Spousal support calculator
Applies the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines Without Child Support formula. If you have dependent children, read the scope note below before relying on anything here.
Free · no signup Runs in your browser
Working with a different rate? Edit the rates this calculator uses
These are the figures we verified on 2026-08-01. Change them to work with a historic period, or with a new rate that has been announced but which we have not published yet.
Above the ceiling the guidelines stop applying formulaically and discretion takes over.
How is spousal support calculated in Canada?
Where there are no dependent children, the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines set the amount at 1.5% to 2% of the difference between the spouses' gross incomes for each year they lived together, capped at 50% of that difference. Duration runs from half a year to one year for each year of cohabitation. Support is indefinite where the marriage lasted 20 years or more, or where it lasted at least 5 years and the years of marriage plus the recipient's age at separation reach 65 — the rule of 65.
What this calculator covers, and what it does not
The SSAG contain two formulas, and they are not variations on one theme — they work in completely different ways.
The Without Child Support formula, implemented here, works from gross income difference and years of cohabitation. It is arithmetic you can follow.
The With Child Support formula works from net disposable income after child support, taxes, credits and benefits are all accounted for. The Department of Justice's own guidance says software is needed for it. A browser approximation would be confidently wrong about a number that decides a household budget, so this tool does not attempt it.
If you have dependent children, the figures here do not apply to your situation. That is a limitation of this tool, not a shortcut you can take.
The guidelines are advisory, and they assume entitlement
Two things about the SSAG surprise people, and both matter before any number means anything.
First, they are not law. Two law professors developed them with Department of Justice funding to make outcomes more predictable. Judges frequently follow them and lawyers negotiate against them, but a court is not bound by them.
Second, and more important, they say nothing about entitlement. They tell you what range is appropriate if support is owed. Whether it is owed at all — on a compensatory, non-compensatory or contractual basis — is a separate legal question decided under the Divorce Act or provincial law.
Calculating an amount before establishing entitlement is, as the guidelines themselves put it, potentially a waste of time and energy.
The rule of 65, and why it catches people out
Duration is normally half a year to one year for each year of cohabitation. There are two routes to indefinite support instead.
The obvious one is a marriage of 20 years or more. The less obvious one is the rule of 65: a marriage of at least 5 years where the years of marriage plus the recipient's age at separation total 65 or more.
So a 12-year marriage ending when the recipient is 53 qualifies, because 12 plus 53 is 65. A 12-year marriage ending when they are 50 does not. Three years of age changes the outcome from roughly 6 to 12 years of support to an open-ended obligation.
'Indefinite' means the duration is not specified at the outset, not that it lasts forever. It remains open to review and variation as circumstances change.
The ceiling, the floor, and the net income cap
Three limits sit around the formula, and the calculator flags the first two.
Above a payor income of $350,000 the guidelines stop applying formulaically — this is the ceiling, and above it a court exercises discretion. The formula output becomes the opening of an argument rather than a range.
Below $20,000 the guidelines generally produce no award, and between $20,000 and $30,000 adjustments are required.
The third limit is the one this tool cannot apply: the top of the range is further capped at the amount that would equalize the two spouses' net incomes. That requires modelling both tax positions, so the upper figure shown here may be higher than the guidelines would actually permit.
Treat the lower end of the range as the more reliable of the two numbers this tool gives you.
Where in the range a case lands
The formula produces a range, not an answer, and the range is often wide. Where a case falls within it is argued.
Factors that push toward the upper end: a strong compensatory claim, where one spouse's career was sacrificed for the family; limited income or earning capacity in the recipient; the recipient's age.
Factors that push toward the lower end: limited ability to pay; large mandatory deductions from the payor's income; a property division that has already addressed some of the imbalance; the need to preserve work incentives for the payor, particularly after a long marriage.
Amount and duration can also be traded against each other — restructuring — so a higher amount over a shorter period can substitute for a lower one over longer.
This is the part where a family lawyer earns their fee. The arithmetic is the easy half.
The Without Child Support formula
Two calculations: how much, and for how long.
income difference = payor gross income − recipient gross incomeAMOUNTlower = difference × min(1.5% × years of cohabitation, 50%)upper = difference × min(2.0% × years of cohabitation, 50%)upper is further capped at net income equalizationDURATIONlower = 0.5 × years of cohabitationupper = 1.0 × years of cohabitationindefinite if years ≥ 20or years ≥ 5 AND years + recipient's age at separation ≥ 65LIMITSceiling payor income above $350,000 → discretionfloor payor income below $20,000 → generally no award
The percentage accumulates with each year of cohabitation, which is why a long marriage reaches the 50% cap. At 1.5% a year the cap is reached at 33.3 years; at 2% a year, at 25 years.
Cohabitation, not marriage, is what counts for the length of the relationship. Time living together before the wedding is included.
Worked example: a 15-year marriage
The payor earns $110,000 gross, the recipient $40,000. They cohabited for 15 years, and the recipient was 48 at separation. No dependent children.
- Income difference = 110,000 − 40,000$70,000
- Lower percentage = 1.5% × 1522.5%
- Upper percentage = 2.0% × 1530.0%
- Annual range$15,750 – $21,000
- Monthly range$1,312.50 – $1,750.00
- Rule of 65 check: 15 + 4863 — under 65
- Duration7.5 – 15 years
Roughly $1,313 to $1,750 a month, for between 7.5 and 15 years.
Had the recipient been 50 at separation, 15 plus 50 would reach 65 and the duration would become indefinite instead. Two years of age changes the entire character of the obligation.
Recognised exceptions the formula does not capture
- Compelling financial circumstances in the interim period
- Debt payment, where net worth is negative and one spouse carries a disproportionate share
- Prior support obligations from an earlier relationship
- Illness and disability
- A compensatory claim in a short marriage without children
- Property division or reapportionment that has already addressed the imbalance
- Basic needs and hardship, where the recipient's basic needs are not met
- Non-taxable payor income, such as certain disability or overseas income
Terms on this page
- SSAG
- Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines. Advisory, not law, but widely followed by courts and used as the baseline in negotiation.
- Entitlement
- Whether support is owed at all, on a compensatory, non-compensatory or contractual basis. Decided separately from and before any amount calculation.
- Rule of 65
- Support is indefinite where a marriage of at least 5 years, added to the recipient's age at separation, totals 65 or more.
- Indefinite
- Duration not specified at the outset — not the same as permanent. It remains subject to review and variation.
- Restructuring
- Trading amount against duration: a higher monthly figure over a shorter term, or a lump sum, in place of the formula's default shape.
- Ceiling
- The payor income level, $350,000, above which the guidelines cease to apply formulaically and judicial discretion governs.
Common questions
How is spousal support calculated in Canada?
Without dependent children, the SSAG set the amount at 1.5% to 2% of the gross income difference for each year of cohabitation, capped at 50% of that difference. A 15-year relationship with a $70,000 income gap gives roughly $1,313 to $1,750 a month. With dependent children a completely different formula applies, based on net disposable income.
What is the rule of 65 for spousal support?
Where a marriage lasted at least 5 years and the years of marriage plus the recipient's age at separation total 65 or more, support is indefinite rather than time-limited. A 12-year marriage ending when the recipient is 53 qualifies; the same marriage ending when they are 50 does not.
Are the Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines law?
No. Two law professors developed them with Department of Justice funding to make outcomes more predictable. Judges commonly follow them and lawyers negotiate against them, but no court is bound by them, and they say nothing about whether support is owed in the first place.
Why does this calculator not handle child support cases?
Because the With Child Support formula works from net disposable income after child support, taxes, credits and benefits, and the Department of Justice's own guidance says software is needed to compute it. An approximation in a browser would be confidently wrong about a number that decides a household budget.
Does indefinite spousal support mean forever?
No. It means the duration is not specified at the outset. The obligation remains open to review and variation as circumstances change — retirement, a material change in either income, or the recipient re-partnering can all be grounds to revisit it.
Is time living together before marriage counted?
Yes. The formula uses the period of cohabitation, not the period from wedding to separation, so time living together beforehand is included in the years figure.
Where these numbers come from
- Department of Justice Canada — Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines The Department's overview, including the caution that the guidelines do not determine entitlement and that software is needed for the harder calculations.
- Department of Justice Canada — Without Child Support Formula The source for the 1.5–2% per year range, the 50% cap, the 0.5–1 year duration multipliers, the rule of 65, and the $350,000 ceiling and $20,000/$30,000 floors.
- Department of Justice Canada — The Revised User's Guide Detailed guidance from the guidelines' authors on applying the formulas, exceptions and restructuring.
Last verified 2026-08-01 Rates on this page are checked against the sources above at least once a year, and whenever the governing authority announces a change. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we will fix it.
Related calculators
Probate fee calculator
Probate tax across five provinces, compared side by side — the spread is enormous.
Open calculatorDTC calculator
What the DTC is worth each year — instantly, with no form to fill in first.
Open calculatorCompound interest
Growth with regular contributions, and the semi-annual compounding basis Canadian law actually requires.
Open calculatorExpress Entry CRS
Your Comprehensive Ranking System score on the current grid — with job offer points correctly removed.
Open calculator⚖️ Estate and disability tax calculators
The tools in this section are the ones most often locked behind a lead form elsewhere. These are not.
See all 4 calculators in this section