How Section 7 Expenses Work Under the Federal Child Support Guidelines
The monthly table amount of child support covers a child's ordinary day-to-day costs — housing, food, clothing. Section 7 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines adds a second layer: special or extraordinary expenses, shared by the parents in proportion to their incomes. The six recognized categories are childcare required for a parent's work or education, medical and dental insurance premiums attributable to the child, health-related expenses exceeding $100 per illness per year, extraordinary primary and secondary school expenses, post-secondary education, and extraordinary extracurricular activities. Two gatekeeping tests apply under s.7(1): the expense must be necessary in relation to the child's best interests, and reasonable given the means of the parents and the family's pre-separation spending pattern.
Proportionate Sharing, Net of Offsets
The default split follows guideline income. A parent earning $90,000 against the other's $45,000 pays two-thirds of every eligible expense. Critically, s.7(3) requires sharing the net cost: childcare subsidies, the childcare tax deduction, health insurance reimbursements, scholarships, and any benefit or credit tied to the expense come off the top before the split is applied. Failing to net out offsets is the most common — and most expensive — mistake parents make when settling section 7 claims.
Worked Example
Parent A earns $85,000 and Parent B earns $45,000 — shares of 65.4% and 34.6%. The children's annual expenses: daycare $12,000, orthodontics $3,600, dental premiums $1,200, and competitive swimming $4,200 — $21,000 gross. Subsidies and the childcare deduction are worth $4,000, leaving a net of $17,000. Parent A's share is 65.4% × $17,000 = $11,118 per year ($926/month); Parent B's is $5,882 ($490/month) — payable on top of the table amount.
When to Consult a Family Lawyer
Get advice when the other parent refuses to contribute to a genuine s.7 expense, unilaterally incurs large discretionary costs, hides income that would change the proportionate split, or when you need s.7 terms drafted into a separation agreement with an annual disclosure and true-up mechanism. A properly drafted expense clause prevents years of receipt-by-receipt skirmishing.
Explore more free tools on our Family Law Calculators hub, walk through our interactive Family Law Wizards to understand your situation step by step, or contact LexScale.ai to build calculators like this for your own law firm website.
How This Calculator Works
Enter each parent's gross annual income and the annual cost of each expense category — childcare, medical and dental insurance premiums, uninsured health expenses, post-secondary education, and extraordinary extracurricular activities. Enter any offsetting amounts such as child tax benefits, subsidies, or tax deductions attributable to the expense. The tool computes each parent's proportionate share of income, applies it to the net cost of every category, and shows each parent's annual and monthly contribution. Proportionate sharing is the default rule, but parents can agree — or a court can order — a different split.
Documentation That Keeps Expense Sharing Out of Court
- Keep receipts and invoices for every claimed expense — daycare statements, orthodontist treatment plans, tuition invoices, registration confirmations.
- Exchange updated income disclosure every year, because proportionate shares move with income.
- Get written agreement (email is fine) before incurring a major discretionary expense such as private school or competitive sports.
- Net out subsidies, tax credits, and insurance reimbursements before splitting — sharing the gross cost overcharges the other parent.
- Settle on a payment mechanism: monthly set amount trued up annually, or reimbursement within 30 days of receipt.
- Keep a running shared spreadsheet — most expense disputes are really record-keeping disputes.
Courts consistently penalize parents who unilaterally incur large discretionary expenses and demand contribution after the fact. The safest sequence is: propose the expense in writing, disclose the net cost after subsidies and credits, agree on the proportionate split, then enroll. A parent who follows that sequence almost always recovers their share; a parent who skips it often eats the whole bill.