Section 7 Expenses in Canada: What Counts and How They're Split

The monthly child support table amount doesn't cover everything. Under Section 7 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines, both parents must also share the child's "special or extraordinary expenses" — and because the rules are less mechanical than the table amount, Section 7 is where many support arrangements quietly fall apart. Here's how the system works across Canada.

The Six Qualifying Categories

Section 7 lists the categories that can qualify, each with its own test:

1. Child care expenses — daycare, after-school care, and sitter costs incurred because a parent works, is ill or disabled, or is studying or training for employment.
2. Medical and dental insurance premiums — the portion of extended health or dental premiums attributable to the child.
3. Health-related expenses — uninsured medical and dental costs exceeding CA$100 per year per child: orthodontics, counselling, physiotherapy, prescription glasses, medication.
4. Extraordinary primary and secondary school expenses — private school tuition, tutoring, and program fees that go beyond ordinary public schooling.
5. Post-secondary education expenses — university or college tuition, books, and related costs.
6. Extraordinary extracurricular activities — competitive sports, elite arts programs, and similar activities with costs beyond the ordinary.

Two Tests Before Anything Qualifies

Every Section 7 expense must be both necessary (reasonable in relation to the child's best interests) and reasonable given the parents' means and spending pattern before separation. That second test is the battleground.

Ordinary expenses don't qualify — league fees for house-league soccer, routine school supplies, standard dental checkups are assumed to be covered by the table amount. The "extraordinary" categories (school expenses, extracurriculars) only qualify when the cost genuinely exceeds what the table amount contemplates, judged against the family's income. A CA$5,000-a-year competitive hockey program may be a reasonable continuation for a household that earned CA$150,000 combined and always paid for it — and unreasonable for a household earning CA$60,000 that never did.

How the Split Is Calculated

Section 7 expenses are shared in proportion to each parent's income, after subtracting any subsidies, benefits, or tax deductions that reduce the true cost (the federal childcare expense deduction, medical expense tax credits, insurance reimbursements).

Example: Parent A earns CA$70,000 and Parent B earns CA$30,000. Their son's orthodontic work costs CA$4,000 net of insurance. Parent A covers 70% (CA$2,800); Parent B covers 30% (CA$1,200).

Income here is generally the same Guideline income used for the table amount. In shared parenting situations — where each parent has the child at least 40% of the time — the proportionate-sharing logic still applies on top of whatever Section 9 arrangement sets the base support.

The Disputes That Keep Coming Back

"I never agreed to that expense." Advance consent is the recurring fight. Courts look at whether the expense was discussed or reasonably should have been, whether it fits the family's pre-separation pattern, and whether it was an emergency (emergency dental work needs no pre-approval; a CA$3,000 summer camp does). The fix is procedural: put a pre-approval rule in your agreement — expenses above a set threshold require written agreement first, with a default mediation step if you disagree.

Receipts never arrive. The paying parent owes a share of the net cost, which requires documentation. Standard practice: the parent who pays upfront provides the receipt within a set window (30 days is common), and reimbursement follows within another set window.

"That's covered by the table amount." Ordinary-versus-extraordinary arguments are settled by the reasonableness test, not by labels. Competitive versus recreational, continuation of a pre-separation activity versus a brand-new commitment — those facts decide it.

Retroactive claims. Courts can order retroactive Section 7 contributions, but delay hurts: the longer you wait to claim, the more a court expects an explanation, and effective notice (raising the expense promptly) matters.

Drafting Section 7 Terms That Actually Work

A workable agreement or order specifies:

• The mechanism for proposing an expense (in writing, with an estimate, before committing).
• A dollar threshold below which either parent can proceed without approval.
• The receipt-exchange and reimbursement timelines.
• Which known recurring expenses are pre-approved (braces already planned, the activity the child has done for three years).
• A dispute-resolution step — mediation before court — for disagreements over whether something qualifies.

In the Northwest Territories, these terms sit naturally inside the parenting plan the Supreme Court expects, and the free Family Law Mediation Program (up to nine hours of funded mediation) handles Section 7 disagreements routinely. Child support also takes legal priority over spousal support under territorial law — Section 7 obligations get calculated and secured first.

If you're building these terms into a parenting plan, the Northwest Territories Child Custody & Parenting Plan Guide covers how support, Section 7 sharing, and the 40% parenting-time threshold interact, with worksheets that turn the rules into a schedule and a budget both parents can follow.

Section 7 runs smoothly when the process is agreed before the expense arrives. Set the rules early, keep the receipts, and the math takes care of itself.

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