“Section 7 Expenses” refer to those “special and extraordinary” expenses for children of the marriage, governed by Section 7 of the Federal Child Support Guidelines (“the Guidelines”). The obligation to contribute to these expenses is set out in the Guidelines.
These expenses are paid over and above the mandated amount of child support to be paid. Under the Guidelines, these expenses could be paid if one spouse has the majority of parenting time or if parenting time is split.
The Guidelines define “special or extraordinary expenses” as expenses that are necessary because they are in the child’s best interests and reasonable given the means of the parents considering the family’s spending patterns before the separation.
In this article:
Categories of Section 7 Expenses
How Courts Assess Section 7 Expenses
Common Examples of Section 7 Expenses
Expenses That Do Not Qualify as Section 7
Section 7 Expenses in High-Income Families
Affordability and Consent Issues
Enforcement of Section 7 Expenses
Get Legal Guidance
Categories of Section 7 Expenses
The Guidelines list the following section 7 categories:
- childcare expenses incurred because of the custodial parent’s employment, illness, disability, education, or training for employment;
- insurance premiums for medical and dental coverage attributable to the child;
- health-related expenses, including orthodontics, professional counselling, speech therapy and glasses;
- extraordinary expenses for primary school or secondary school or for any other educational programs that meet the child’s needs, such as private school and tutoring;
- post-secondary education expenses like university tuition, college, and residence expenses; and
- extracurricular activities, if extraordinary.
How Courts Assess Section 7 Expenses
Once an expense is determined to fit within a prescribed section 7 category, the court will decide whether the expense is necessary and reasonable. In order to do this, the court will need the following information:
- details of the expense;
- estimate or receipt of cost of expense;
- details of the need for the expense; and,
- the reasonableness of the expense, having regard to the child support table amount, the parties’ incomes, the special needs or abilities of the child and any other factors.
The onus to prove that an expense for a child is a section 7 expense will fall on the parent who is requesting financial contribution for the special or extraordinary expense.
Every out-of-pocket expense for a child cannot be deemed a section 7 expense. The courts have a wide discretion to make decisions about whether an expense is necessary or reasonable for a family.
There is extensive caselaw surrounding what is or is not a section 7 expense, but on occasion the courts lack consistency in their determination of what constitutes a section 7 expense.
Common Examples of Section 7 Expenses
Common examples of section 7 expenses include:
- post-secondary related expenses, including tuition, books, and room and board;
- music lessons;
- private school tuition, dental services;
- cell phones and laptops;
- automobile insurance and travel to and from school and work;
- enrollment at an arts school;
- dance lessons;
- sports team registration including hockey league registration, hockey equipment;
- rep sports team enrollment and tournament costs, inclusive of equipment; and,
- summer camps
Expenses That Do Not Qualify as Section 7
There are examples in the case law where the below expenses did not meet the requirements to be section 7 expenses:
- Costs for driver’s training;
- personal trainer;
- vitamins and supplements
- parent’s costs for travel and accommodation at a child’s sports tournaments;
- travelling expenses to spend time with a parent; and,
- cost of clothing
Section 7 Expenses in High-Income Families
In circumstances of a high-income payor, the Court has found that the following expenses were deemed section 7 expenses: children’s telephone plan, snowboarding/sailing costs, piano lessons, Mandarin lessons (where there was no cultural connection to learn the language), sports, dance, guitar expenses, skiing lessons and ski equipment rentals, and schoolbooks and proposed technological equipment to assist with a learning challenge.
Affordability and Consent Issues
On occasion section 7 expenses can cause economic hardship for a parent. If the expense is unaffordable then that may give a parent grounds to withhold consent for enrollment. However, withholding consent without a justified reason (justified reasons may include but are not limited to that the activity is unaffordable or not safe) is highly discouraged and often sanctioned by the Court.
Couples can set an upper limit for approval of section 7 expenses. This approach may reduce unnecessary back and forth between parents which may reduce litigation costs and increase the enforceability for section 7 orders.
Enforcement of Section 7 Expenses
The Family Responsibility Office (government program in Ontario that collects, distributes, and enforces court ordered child support and section 7 expenses) can enforce section 7 expense payment obligations that are court ordered.
Get Legal Guidance
Contact one of our family law team members if you have any questions regarding section 7 expenses and/or child support. It is better to understand what your obligations and entitlements are before you make your position known to the other parent.
Written by Natasha Razack
