Child Support When a Parent Is Self-Employed

Reviewed October 3, 2026 · 3 min read · Sources

Tool 1: add back expenses

A self-employed parent reports net business income after expenses. Some expenses are fine for tax and still unfair for child support. A court can add back:

• expenses that are partly personal, such as a vehicle, home office, meals, travel or a phone
• wages or fees paid to family members, unless they were needed to earn the income and are reasonable
• capital cost allowance on real estate
• any deduction the court finds unreasonable. The test is fairness for support, not whether the tax rules allow it.

Tool 2: look inside the company

Under section 18, when a parent is a shareholder, director or officer, the court can include all or part of the company’s pre-tax income, or an amount that matches the value of the work the parent does for the company. A parent cannot shrink their income by leaving profits in a corporation they control.

Tool 3: impute income

Section 19 lets a court assign an income it finds appropriate. The list in the Guidelines includes a parent who:

• is intentionally under-employed or unemployed, unless that is required by a child’s needs or by the parent’s own reasonable education or health needs
• is exempt from income tax, or lives in a country with much lower tax rates
• has diverted income that would affect support
• is not using property reasonably to earn income
• has failed to provide income information when legally required to
• unreasonably deducts expenses from income
• gets a large part of their income from dividends, capital gains or other sources taxed at a lower rate
• receives or will receive income from a trust

The list is not closed. Cash income that never reaches a tax return can be imputed too.

Why it matters: the numbers

A parent in Ontario reports $45,000 from their business. For two children the table amount is $686 a month. The court adds back a personal vehicle, a spouse’s salary for work that was not done, and profits left in the company, and finds the real income is $80,000. The table amount becomes $1,220 a month.

Income that goes up and down

Business income is rarely steady. Under section 17, a court can look at the last three years and pick the fairest figure. That may be an average, or the most recent year if the trend is clear.

What each parent must hand over

Section 21 lists the documents. For any parent: tax returns and notices of assessment for the three most recent years and a recent pay statement. A self-employed parent must add three years of financial statements and a breakdown of all salaries, wages, fees and benefits paid to people or companies they do not deal with at arm’s length. A parent who controls a corporation must provide its financial statements.

If a parent does not comply, the court can draw conclusions against them, impute income and order them to pay costs.

Common questions

General information only, not legal advice. For your situation, speak with a family lawyer or your province's family justice services.