Child Support in New Brunswick: What Every Separating Parent Needs to Know

Child support in New Brunswick isn't a negotiable figure — it's calculated using the Federal Child Support Guidelines, and the amount depends primarily on the payor's income and the number of children. But the parenting time schedule can significantly change the calculation, and getting the math wrong by even a few days can cost thousands of dollars per year.

Standard vs. Shared Parenting Support

The critical dividing line is 40% of parenting time.

If one parent has the child more than 60% of the time (the majority arrangement), the other parent pays the full Table amount based on their gross annual income. The Table amounts are fixed by federal regulation — there's no discretion to negotiate lower.

If each parent has the child at least 40% of the time (146+ days per year, or about 5.6 days per bi-weekly cycle), the arrangement qualifies as "shared parenting time" under Section 9 of the Guidelines. This triggers a different calculation method called the set-off.

How the Set-Off Works

Under shared parenting, both parents' incomes matter:

1. Look up the Table support amount for the higher-earning parent based on their income
2. Look up the Table support amount for the lower-earning parent based on their income
3. Subtract the lower from the higher
4. The higher-earning parent pays the difference

For example, if Parent A earns $80,000 (Table amount: $1,200/month for two children) and Parent B earns $50,000 (Table amount: $800/month), Parent A pays $400/month instead of the full $1,200.

But the set-off isn't automatic — courts have discretion under Section 9 to adjust based on the increased costs of maintaining two fully functioning households and each parent's actual financial circumstances.

The 40% Threshold: Why Precision Matters

NB courts apply rigorous scrutiny to the 40% threshold because the financial stakes are high. The court examines:

Mathematical accounting — a strict count of days or hours of actual physical responsibility. Time when the child is at school or daycare counts toward the parent who is the designated primary contact (the one the school calls in an emergency). Time when a parent is travelling for work while the child is in third-party care may be excluded.

Quality of care — the parent claiming shared time must demonstrate active parenting: managing medical appointments, helping with schoolwork, supervising routines. Simply being the mailing address while a grandparent provides daily care doesn't count.

Case law shows courts taking this seriously: in one Canadian case, a father who was documented as just 10 hours short of the 40% threshold — 3,494 hours instead of the required 3,504 — was denied shared parenting status. The difference was thousands of dollars in annual support.

Section 7: Special and Extraordinary Expenses

On top of monthly Table support, parents share "Section 7 expenses" — costs that are reasonable, necessary, and in the child's best interests:

• Childcare/daycare — net costs required for a parent to work or attend school
• Health and dental — insurance premiums for the child plus out-of-pocket medical/dental costs exceeding C$100/year after insurance
• Education — extraordinary costs like private school tuition, tutoring, university
• Extracurriculars — extraordinary costs like competitive sports, travel teams, specialized training

These expenses are split in proportion to each parent's income. If Parent A earns 65% of the combined income, they pay 65% of approved Section 7 expenses.

Mandatory Financial Disclosure

Both parents must file Form 72J (Financial Statement) with the court, along with:

• Personal income tax returns for the three most recent years
• Notices of assessment or reassessment for those years
• Current proof of income (three consecutive pay stubs or business earnings statements)

Refusing to disclose financials has serious consequences: the court can dismiss your application, find you in contempt, or impute income — meaning the judge assigns you an income level based on your earning capacity and calculates support from that figure.

Protecting Your Financial Position

The New Brunswick Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide includes a parenting time calculator that helps you verify whether your proposed schedule meets the 40% threshold before you agree to it, plus a financial disclosure checklist and worksheets for tracking Section 7 expenses.

See more New Brunswick guides →