Child support calculator by state

Child support calculators by state

Each calculator on this site implements one state’s own guideline: its statute or court rule, its official schedule or percentage table, and its rules for parenting time, low incomes and add-ons. Every result lists the worksheet lines, and every state page links to the state’s official calculator and child support agency.

Not sure where to start? Our guide to how much child support is compares the same family across states, and the Texas child support calculator and California child support calculator show the two most different approaches.

How child support is calculated

Child support is calculated with a formula that every state must adopt and review at least every four years; the amount it produces is presumed correct unless a court finds it unjust or inappropriate in the particular case.^[1][2] Federal rules leave the choice of formula to each state.^[3] There are three families of formulas:^[4]

• Income shares (44 states, including California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania). The parents’ incomes are combined, a schedule or formula gives what an intact family at that income would spend on the children, and each parent owes their share.
• Percentage of income (Texas, Mississippi and North Dakota). Support is a fixed percentage of the paying parent’s income; the other parent is assumed to contribute through direct care.
• Melson formula (Delaware, Hawaii and Montana). Each parent keeps a self-support reserve first, the children’s basic needs are covered, and a standard-of-living share is added.

Labels vary by source: New York calls its percentage of combined income an income shares model, and California’s algebraic formula also uses both incomes.^[4]

For national figures, see the average child support payment. For the full method, read how child support is calculated and the income shares model explained.

What every state guideline must include

Federal regulations require every guideline to base support on the paying parent’s actual income and ability to pay, protect a low-income parent’s basic needs, address the children’s health care, and not treat incarceration as voluntary unemployment.^[2]

• A low-income adjustment, such as a self-support reserve.
• Specific numeric criteria that produce a computed amount.
• A provision for health insurance or cash medical support.
• Written findings whenever a court orders an amount different from the guideline.

What you need for an accurate estimate

The most important inputs are each parent’s income as the state defines it and the number of overnights the children spend with each parent.

1. Income in the right form. Georgia, North Carolina and Ohio use gross income; Florida, Pennsylvania and California use net income; Texas and Illinois convert gross to net with official tables; New York subtracts only FICA and local tax.
2. Overnights. Thresholds differ: 73 nights in Florida, 123 in North Carolina, 146 in Illinois and Pennsylvania (40%), 90 for Ohio’s 10% reduction, and a continuous formula in Georgia and California. See 50/50 custody child support for every rule side by side.
3. Costs. Work-related child care and the children’s health insurance premium, and who pays them.
4. Other children. Support paid for, or other children living with, either parent.

After the estimate: getting, changing and enforcing an order

An estimate becomes an order only through a court or your state’s child support agency, which can also review the order later and enforce it.

• Getting an order. Each state has a child support agency that can establish paternity, set an order with the state guideline and collect payments; every state page here links to its agency.
• Changing an order. When the agency enforces the order, either parent can ask for a review at least every three years, and the order is adjusted to the guideline if the amounts differ.^[7] Courts can also modify an order when circumstances change; each state sets its own test (for example, a 20% or $100 difference after three years in Texas, or 15% or $50 in Florida).
• Enforcement. Unpaid support can be taken from federal tax refunds, licenses can be suspended, and a parent who owes more than $2,500 can be denied a U.S. passport.^[6][7][5]
• Taxes. Child support payments are not deductible by the parent who pays and are not taxable income for the parent who receives them; see is child support taxable for who claims the child.^[8]

When does child support end?

Child support usually ends when the child turns 18, but many states, including Texas, California and Florida, keep it going while the child finishes high school, and some continue it for an adult child with a disability.

An order for several children is usually reduced, not ended, when the oldest child ages out; the Texas, California and Florida pages explain each state’s rules. Unpaid support does not end with the order: past-due amounts stay collectible, as explained in what happens if you don’t pay child support.

Retroactive child support

Retroactive child support is support ordered for a period before the order was made, and how far back it can reach depends on the state.

• Texas. The guidelines apply to retroactive support, and a limit of four years before the petition was filed is presumed reasonable; the court weighs whether the parent knew of the child and whether the award would cause undue hardship.^[9]
• Florida. Support can be ordered for up to 24 months before the case was filed.^[12]
• California. A change to an existing order cannot reach amounts that came due before the request to modify was filed, so a parent whose income changes should file promptly.^[11]

Because retroactive amounts use the guideline, a state calculator above gives the monthly figure to multiply by the months involved; whether the court orders it is a separate decision.

An estimate is not an order

A guideline amount is a starting point. Courts can deviate with written findings, impute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed, and decide support above each state’s income cap.