Documenting support payments: instalments, arrears, records
The essentials
- The reference is what is written: the judgment or agreement sets the amount (for children, the determination form is mandatory in the court file). Copy it, do not interpret it.
- Support payable as periodic payments is indexed by operation of law on January 1 of each year, following the annual pension index (art. 590 C.C.Q.) — unless the court set another index or excluded indexation.
- Revenu Québec administers the support-payment collection program: payments, annual statement of account, unpaid support, recourses.
- A gap is proven with dated facts: each payment — received, partial, missed — logged at its date, with its exhibit.
In brief, drawn from this page. Every statement is sourced below.
Document your family file, free. Payments, lateness, child expenses, communications: note the facts as they happen, add your dated exhibits, and get a clear timeline · exactly what a court can follow.
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The Library already covers parenting time — lateness, the log, non-compliance. This guide covers the money: what is set, what is actually paid, and how the gaps are documented.
The reference: what is set
The starting point is always the document that sets the support: the judgment or the agreement. For child support, the child-support determination form is mandatory in the court file — the tool calculates no amount: record the incomes exchanged and the form filed. When circumstances change and both parents agree, SARPA can readjust child support without going back to court ($57, free for those eligible for legal aid); without agreement, a court application is needed.
Indexation: automatic, on January 1
To preserve the real value of the claim, support payable as periodic payments is indexed by operation of law on January 1 of each year, following the annual pension index established under section 119 of the Act respecting the Québec Pension Plan (art. 590 C.C.Q.). Where that index causes a serious disproportion between the creditor's needs and the debtor's means, the court may set another index — or order that the claim not be indexed. Your judgment governs: note what it provides, and the rate applied each year.
Collection by Revenu Québec
The support-payment collection program is administered by Revenu Québec: its portal covers the support you receive (payments received, unpaid support), the support you pay (payments made, security deposit, exemption), indexation, the annual statement of account, eligibility, file processing and recourses. When collection goes through Revenu Québec, its statements become the central record of what was actually paid — keep them.
What to keep, concretely
The Revenu Québec statements (including the annual statement of account), every dated transfer and receipt when payments are made directly between you, the dated requests for special expenses (and their replies), and the real schedule: each payment — received in full, partial, missed — logged at its date. An arrears calculation is nothing more than a dated table: what was due at each instalment, what was received, and the running gap.
In the app: the « Support — what is set » block holds the reference (amount, frequency, indexation yes/no, collection by Revenu Québec), the « Support payments » block logs each payment at its date with its status, and the financial documents exchanged have their own tracker. Everything comes out as a timeline and a printable report.
Official sources (consulted August 2, 2026)
Every statement in this guide rests on an official source. How we verify and correct.
- Civil Code of Québec, art. 590 — LégisQuébec (French) (indexation by operation of law, annual pension index, exception)
- Revenu Québec — Support payments (French) (collection program, annual statement, receiving/paying, recourses)
- Justice Québec — SARPA (readjustment without court, $57, free if eligible for legal aid)
An error in this guide? Report it: corrected within 72 hours, and the corrections log is public.
Reminder: this is general information; it is not information for anyone in particular. For advice on your situation: legal aid (eligibility based on income), a community justice centre, Juripop, or the Barreau referral service.