Special and Extraordinary Expenses:
Section 7 of the Child Support Guidelines (CSG) allows for the contribution to certain expenses for the child, over and above the regular child support amount.
The OSE will enforce special expenses as ordered, provided they are made in accordance with section 7 of the CSG and they are clearly set out per section 13(e). Similar to any child support provision, a statement that one party is to pay the other must also be included.
The CSG require certain information with regard to a special expense order (s.13 (e)):
- The particulars of any expense;
- The child to whom the expense relates; and
- The amount of the expense or the proportion to be paid in relation to the expense.
When all three of these conditions are met, the OSE can enforce the special expense. Generic special expense orders, such as those with provisions for a contribution to ‘’special expenses” are too general and will not be enforced by the OSE.
A Section 7 Special Expense Claim form is required to be completed and forwarded to the OSE along with copies of receipts. Receipts submitted must be within one year from being incurred (unless otherwise specified in the order).
Example: Dental receipt dated July 18, 2022. If receipt is submitted to the OSE along with Section 7 Special Expense Claim form dated July 30, 2023, the OSE will not process this receipt as it was submitted after the one-year limit.
Enforceable special expenses: Any specific expense listed in a court order or where a court order refers to Section 7 expenses in general terms, only the items (in bold/underlined below) are enforceable.
NOTE: If the “Prorated Amount” cannot be calculated by the OSE based on information in the order (i.e. order indicates income of payer but not of beneficiary), the OSE cannot enforce the special expenses.
Section 7(1) of the CSG defines special or extraordinary expenses as follows:
A. child care expenses incurred as a result of the custodial parent’s employment, illness, disability or education or training for employment;
B. that portion of the medical and dental insurance premiums attributable to the child;
C. health-related expenses that exceed insurance reimbursement by at least $100 annually, including orthodontic treatment, professional counseling provided by a psychologist, social worker, psychiatrist or any other person, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and prescription drugs, hearing aids, glasses and contact lenses;
D. extraordinary expenses for primary or secondary school education or for any other educational programs that meet the child’s particular needs;
Any specific activity or expenses named in the court order (e.g. “… must pay 50% of tutoring and field trips”).
E. expenses for post-secondary education; and
Any specific expenses listed in the court order (e.g. “…must pay 50% of university tuition, room and board, and student fees”). If the order only says “post-secondary expenses without further detail, the OSE will only enforce for tuition and required text books.
F. Extraordinary expenses for extracurricular activities.
Any specific activities and expenses listed in the court order (e.g. “…must pay 50% of hockey, swimming, piano lessons, soccer, dance”). If the order names an activity without more detail, OSE will enforce registration fees and other items required to take part in the activity such as equipment and costumes.
Requirement for “NET” Expenses
Where the order requires a “net” special expense to be paid, unless the order contains a method of calculation, the OSE will not enforce as they are unable to verify whether the beneficiary has provided the correct amount.
