The 2025 Child Support Table Update: Does Your Existing Order Change?

On October 1, 2025, updated Federal Child Support Tables came into force across Canada outside Quebec, including in BC. If you pay or receive child support under an order or agreement made before then, you may be wondering whether your monthly amount has changed.

It has not changed on its own. Your existing amount keeps running until it is formally updated. Whether updating it is worth doing depends on your incomes, how your order was made and which court it came from.

What changed on October 1, 2025

The Federal Child Support Tables set the basic monthly child support amount based on the paying parent's income, the number of children and the province. Justice Canada updated the tables to reflect more recent (2023) tax rules. The previous update was in 2017.

Because the tables are built on what a parent can afford after tax, the new amounts may be higher or lower than before, depending on income and family size. A few points from Justice Canada's explanation of the update:

• The starting point moved. The income level at which table support begins went up because the federal basic personal amount increased. A parent with income of $16,000 or less now has a basic table amount of $0.
• The tables are not an inflation adjustment. Amounts move with tax rules, not with the cost of living.
• Government child benefits are not part of the calculation. Benefits such as the Canada Child Benefit are generally left out of the table amounts.

Why the federal update applies in BC

BC child support is calculated under the same guidelines whether your case falls under the provincial Family Law Act or the federal Divorce Act. The Family Law Act Regulation adopts the Federal Child Support Guidelines, with a few listed exceptions, as BC's child support guidelines. Justice Canada confirms that every province and territory except Quebec uses the federal tables, so the BC amounts changed on October 1, 2025 as well. Our article on how child support is calculated in BC explains the table amount and special expenses.

Your existing order or agreement does not change by itself

Justice Canada is clear that the 2025 tables do not automatically apply to a child support order made before October 1, 2025. Whatever amount your order or agreement sets keeps running until it is changed. A payor who simply starts paying a different amount risks arrears; a recipient cannot insist on a new figure without an agreement, recalculation or court order.

Timing matters for back-dated claims too. Justice Canada says the 2017 tables apply to support owed for the period from November 22, 2017 to September 30, 2025, and the 2025 tables from October 1, 2025 onward.

Is the table update a reason to change support?

It can be. Under section 152 of the Family Law Act, a court may change, suspend or terminate a child support order, going forward or back in time, if there has been a change in circumstances as provided for in the child support guidelines. For Divorce Act orders, section 17(4) of the Divorce Act uses the same threshold.

Section 14 of the guidelines then says what counts. Where the amount came from the tables, any change in circumstances that would result in a different child support order qualifies. Justice Canada's view is that if the updated table amount differs from the amount in your order, the update could be considered a change in circumstances, allowing either the paying or the receiving parent to apply.

Agreements work slightly differently. Under section 148 of the Family Law Act, a court may set aside or replace all or part of a child support agreement if it would make a different order applying the guidelines. A written agreement filed in court is enforceable like an order, but it is still an agreement for this purpose.

Whether an application is worthwhile is a practical question. For some incomes the change is small; for others, especially at lower incomes, it may be significant. It also makes sense to check whether either parent's income has changed since the order was made, because that is often the bigger factor.

The recalculation service: who can use it

BC's child support service can recalculate child support without a court application, but only in limited cases. Under section 155 of the Family Law Act, it recalculates amounts that were set under the guidelines in an order issued out of, or an agreement filed in, a prescribed court registry, using updated income information. The regulation prescribes the Provincial (Family) Court registries. Orders made in the BC Supreme Court, which includes most divorce orders, do not fit that description.

Even for eligible orders, the service must decline in some situations, for example where some of the income used is self-employment or partnership income, or where the amount was set under certain provisions such as undue hardship. A recalculated amount that differs by at least $5 a month takes effect 31 days after the parties are notified, and a parent who disagrees can apply to court within 30 days of that notification date.

Justice Canada notes that parents can ask a court or a recalculation service to update their amount using the 2025 tables. If your order or agreement is already enrolled with the service, ask it how its next recalculation will apply the new tables.

What to do now

• Find your order or agreement. Note the incomes used, the number of children, whether it was made under the Family Law Act or the Divorce Act, and which court it came from.
• Compare the numbers. Justice Canada's 2025 table look-up tool gives an estimate of the new basic amount. Only the official tables are the legal version.
• Talk to the other parent. If you agree on current incomes and the new amount, you can sign a new agreement or ask the court for a consent order.
• Keep paying the current amount. Until something formal changes it, the existing amount is what is owed.
• Do not wait too long. A court can make a change retroactive, but how far back depends on the circumstances. Our guide to changing a child support order in BC covers the process and the evidence courts expect.

Have a child support order from before October 2025? Check whether the amount should change

Our family lawyers can compare your current amount with the 2025 tables, explain whether recalculation or a court application fits your order, and prepare a new agreement or consent order.

Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.