula and therefore would prescribe the full Guidelines amount until the paying spouse’s annual income is excessively significant, where the monthly support amount could become unconscionable. For example, if the payor of child support was earning $3,000,000.00 dollars, he or she would be obligated to pay $22,353.00per month in child support for one child.

However, there are cases in which the court has not reduced the Table child support from the Guideline amount at income levels above $150,000.00. For example, at an annual income of $300,000.00, the Table amount increases to $2,373.00per month which may be far more proportionate to the needs of the child.

For more information regarding child support and your obligation to pay or your entitlement to receive child support, please review our website or call us at 905-581-7222 for a consultation.

Thank you for watching.