When parents live apart, braces raise a question that has nothing to do with teeth: who pays, and how much. In Alberta, orthodontic treatment is named in the Child Support Guidelines as a health-related expense that a court can ask both parents to share, in proportion to their incomes, after insurance has paid its part.
That covers the rule. Most of the trouble comes later, from the wording of the court order or agreement, because Alberta's Maintenance Enforcement Program can only collect a share of orthodontic costs if the order names them. Below we go through how the sharing works, how to word it, which parent's insurance goes first, and where the tax credit fits. We are an orthodontic office and not lawyers, so use this as a map to bring to a family lawyer, not as legal advice.
What the Guidelines say about braces
Section 7 of the Alberta Child Support Guidelines covers special or extraordinary expenses, which sit on top of the basic child support amount. One listed item is health-related expenses that exceed insurance reimbursement by at least $100 a year, and the clause names orthodontic treatment. The federal Guidelines use the same wording in section 7. The Alberta text on the King's Printer site was current to June 25, 2025 when we checked in October 2026, and it is worth confirming that before you rely on it.
Two details in that wording matter. Only the cost left after insurance gets shared, so a $1,500 insurance payment comes off the total before anyone divides anything. And the split follows income: the expense is shared in proportion to each parent's income, after subtracting any contribution from the child. It is not automatically fifty-fifty.
A made-up example shows the arithmetic. Say one parent earns $90,000 and the other $60,000, which makes the shares 60 and 40 per cent. If braces cost $6,000 and insurance pays $1,500, the remaining $4,500 divides into $2,700 and $1,800. The Guidelines say a court may provide for these expenses, so the amount in a real case is a decision, and the figures can come out differently. The federal Guidelines also tell a court to weigh tax credits and subsidies connected to the expense, which is why the tax credit, covered below, belongs in the conversation.
The made-up example: who pays what on a $6,000 fee
- Insurance: $1,500
- Parent earning $90,000: $2,700, 60 per cent of the rest
- Parent earning $60,000: $1,800, 40 per cent of the rest
Insurance comes off first. The remaining $4,500 is divided by income. A real order or agreement can set a different split.
Why the wording of the order matters
A court order or separation agreement can say a lot of things about these expenses, and Alberta's Maintenance Enforcement Program is specific about which ones it can collect. It enforces a fixed dollar amount, or a percentage tied to named expenses. Its own example is an order that says the parent must pay 50 per cent of orthodontic treatment, prescription drugs, glasses and contact lenses. An order that only says 50 per cent of section 7 expenses, with no list, is one the program cannot enforce without further direction.
If your order is vague, the program has a Section 7 Expenses Agreement form. Both parents sign it to say which expenses they share, as an alternative to going back to court. Once it is processed, expenses are claimed on a Section 7 Expenses Report, and only expenses paid within the last year are accepted. With braces, that makes receipts worth submitting promptly, because payments are spread across many months.
Retainers are the quiet gap. They are bought when the braces come off, sometimes years after the order was written. If an order says orthodontic treatment, ask your lawyer whether retainers and later replacements are included, and if there is any doubt, name them. Our guide on how long to wear retainers after braces explains why that cost keeps going well past the last adjustment.
Which insurance plan pays first
If each parent has workplace coverage, a child can be claimed on both plans, and the plans work out who goes first. Canada Life's dental provider guide describes the usual rule for children: the plan of the parent whose birthday comes earlier in the calendar year pays first, counting month and day only. When the birthdays match, it uses the alphabetical order of the parents' first names as the tie-breaker.
Separated parents are the exception worth checking. Some insurers follow the custody arrangement instead of birthdays, so ask each one which plan it treats as primary for your child. The second plan then picks up part of what is left. Insurers follow an industry guideline from the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, and a benefits broker's summary notes that the two plans together cannot pay more than 100 per cent of the eligible expense.
Each plan keeps its own lifetime orthodontic maximum, so ask both insurers how much is left before the consult. Our guide to paying for braces in Alberta has the full list of questions. Canada Life's guide also describes sending a treatment plan to the first plan for a predetermination and then to the second, so ask the office to submit the plan to both and get the estimates in writing.
The tax credit when there are two households
The CRA's list of eligible medical expenses includes orthodontic work, with no prescription or form required. For a child under 18 you claim what you paid in any 12-month period that ends in the tax year, less anything an insurer reimbursed, and you cannot claim an amount you already claimed on an earlier return. The page does not say how separated parents divide a child's claim, so check with CRA or a tax preparer before you plan around it.
The habit that helps most is a clean paper trail. If one parent pays the orthodontic office directly, the receipts are in that parent's name. If both pay, each keeps the receipts for what they paid. And since the federal Guidelines tell a court to weigh tax credits when it sets the shared amount, it makes sense to talk about the credit while parents are agreeing on a split, so that neither assumes the other will claim it.
What helps at the orthodontic office
Orthodontic offices ask for a signature on a financial agreement, and the person who signs is usually the one responsible to the office, whatever the parents have agreed between themselves. Settle the split first, then decide who signs and how payments will be made. Ask whether the office can take payments from two cards or accounts, and whether it can issue receipts for each parent's share.
At a complimentary consult we go over the full fee, the insurance estimate and the monthly amount, so both parents are looking at the same numbers. If one parent is not convinced the treatment is needed, a Second Opinion gives you a specialist's view of the plan to compare. Bring both parents' insurance details if you can. We also explain interest-free payment options and the Retainer Program, which covers retainers starting at $200 per set, with interest-free payments.
The short answer
Orthodontic treatment is a named expense under Alberta's Child Support Guidelines and is shared by income after insurance, but only if the order or agreement carries it. Check that the wording names orthodontics, find out which insurance plan goes first, and keep receipts in the name of whoever paid. A family lawyer can tell you whether your order needs changing, and a consult with us gives both parents one estimate to start from.
