Ontario residents who will be paying child support or whose incomes need to be reported for purposes of child support calculation must determine their annual disposable income. This amount, which is taken before taxes are figured, may differ from adjusting the total income amount reported on line 150 of the income tax form using child support worksheets provided for that purpose.
Income information must be provided for the prior three tax years. Both parents will need to supply income information if any of several situations apply. In cases in which parents have a split or shared custody agreement, when there are special expenses or a claim of undue hardship, if the child is over the age of majority, when one parent earns $150,000 or more each year or when one parent has acted in loco parentis to a child of the other parent, both will be required to submit income information.
Proof of income must be provided to the other parent. This includes copies of tax returns and notices of assessment for the three prior years, employment insurance and workers’ compensation insurance information, disability payments information, business partnership details and the three most recent trust statements if one parent is a grantor or beneficiary of a trust. The paying parent must provide annual income updates to the other parent if requested. If needed, child support issues can be litigated in court.
If a child support dispute is litigated and one parent has failed to provide copies of his or her income information to the other parent, the court may order the parent to comply or impose a penalty for the parent’s failure to do so. Upon the issuance of a child support order, the parent ordered to pay must continue paying as ordered until and unless a modification of that order is later granted.
Source: Department of Justice, “Adjusting total income“, December 30, 2014