New Brunswick Child Support Laws 2025 | NB Guidelines

New Brunswick Child Support Laws: A Complete Guide

Child support in New Brunswick sits at the intersection of federal family law and a made-in-NB provincial framework. Because New Brunswick is one of only three designated provinces under the Divorce Act, the provincial guidelines (not the Federal Child Support Guidelines) are the governing rules whenever both parents live in the province. In practice the differences are procedural rather than substantive: the same federal tables are used for basic amounts, and the overall structure of the calculation follows the federal model closely. What changes is the income-disclosure timeline and a consent option for simplified documentation.

This guide walks through how the guidelines work, how amounts are calculated, what happens in shared and split custody, how special expenses are handled, and how the Office of Support Enforcement and the Child Support Recalculation Service operate.

Which Guidelines Apply in New Brunswick

New Brunswick was designated under the Divorce Act effective May 1, 1998. The designation means that when both parents ordinarily reside in New Brunswick, the New Brunswick Child Support Guidelines (now NB Reg 2021-19, made under the Family Law Act, SNB 2020, c. 23) are the "applicable guidelines" for every child support determination, including proceedings under the federal Divorce Act.

The federal guidelines (SOR/97-175) apply in New Brunswick only where:

• The parents live in different provinces or territories (federal guidelines govern cross-border cases regardless of which province either parent calls home); or
• One parent lives outside Canada.

If the parents were never married, or if a married couple separates without commencing divorce proceedings, the NB provincial guidelines apply automatically, as they do in every Canadian jurisdiction for non-divorce matters.

The practical effect of NB's designated-province status is limited because the NB guidelines essentially duplicate the federal regime. They use the same Schedule I federal tables for basic monthly amounts. A court order made under the NB guidelines and one made under the federal guidelines will produce the same dollar figure for the same income and number of children. What differs are the procedural rules for income disclosure described below.

How the Basic Amount Is Calculated

Step 1: Identify the payor's annual income

The starting point is line 15000 (formerly line 150) of the payor's most recent CRA T1 General income tax return or Notice of Assessment. This gross figure is then adjusted according to Schedule III of the federal guidelines, which is incorporated by reference into the NB framework. The table amounts already account for Canadian income taxes, so income is used on a gross (pre-tax) basis.

Courts may impute income where the stated figure does not accurately reflect the payor's capacity to earn. Common imputation grounds include voluntary under-employment or unemployment without a legitimate reason (such as child care, illness, or approved education), income structured primarily as dividends or capital gains taxed at preferential rates, trust income, or non-disclosure of financial records.

Step 2: Income disclosure in New Brunswick

Under the NB guidelines, each party must produce income information within 20 days of being served with notice. That is ten days faster than the 30-day federal standard. This shortened timeline aligns with New Brunswick's provincial court rules and is designed to accelerate proceedings.

A further NB-specific rule allows the parties to consent in writing to file only one year of income documentation instead of the three years required under the federal guidelines. This applies when both parents agree on each other's income level, removing the need for a full three-year paper trail.

Step 3: Apply the federal NB table

The basic monthly amount comes directly from the federal New Brunswick table (Schedule I to SOR/97-175, updated October 1, 2025 to reflect 2023 CRA tax rules). The table amount depends on three factors: the payor's province of residence (New Brunswick), the payor's adjusted annual gross income, and the number of children requiring support.

As of the 2025 update, parents with annual income at or below $16,000 have a basic table amount of zero. For income above that threshold, the table sets out a base amount plus a percentage of income above the lower band, in $1,000 increments. Justice Canada provides a free 2025 Child Support Table Look-up tool at justice.gc.ca.

The Canada child support calculator offers a similar estimate for a New Brunswick payor using the same federal table, gross annual income, and number of children. It calculates the base table amount only and does not apply the section 7 add-ons or shared-parenting adjustment covered below.

Step 4: Add special or extraordinary expenses

The federal guidelines' section 7 framework for special or extraordinary expenses applies through the NB guidelines. These expenses are added on top of the basic table amount and are shared between the parents in proportion to their respective incomes after deducting any contribution from the child.

The six recognised categories are:

1. Child care costs arising from the recipient parent's employment, illness, disability, or education and training
2. The portion of medical and dental insurance premiums attributable to the child
3. Uninsured health-related expenses exceeding $100 per year (including orthodontics, physiotherapy, speech therapy, prescription medications, hearing aids, and eyeglasses)
4. Extraordinary primary or secondary school expenses meeting the child's particular needs
5. Post-secondary education expenses
6. Extraordinary extracurricular activity expenses

An expense is "extraordinary" if it exceeds what the requesting parent can reasonably cover given their income and the support they receive, or if the court considers it extraordinary having regard to the expense amount relative to the requesting parent's income, the nature and number of programmes, the child's special needs or talents, and the overall programme costs.

Tax credits, subsidies, and benefits available to either parent in respect of an expense must be accounted for when calculating each parent's share. The Canada Child Benefit and provincial equivalents are excluded.

Shared and Split Parenting Arrangements

Shared parenting time (40% or more)

Where each parent exercises not less than 40% of parenting time with a child over the course of a year, the NB guidelines adopt the federal section 9 approach. The court must consider:

• The table amounts for both parents (used as a set-off starting point)
• The increased costs of maintaining two separate households for the child
• The conditions, means, needs, and other circumstances of each parent and the child

The set-off of the two table amounts is the starting point, but courts frequently award more than the bare set-off to account for the genuine extra cost of running two child-ready homes. The result is a fact-specific inquiry rather than a mechanical calculation.

Split custody

Where one or more children live primarily with each parent (for instance, two children from the same relationship, each living full-time with a different parent), the NB guidelines follow the federal section 8 set-off method. Each parent's table obligation toward the child living primarily with the other parent is calculated, and the net order is the difference between the two amounts.

Split custody is legally distinct from shared parenting time. Split custody refers to the children being divided between parents; shared parenting time refers to a single child (or all children) spending 40%+ of time with each parent.

Duration of Child Support in New Brunswick

The age of majority in New Brunswick is 19. Basic table child support ordinarily continues until the child reaches that age and has not withdrawn from the parents' care.

Support can extend past 19 where the child is unable to become self-supporting due to illness, disability, or another cause. New Brunswick courts, consistent with the broad Canadian judicial consensus, recognise full-time reasonable post-secondary education as an "other cause" extending entitlement past the age of majority. The test is whether pursuing the education is reasonable given all circumstances, including the child's academic performance, the availability of financial assistance, and the parents' respective means.

Post-secondary support is not automatic. Either parent can bring an application (or defend against one) and the court will assess the specific facts. Support during post-secondary education is often adjusted to account for a child who earns income, receives scholarships, or lives away from home.

Hardship Applications

Where the strict application of the table amount would cause undue hardship, a party may apply to the court for a different amount. Recognised hardship circumstances under the federal model (incorporated into the NB framework) include:

• Unusually high debts reasonably incurred to support the family before separation
• Unusually high costs of exercising parenting time (such as long-distance travel)
• A legal obligation to support another person (such as an elderly parent)
• A legal obligation to pay child support for children from another relationship
• A child in shared custody with special needs requiring exceptional costs

Even where hardship is established, no variation is granted if the applicant's household has a higher standard of living than the other household. The court compares household income and expenses to determine whether the reduction would actually relieve hardship without conferring an unjust advantage.

Enforcement: Office of Support Enforcement

New Brunswick's maintenance enforcement body is the Office of Support Enforcement (OSE), operated by the Department of Justice and Public Safety. The OSE registers child support orders and agreements, collects payments from the payor, and disburses them to the recipient. Once a support order is enrolled, payments flow through the OSE rather than directly between parents.

The OSE has authority to use a range of enforcement tools when a payor falls into arrears:

• Wage garnishment: directing the payor's employer to remit support directly to the OSE
• Bank account seizure: garnishing funds held in financial institutions
• Driver's licence suspension: referring arrears to Service New Brunswick for licence action
• Passport denial: under the federal Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act (FOAEA, RSC 1985, c. 4 (2nd Supp.)), federal databases identify the payor's employer and address, and federal payments (income tax refunds, Employment Insurance benefits, and Old Age Security) can be intercepted when a payor is more than three months or $3,000 in arrears
• Credit bureau reporting: arrears can be reported, affecting the payor's credit rating

The FOAEA mechanism is available to all provincial maintenance enforcement programs across Canada, giving the OSE reach into federal systems when provincial tools are insufficient. Key 2019 amendments to FOAEA came into force on November 15, 2023, broadening the federal interception and tracing powers available to provincial programs.

To contact the Office of Support Enforcement: 1-844-673-4499 (Grand Falls regional office, PO Box 5001, Grand Falls, NB E3Z 1G1). Additional OSE contact information is listed on the Government of New Brunswick website.

Updating Support Without Going to Court: The CSRS

The Child Support Recalculation Service (CSRS) is a free provincial service that recalculates existing NB child support orders annually based on each parent's updated income, without requiring either party to file a court application. It is available to parents with eligible existing orders.

Who is eligible

To use the CSRS, all of the following conditions must be met:

• Both parents live in New Brunswick
• A court order or agreement has been in place for more than one year (or at least 120 days before the annual anniversary date)
• The paying parent's gross annual income is $150,000 or less
• The recipient's income, if relevant, is $150,000 or less
• The order specifies the income used for the calculation and was made under the Canadian Child Support Guidelines
• Self-employment income is minimal or supplementary to full-time employment

The CSRS does not accept applications where either parent lives outside the province, where the order was based on imputed income, or where the only issue is recovering arrears.

How it works

Parents submit an application to the CSRS by email, mail, or fax, along with their current income documents (Notice of Assessment, income questionnaire, and existing court order). The CSRS reviews the documents, determines each parent's updated income, applies the applicable NB table, and issues a Recalculation Decision stating the new monthly amount and the effective date.

Either parent has 30 days to file a court application objecting to the decision. If no objection is filed within that window, the new amount takes effect automatically without any further court involvement. The CSRS recalculates annually thereafter as long as the order remains eligible.

Contact the CSRS: 1-833-224-2225 (Monday to Friday, 8:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), email recalc@gnb.ca, or visit the recalculation service page on gnb.ca.

Consent Orders and Agreements

Parents who reach their own agreement on child support can file a consent order with the Court of Queen's Bench of New Brunswick (Family Division) or register a written agreement, provided the agreed amount meets or exceeds what the NB guidelines would produce for the same income and number of children. Courts will not approve a consent order that falls below the guideline amount unless the parents demonstrate special provisions for the child that justify the lower figure (for example, a lump-sum transfer of property specifically accounting for future support).

Agreements registered with the OSE are treated the same as court orders for enforcement purposes. Unregistered private agreements are not enforceable through the OSE's administrative tools.

Key Resources for New Brunswick Child Support

• Federal Child Support Guidelines (SOR/97-175): the federal framework incorporated by reference into NB's guidelines
• Justice Canada: Step-by-Step Guide: Which guidelines apply: explains designated provinces
• 2025 Child Support Table Look-up (justice.gc.ca): free tool to find the NB table amount
• New Brunswick Child Support Recalculation Service: free annual income-based updates, no court needed
• Justice Canada: Provincial Maintenance Enforcement Programs: Office of Support Enforcement contact details
• Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act (FOAEA): federal enforcement mechanism
• Justice Canada: FAQ: 2025 Update to Federal Child Support Tables: how the October 2025 table update affects existing orders

For the national overview of how the two-track Canadian child support system works, see our Canada Child Support Laws hub.

Related Canadian Guides

• Canadian law by province and topic
• Child Support laws in Canada
• New Brunswick Recording laws
• New Brunswick Hit and Run laws
• New Brunswick Slip and Fall laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Does New Brunswick use its own child support guidelines or the federal ones?

New Brunswick uses its own provincial guidelines (NB Reg 2021-19) enacted under the Family Law Act, SNB 2020, c. 23. NB is one of three designated provinces under the Divorce Act (along with Manitoba and Quebec), which means the provincial guidelines (not the federal Child Support Guidelines, SOR/97-175) govern all child support cases where both parents reside in New Brunswick, including divorce proceedings. In practice, NB's guidelines adopt the same federal tables and the same general framework, so the calculated amounts are identical to what the federal guidelines would produce.

How quickly must parents disclose their income in New Brunswick?

The NB guidelines require income disclosure within 20 days of being served with notice, which is 10 days faster than the 30-day federal standard. Both parents must ordinarily provide three years of tax returns and Notices of Assessment, but the NB guidelines allow parties to consent in writing to provide only one year of documents when they agree on each other's income level.

Until what age is a child entitled to support in New Brunswick?

The age of majority in New Brunswick is 19, so basic table support ordinarily runs until a child turns 19. Support can continue past 19 if the child is unable to become self-supporting due to illness, disability, or another cause. New Brunswick courts widely accept that full-time reasonable post-secondary education qualifies as such a cause, extending entitlement until the child completes or withdraws from their studies.

What is the Office of Support Enforcement and how does it work?

The Office of Support Enforcement (OSE) is New Brunswick's maintenance enforcement program. Once a support order is registered with the OSE, the payor sends payments to the OSE rather than directly to the other parent, and the OSE disburses the funds. If the payor falls into arrears, the OSE can garnish wages, seize bank accounts, suspend the payor's driver's licence, and request federal action under FOAEA, including interception of income tax refunds and EI benefits, and passport denial when arrears exceed three months or $3,000.

Can I update child support without going back to court?

Yes. The Child Support Recalculation Service (CSRS) updates existing NB support orders annually based on current income, at no cost and without a court application. Both parents must live in New Brunswick, the order must be at least one year old, and neither parent's income can exceed $150,000. You submit income documents to the CSRS; it issues a Recalculation Decision, and either parent has 30 days to object. If no objection is filed, the new amount takes effect automatically.

What happens if the other parent stops paying child support?

Contact the Office of Support Enforcement (OSE) to register or enforce your order. The OSE can garnish the payor's wages or bank accounts, suspend their driver's licence, and use the federal FOAEA mechanism to intercept tax refunds, Employment Insurance benefits, and other federal payments. The OSE can also request that federal licences (including passports) be denied when a payor is more than three months or $3,000 in arrears.

Do special expenses get added on top of child support in New Brunswick?

Yes. The NB guidelines incorporate the federal section 7 framework for special or extraordinary expenses, which are shared between parents in proportion to their incomes. Qualifying expenses include child care costs, uninsured health expenses over $100 per year (such as orthodontics, physiotherapy, and prescription medications), extraordinary school or extracurricular costs, and post-secondary education expenses. These amounts are separate from, and in addition to, the basic monthly table amount.

How is child support calculated in a shared parenting arrangement in New Brunswick?

Where each parent has the child at least 40% of the time over the course of a year, the court sets off the table amount each parent would owe the other as a starting point, then adjusts upward to account for the higher costs of maintaining two child-ready homes. Courts also consider each family's overall financial circumstances. The result is a tailored amount that may be higher than the bare set-off figure.

What if the federal guidelines apply to my New Brunswick case?

The federal Child Support Guidelines (SOR/97-175) apply in NB when the parents live in different provinces or when one parent lives outside Canada. In those cross-border situations, the payor's province of residence determines which table is used. For example, if the payor lives in New Brunswick and the recipient in Ontario, the federal NB table applies. The federal guidelines also govern if both parents live in NB but one moves to another province after the order is made, at which point either party can apply to vary the order under the now-applicable federal rules.

Can parents agree to a child support amount below the guideline in New Brunswick?

Generally no. The NB guidelines set a floor. A court will not approve a consent order below the guideline amount unless the parents can demonstrate that special provisions (such as a property transfer or lump-sum payment) have been made for the child that justify a lower ongoing amount and that the child's needs are genuinely met. Where both parents agree the child's needs are fully covered, a departure can be approved, but courts scrutinise these closely given the child's independent interest in adequate support.