This manual is designed to assist legal and accounting professionals in properly determining a person’s guideline income. The manual defines key terms encountered in guideline income calculations, and then outlines, in detail, steps and considerations involved in preparing guideline income calculations and reports. It includes a discussion of deductions and inclusions, imputing income, employee expenses, and dealing with businesses, among other things.

The manual includes the following as appendices: summary of Alberta child support decisions dealing with amortization, depreciation, and capital cost allowance; business practice suggestions; sample instruction letter to an accounting expert; mandatory documentation checklist; and sample and fillable business expense disclosure worksheets.

This paper is part of a collection presented at LESA’s Business Issues in Family Law Matters program in Calgary on January 17, 2018 and in Edmonton on January 24, 2018.