Saskatchewan Child Support Laws 2025 | Guidelines & Enforcement

Saskatchewan Child Support Laws: Federal Guidelines, Tables, and Enforcement

In Saskatchewan, child support is calculated using the Federal Child Support Guidelines (SOR/97-175) and the federal tables, which set the monthly amount based on the payor's gross income and the number of children. The province's Maintenance Enforcement Office (MEO) administers and enforces orders.

Information last verified on 2026-06-07. This article has not yet been reviewed by a licensed lawyer.

Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses child support law in Saskatchewan, Canada, under the Federal Child Support Guidelines (SOR/97-175) adopted into provincial law by The Family Maintenance Act, 1997, SS 1997, c F-6.2. It does not address Quebec's distinct designated-province model. For a national overview, see our Canada child support laws guide.

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Which guidelines apply in Saskatchewan?

Saskatchewan is not a designated province under the Divorce Act. That means the Federal Child Support Guidelines (SOR/97-175), made under subsection 26.1(1) of the Divorce Act (RSC 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.)), govern all divorce and corollary relief proceedings in the province. For parents who were never married, or who separate without seeking a divorce, Saskatchewan incorporated the same federal guidelines into provincial law through The Family Maintenance Act, 1997 (SS 1997, c F-6.2) and The Family Maintenance Regulations, 1998. The practical result is that one consistent set of rules governs virtually every Saskatchewan child support proceeding: the guidelines are the same whether the matter proceeds under federal or provincial legislation, and both use the federal tables for basic amounts.

The three currently designated provinces are Manitoba, New Brunswick, and Quebec. Saskatchewan is not among them. Parents residing in Saskatchewan who divorce are therefore subject to the federal guidelines, and those amounts are drawn from the Saskatchewan-specific federal table in Schedule I to SOR/97-175.

If one parent lives in Saskatchewan and the other lives in a different province, the federal guidelines still apply, and the basic table amount is determined by the payor's province of residence at the time of the order.

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How the federal table determines basic support

The starting point for every Saskatchewan child support order is the federal table amount. Three factors determine that amount:

1. The payor's province of residence (Saskatchewan's table applies when the payor lives in Saskatchewan).
2. The payor's annual gross income, taken from line 15000 of the most recent CRA T1 General return or Notice of Assessment, then adjusted under Schedule III of SOR/97-175 (Federal Child Support Guidelines, SOR/97-175, s. 16).
3. The number of children for whom support is sought.

The table lists a monthly amount for each $1,000 income increment. Because provincial and territorial income tax rules differ across Canada, separate tables exist for all 13 jurisdictions. Since Saskatchewan uses the federal tables, the basic amount a Saskatchewan payor owes is the same as what a payor with identical income and the same number of children would owe in any other non-designated province.

The 2025 federal tables came into force on October 1, 2025, replacing the 2017 tables (Justice Canada, 2025 Update to the Federal Child Support Tables). They reflect 2023 CRA tax rules. Under the updated tables, parents with annual income at or below $16,000 have a basic table amount of zero. The 2025 update does not automatically change orders made before October 1, 2025; a party must apply to court or use Saskatchewan's Child Support Service recalculation program to obtain a revised amount.

Justice Canada provides a free 2025 Child Support Table Look-up tool at justice.gc.ca that calculates the applicable monthly amount for any province, income level, and number of children.

The Canada child support calculator applies the same federal table to estimate that basic monthly amount for a Saskatchewan payor from their gross annual income and number of children. It gives the base table figure only, without section 7 expenses or a shared-parenting adjustment.

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Calculating income: gross income and Schedule III adjustments

Saskatchewan courts begin the income calculation with the payor's total income at line 15000 of their T1 General or Notice of Assessment. The guidelines require three years of tax returns, notices of assessment, and any additional documentation such as business financial statements, employment letters, or trust agreements (SOR/97-175, s. 21).

Schedule III of SOR/97-175 then permits specific adjustments. Common adjustments include deducting union or professional dues, employee business expenses, and universal child care benefit amounts, and adding back certain non-taxable amounts. The table amounts already incorporate federal and provincial taxes, so income is used on a gross basis before the Schedule III adjustments are applied.

Section 19 of the guidelines empowers a Saskatchewan court to impute income to a payor where stated income does not accurately reflect available resources (SOR/97-175, s. 19). Grounds for imputation include intentional under-employment or unemployment without legitimate justification such as child care, health, or education; income primarily earned through dividends or capital gains taxed at lower rates; trust income; foreign residency with significantly lower tax rates; and failure to comply with financial disclosure requirements. Where a payor's annual earnings fluctuate significantly or a one-time bonus has been received, a court may average income over several years.

Watch out: Courts have imputed income to payors who quit jobs or reduced hours shortly before a support application without a legitimate reason. A Saskatchewan court will look at the payor's capacity to earn, not merely what they reported on their last tax return.

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Special and extraordinary expenses under section 7

The basic table amount does not cover every child-related cost. Section 7 of SOR/97-175 provides for special or extraordinary expenses that are shared by both parents on top of the table amount (SOR/97-175, s. 7(1)). Six categories qualify:

1. Child care expenses arising from the requesting parent's employment, illness, disability, or education and training programme.
2. The portion of medical and dental insurance premiums attributable to the child.
3. Uninsured health-related expenses exceeding insurance reimbursement by more than $100 per year, including orthodontics, physiotherapy, speech therapy, prescription medications, hearing aids, and eyeglasses.
4. Extraordinary expenses for primary or secondary schooling or other educational programmes that meet 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 basic support they already receive, or if the court considers it extraordinary having regard to the expense amount, the nature and number of programmes, the child's special needs or talents, and overall costs (SOR/97-175, s. 7(1.1)).

The guiding principle for section 7 is proportional sharing: each parent contributes to the qualifying expense in proportion to their respective incomes, after deducting any contribution the child makes from their own income or resources (SOR/97-175, s. 7(2)). When calculating the proportional shares, courts account for any subsidies, tax deductions, credits, or other government benefits available to either parent for the expense, but they exclude the Canada Child Benefit and provincial equivalents from this calculation (SOR/97-175, s. 7(3)).

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Shared parenting and split custody

Two special situations modify how the basic table amount applies.

Shared parenting (section 9): Where each parent exercises at least 40 percent of parenting time with a child over the course of a year, the court cannot simply apply the table amount for one payor. Instead, it must consider: (a) the table amount for each parent; (b) the increased costs that flow from maintaining two homes for the child; and (c) the conditions, means, needs, and other circumstances of each parent and each child (SOR/97-175, s. 9). Saskatchewan courts typically begin with a set-off of the two table amounts, then adjust upward to reflect that shared parenting raises total household costs. The set-off alone is not determinative.

Split custody (section 8): Where the children are divided between households, with at least one child residing primarily with each parent, the order equals the difference between what each parent would owe as payor for the children in the other household (SOR/97-175, s. 8). This statutory set-off method is distinct from shared parenting under section 9.

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Age of majority and when support continues

Saskatchewan's age of majority is 18. Under section 2(1) of the Divorce Act, a "child of the marriage" is a child who is either (a) under the age of majority and has not withdrawn from parental charge, or (b) at or over the age of majority but unable, by reason of illness, disability, or other cause, to withdraw from parental charge or to obtain the necessaries of life (Divorce Act, RSC 1985, c. 3 (2nd Supp.), s. 2(1)).

Saskatchewan courts, following the national consensus, broadly interpret "other cause" to include a child who is in full-time post-secondary education at a recognised institution and pursuing studies in a reasonable manner. Support does not terminate automatically at 18; the paying parent must bring an application to terminate it, or the existing order should contain a specific end condition. If no application is made and the child remains in post-secondary study, the obligation typically continues.

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Undue hardship

Either parent may apply for a different amount if the table amount would cause undue hardship (SOR/97-175, s. 10). Recognised grounds for undue hardship include:

• Unusually high debts reasonably incurred to support the family before separation.
• Unusually high costs of exercising parenting time or access with the child.
• A legal obligation to support another person.
• A legal obligation to pay support for a child of another relationship.
• A child in shared care with special needs requiring exceptional expenditures.

Even if undue hardship is established, a Saskatchewan court will not vary the amount if the applicant's household would enjoy a higher standard of living than the other household. The standard-of-living comparison is built into section 10 as a gatekeeping test.

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Maintenance Enforcement Office (MEO)

Saskatchewan's Maintenance Enforcement Office (MEO) registers child and spousal support orders and agreements, collects payments from payors, and disburses them to recipients. Registration with the MEO is voluntary, but once registered, the MEO takes over enforcement so the recipient does not have to pursue the payor directly.

The MEO uses a range of provincial enforcement tools:

• Wage garnishment: The MEO can garnish wages and other income directly from the payor's employer.
• Bank account garnishment: Funds can be seized from the payor's bank accounts.
• Driver's licence suspension: Saskatchewan can suspend a payor's driver's licence for non-payment.
• Credit bureau reporting: Arrears can be reported to credit bureaus, affecting the payor's credit rating.
• Registration against land: The MEO can register against real property owned by the payor.

The MEO also benefits from the federal Family Orders and Agreements Enforcement Assistance Act (FOAEA, RSC 1985, c. 4 (2nd Supp.)), which supplements provincial tools by allowing interception of federal payments (income tax refunds, Employment Insurance benefits, Old Age Security, and other federal amounts), tracing the payor's address and employer through federal data banks, and denying passport renewal and federal licences when a payor is more than three months or $3,000 in arrears (FOAEA, s. 32; key 2019 amendments in force November 15, 2023).

MEO contact information:

• Address: 100 - 3085 Albert Street, Box 2077, Regina, SK S4S 0B1
• Phone: (306) 787-8961 (Regina) or 1-866-229-9712 (toll-free)
• Email: meoinquiry@gov.sk.ca

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Administrative recalculation without going to court

Saskatchewan's Child Support Service offers an administrative recalculation programme that updates existing child support orders based on current income information without requiring a court application. A parent submits updated income documentation, and the service calculates the new amount using the applicable guidelines and the current federal tables. The recalculated amount replaces the existing order amount without a return to court.

This service is important given the 2025 federal table update: orders made before October 1, 2025 are calculated under the 2017 tables and will not automatically change. Parents who want the new table amounts applied to an existing order should contact the Child Support Service.

Child Support Service contact information:

• Address: 323, 3085 Albert Street, Regina, SK S4S 0B1
• Phone: 306-787-5042 (local) or 1-833-825-1445 (toll-free)
• Email: childsupportservice@gov.sk.ca

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Next steps

If you are starting or reviewing a child support matter in Saskatchewan, the Federal Child Support Guidelines step-by-step guide at justice.gc.ca walks through each calculation step. For a broader picture of how Canada's child support system works across all provinces and territories, including Quebec's distinct model, see our Canada child support laws hub.

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Disclaimer

This article provides general legal information about child support law in Saskatchewan, Canada. It does not constitute legal advice and does not create a lawyer-client relationship. The information reflects statutes and guidelines in force as of June 7, 2026, including the Federal Child Support Guidelines (SOR/97-175) as amended to October 1, 2025, and The Family Maintenance Act, 1997 (SS 1997, c F-6.2). Laws can change; verify current versions through official sources before relying on this information. For advice specific to your situation, consult a lawyer licensed to practise in Saskatchewan.

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About the author

[PLACEHOLDER - author roster pending]

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Last updated: 2026-06-07. Statutes cited reflect their in-force version as of 2026-06-07.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What guidelines does Saskatchewan use for child support?

Saskatchewan uses the Federal Child Support Guidelines (SOR/97-175) for both divorce proceedings under the Divorce Act and non-divorce proceedings under The Family Maintenance Act, 1997 (SS 1997, c F-6.2). Saskatchewan is not a designated province, so the federal tables apply.

How do I find the Saskatchewan child support table amount?

Use Justice Canada's free 2025 Child Support Table Look-up tool at justice.gc.ca. Enter the payor's province (Saskatchewan), gross annual income from CRA line 15000, and the number of children. The result is the monthly basic table amount under the tables in force since October 1, 2025.

Is child support in Saskatchewan based on gross or net income?

Gross income is used. The payor's annual income starts at line 15000 of their CRA T1 General return or Notice of Assessment, then adjusts under Schedule III of SOR/97-175. The federal table amounts already account for taxes, so a pre-tax gross figure is the correct input.

Does child support end when a child turns 18 in Saskatchewan?

Not automatically. Saskatchewan's age of majority is 18, but under section 2(1) of the Divorce Act, support continues if the child cannot withdraw from parental charge due to illness, disability, or 'other cause.' Saskatchewan courts consistently treat full-time, reasonable post-secondary education as an 'other cause' extending entitlement. The paying parent must apply to terminate support.

What are section 7 expenses and who pays them?

Section 7 of SOR/97-175 covers special or extraordinary expenses on top of the basic table amount: child care costs, uninsured medical and dental expenses over $100 per year, extraordinary educational or extracurricular costs, and post-secondary education expenses. Both parents share these proportionally according to their incomes, after deducting any contribution the child makes.

How does shared parenting affect the child support amount in Saskatchewan?

Where each parent has at least 40 percent of parenting time over the year, section 9 of SOR/97-175 applies. The court considers the table amount for each parent, the higher costs of maintaining two households, and the circumstances of both parents and children. Saskatchewan courts start with a set-off of both table amounts and adjust upward to reflect the true cost of shared arrangements.

What is the Maintenance Enforcement Office and do I have to use it?

The Maintenance Enforcement Office (MEO) is a Saskatchewan government office that registers, collects, and enforces child support orders. Registration is voluntary, but once registered, the MEO handles enforcement on the recipient's behalf using wage garnishment, bank garnishment, driver's licence suspension, and credit bureau reporting. Contact: meoinquiry@gov.sk.ca or 1-866-229-9712.

Can child support be changed without going to court in Saskatchewan?

Yes. Saskatchewan's Child Support Service provides an administrative recalculation programme that updates existing orders using current income information without a court application. Contact childsupportservice@gov.sk.ca or 1-833-825-1445. The 2025 federal table update (effective October 1, 2025) does not automatically apply to older orders; the recalculation service is the recommended route to obtain updated amounts.

Can a court impute income to a payor who earns less than their capacity?

Yes. Under section 19 of SOR/97-175, a Saskatchewan court may attribute income to a payor if their stated income does not reflect available resources. Common grounds include voluntarily leaving employment or reducing hours without a valid reason such as child care or education needs, dividend-heavy income taxed at lower rates, trust income, or failure to make required financial disclosure.

What happens if the other parent lives outside Saskatchewan?

If the other parent lives in a different Canadian province or territory, the Federal Child Support Guidelines still apply and the payor's province of residence determines which table is used. For cross-border enforcement, the MEO has reciprocal enforcement arrangements with all other Canadian jurisdictions. The federal FOAEA also allows interception of federal payments and tracing of the payor's address and employer across Canada.