Deduct support payments from your employee’s earnings

Support payments in Ontario

In Ontario, when a person is ordered by the court to pay child or spousal support payments, the support order is automatically filed with the Family Responsibility Office (FRO).

FRO helps families get the support they are entitled to by collecting, distributing and enforcing child and spousal support payments.

Support deduction notice

FRO sends the support payor’s support deduction notice to the payor’s employer(s) and/or income source(s).

The support deduction notice you receive from FRO will instruct you to deduct one or both of the following from the support payor’s income:

• an ongoing support amount (such as monthly payments)
• arrears (support payments that a payor has missed and owes to a recipient)

When you receive a support deduction notice

You have 14 days to set up the deductions in your payroll system.

After you receive a deduction notice:

1. Calculate the amount of support that you should deduct from your employee’s pay.
2. Set up the deductions in your payroll system.
3. Send the support deductions to FRO.

Do not stop deducting payments unless FRO has told you in writing to stop or change payments.

Under provincial law, you must deduct and send support payments to FRO. In turn, we forward the support payments to the support recipient. This is normal practice in Ontario and across Canada. It does not mean that your employee is having money problems or is in debt.

Payments are confidential

You do not have to speak to your employee about payments on the case. If the support payor or recipient contacts you, please tell them to contact FRO.

Your employee can contact us through FRO Online or they can call us:

Toronto: 416-326-1817
Toll-free: 1-800-267-4330
Toll-free TTY: 1-866-545-0083

Agents are available Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

They can also send a letter to:

Family Responsibility Office
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
PO Box 200, Station A
Oshawa, Ontario
L1H 0C5
Fax: 416-240-2401

Information about an employee's support deduction payments is confidential. You are legally required to make sure it is kept private.

The only people in your organization who need to know are the employee and the staff who make the deductions.

The law states that employers cannot dismiss, discipline, punish or intimidate any employee for making support payment deductions.

Calculating support deductions

You must send FRO the amount set out in the support deduction notice, up to a maximum of 50% of the payor’s net income.

Follow the next four steps to calculate the amount that you must send FRO.

Step 1: calculate payor’s net income

To calculate the payor’s net income:

1. Determine gross income by adding all of the payor’s income, including:
   • salary and wages
   • commissions
   • bonuses
   • profit sharing
   • vacation, termination and severance pay
2. When you calculate the gross income, exclude any reimbursements made to the employee for expenses covered by a medical, health, dental or hospital insurance contract or plan.
3. Subtract all statutory deductions, including:
   • income tax
   • Canada Pension Plan
   • Employment Insurance
   • union dues

The result is the net income.

Step 2: calculate the maximum support you can deduct

The maximum support that you can deduct is 50% of the payor’s net income each pay period.

To calculate the maximum support that you can deduct:

Net income ÷ 2 = maximum support you can deduct

Step 3: calculate total support owed

The support deduction notice will instruct you to deduct one or both of the following from the support payor’s income:

• an ongoing support amount (such as monthly payments)
• arrears (either as an amount to be paid at a set rate, such as monthly, or as a lump sum)

To calculate the total support owed:

Ongoing support amount + arrears = total support owed

Step 4: compare the support owed with the maximum you can deduct

You cannot send more than 50% of a payor’s net income to FRO.

If the total support owed is less than 50% of the payor’s net income, you must send the total support owed to FRO.

If the total support owed is more than 50% of the payor’s net income, you should:

• only send us 50% of the net income
• let us know that this is the case by completing a notice to Family Responsibility Office by income source form and mail or fax it to us

Examples of calculating and deducting support payments

Scenario 1

The ongoing support amount is $300 per month and there are no arrears.

Result: you will submit $300 per month to FRO

Scenario 2

The ongoing support amount is $600 per month and there are no arrears.

Result: You will submit 50% of the payor’s net income, $500 per month. You must notify FRO in writing that the amount of support that the payor owes is more than 50% of their net income.

Scenario 3

The ongoing support amount is $300 per month, and there are arrears are to be paid at the rate of $150 per month.

Result: You will submit the ongoing amount plus arrears, $450 per month.

Scenario 4

The ongoing amount is $300 per month, and there are arrears of $600 in total, but there is no arrears payment schedule.

Result: You will send us $500 (50% of the payor’s net income) each month until the $600 in arrears has been repaid. You must notify FRO in writing that the amount of support that the payor owes is more than 50% of their net income. FRO will keep track of how much is owing and mail you an amended support deduction notice when the arrears have been paid in full. After the arrears are paid, you will send us $300 monthly (the ongoing amount).

Scenario 5

The ongoing support amount is $500 per month. The arrears are to be paid at the rate of $200 per month.

Result: You must send us $500 monthly (50% of the payor’s net income). You must notify FRO in writing that the amount of support that the payor owes is more than 50% of their net income.

Scenario 6

There is no ongoing support amount. The arrears are $5,000 with no payment schedule.

Result: You should send us $500 monthly (50% of the payor’s net income). until the $5,000 in arrears has been repaid. You must notify FRO in writing that the amount of support that the payor owes is more than 50% of their net income. FRO will keep track of how much is owing and mail you an amended support deduction notice when the arrears have been paid in full.

Send support deductions

FRO offers several secure and easy ways for you to submit support deductions.

Send electronically

We encourage you to use the following convenient electronic options to make payments:

• online banking
• corporate pre-authorized debit (PAD)
• electronic fund transfer (EFT)
• electronic data interchange (EDI)

To get more information about these options, contact our eBusiness Coordinator. Their contact info is also listed on the back of the support deduction notice.

Send by mail

If you cannot make electronic payments, you can send the payments by cheque or money order made payable to: Family Responsibility Office.

Mail cheques or money orders to:

Family Responsibility Office
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
PO Box 2204, Station P
Toronto, Ontario
M5S 3E9

Do not send correspondence to this address. This address is for cheques and money orders only.

When to stop deducting support

Keep deducting and sending payments to FRO until we tell you in writing to stop or to change your payments. You must not stop or change deductions solely on the direction of the payor or the payor's lawyer.

A support deduction notice is legally binding until we change or end it. If you do not comply with this support deduction notice, the court may order you to pay the full amount that you failed to deduct and send to us, plus court costs.

When employers should contact FRO

Please fill out and send us the notice to Family Responsibility Office by income source form within 10 days if:

• you are not a source of income for the payor named in the support deduction notice
• your regular payments to us end and are not expected to resume, for example, if the payor quits or is fired
• your regular payments to us will be interrupted because, for example, the payor is temporarily laid-off or is absent due to injury or illness
• you know of any other source of income the payor has, such as a new or additional employer, pension provider or benefit provider
• you calculate that the amount in the support deduction notice is more than 50% of the payor’s net income

Mail or fax us the completed form.

Contact us

Before you contact us

Please have the employee's full first and last name and seven-digit case number ready – you will find it at the top of the first page of the support deduction notice.

If you are using the electronic corporate link to internet payment services (ECLIPS) to make support deduction payments, please report any changes by filling out the online electronic employment change form in ECLIPS.

Phone

Toronto: 416-240-2410
Toll-free: 1-800-463-3533
Available Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Send a letter to FRO

Mail or fax correspondence to:

Family Responsibility Office
Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services
PO Box 200, Station A
Oshawa, Ontario
L1H 0C5
Fax: 416-240-2401

Learn how to send support payments to FRO.