Spousal Support
A Worked Example of the BC Spousal Support Formula
By SiLaw Group Family LawyersPublished Nov 13, 2026 · 6 min read
The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines' formula for spouses without children takes 1.5 to 2 percent of the gross income difference per year together, for half a year to one year per year together. Below, round numbers show the arithmetic. It is an illustration, not advice or a quote.
Every spousal support calculator for BC runs some version of this formula, and most show only the output. SiLaw Group Family Lawyers would rather you see the inputs. Our spousal support estimator page explains why we do not offer an instant number, and our SSAG amount and duration page covers what the Guidelines are. This post does one thing: it walks a single invented example through the published formula, step by step, so you can see where a range comes from and what it leaves out. For the broader topic, see our spousal support services.
What Does the Formula Actually Say?
The Spousal Support Advisory Guidelines were prepared for the federal Department of Justice and released in final form in July 2008. They are advisory and informal, not legislated, and their use is voluntary. Chapter 7 sets out the without child support formula, which applies where there is no concurrent child support obligation: couples who never had children, and long relationships where the children are grown.
The formula has two parts. For amount, support ranges from 1.5 to 2 percent of the difference between the spouses' gross incomes for each year of marriage, or more precisely each year of cohabitation, up to a maximum of 50 percent. For relationships of 25 years or longer the range is fixed at 37.5 to 50 percent of the gross income difference, with the upper end capped at the point where the spouses' net incomes would be equalized. For duration, support runs from half a year to one year for each year together, but becomes indefinite (duration not specified) if the relationship lasted 20 years or longer, or under the rule of 65, where the relationship lasted at least five years and the years together plus the recipient's age at separation total 65 or more.
Three features matter before any arithmetic. The formula uses gross income, before tax. It counts the whole period of cohabitation, including time living together before marriage, ending at separation. And it generates ranges, never a single figure.
Step One Is Not Arithmetic
The Guidelines say in Chapter 4 that they do not deal with entitlement. A mere disparity of income that would generate an amount under the formula does not automatically lead to entitlement. There must be a finding, or an agreement, that support is owed before the formula is applied at all.
Entitlement comes from the statutes. Section 161 of the Family Law Act requires the parties or the court in British Columbia to consider four objectives: recognizing economic advantages or disadvantages arising from the relationship or its breakdown, apportioning the financial consequences of caring for a child beyond child support, relieving economic hardship arising from the breakdown, and, as far as practicable, promoting each spouse's economic self-sufficiency within a reasonable period of time. Section 15.2(6) of the Divorce Act states matching objectives for married spouses. Our page on spousal support entitlement explains the compensatory, non-compensatory and contractual bases in plain terms. Everything below assumes entitlement has been established.
The Illustration
The following people do not exist. The numbers are round so the arithmetic is easy to follow. Nothing here is a prediction about any real case, and no lawyer could tell you what your support would be from a paragraph like this.
- Two spouses lived together for 12 years in total, including two years before they married. They have now separated.
- They have no children.
- Spouse A earns $100,000 gross per year. Spouse B earns $40,000 gross per year.
- Spouse B was 44 at separation.
Length of the relationship. The Guidelines measure cohabitation, so the count is 12 years, not the 10 years of marriage.
Gross income difference. $100,000 minus $40,000 is $60,000.
Applicable percentage. 1.5 percent times 12 years is 18 percent. 2 percent times 12 years is 24 percent.
Range for amount. 18 percent of $60,000 is $10,800 per year, or $900 per month. 24 percent of $60,000 is $14,400 per year, or $1,200 per month.
Range for duration. Half of 12 years is 6 years. The full length is 12 years. The relationship is under 20 years, and the rule of 65 does not apply because 12 plus 44 is 56.
Result under the formula. Assuming entitlement, the formula suggests a range of $900 to $1,200 per month for 6 to 12 years.
To show what the range does to each household: at the lower end Spouse B would have gross income of $50,800 and Spouse A $89,200. At the upper end, $54,400 and $85,600. The formula narrows the gap. It does not close it, and the Guidelines say that is by design for a relationship of this length.
Why Is the Answer a Range and Not a Number?
Because the Guidelines leave the point within the range to judgment. Chapter 9 lists the factors that push a case up or down: the strength of any compensatory claim, the recipient's needs, the needs and ability to pay of the payor, work incentives for the payor, how property and debts were divided, and self-sufficiency incentives. No single factor decides, and several can pull in opposite directions in the same case. Two files with these exact incomes could reasonably settle at opposite ends of the same range.
What the Illustration Leaves Out
The Guidelines themselves list the issues that remain after the formula, and each one can move the result more than the arithmetic did.
- Income is the input, and income is often the dispute. The illustration assumes two clean salaries. Self-employment, bonuses, benefits and claims that a spouse could earn more than they do are all argued before the formula ever runs. Full disclosure comes first, and our Form F8 financial disclosure guide shows what it involves. The Guidelines discuss imputing income to a recipient who is not earning to capacity, a concept our page on imputing income explains in the child support context.
- Restructuring. Chapter 10 allows amount to be traded against duration, so long as the overall value stays within the global amount the formula generates. A higher monthly figure for fewer years, a lower figure for longer, or a single lump sum are all available. Our page on lump sum versus monthly support covers the trade-offs.
- Exceptions. Chapter 12 describes situations where the formula result can be departed from, including compelling financial circumstances in the interim period, illness and disability, a disproportionate compensatory claim in a shorter marriage without children, and a basic needs exception where a short or medium relationship leaves a low-income recipient unable to meet basic needs.
- Ceilings and floors. Chapter 11 addresses a ceiling and a floor on payor income, and cases above the ceiling or below the floor get their own treatment.
- Interim support counts. Any period of interim support is included within the durational range.
What About Tax?
The Guidelines state that the formula amount assumes the usual tax consequences, deductible to the payor and taxable to the recipient. That assumption holds only for periodic payments made under a court order or written agreement, and lump sums are treated differently. Our page on the tax treatment of spousal support summarizes the Canada Revenue Agency's published guidance and where our advice stops. Confirm the tax treatment of any structure with the CRA or a tax professional before you rely on it.
Talk to a Family Lawyer Before You Trust Any Number
If a calculator printout is driving your negotiation, bring it with you and we will show you the assumptions behind it. The first 30 minutes with SiLaw Group are free, by phone, video, or in person in South Surrey. Call (778) 381-9977 or Book Now for a Free Consultation.
This post is legal information, not legal advice. Rules and fees are current to the date of writing and can change.
About SiLaw Group
SiLaw Group Family Lawyers is a Surrey, BC firm practising family law and mediation. Founder Sandy Sihota is an accredited Family Law Mediator, Arbitrator and Parenting Coordinator (Law Society of BC). Articles are legal information, not legal advice.