Child Support Calculator
This child support calculator uses the income shares method: both parents' monthly gross incomes are added, a percentage of the total is set aside for the children, and the non-custodial parent pays their share. With 6,000 and 4,000, one child and sole custody it estimates 1,700 a month. An estimate, not a court order.
⚠️ Disclaimer
This is an estimate only. Actual support is determined by courts.
Parent 1 (Non-Custodial Parent)
Parent 2 (Custodial Parent)
Income Breakdown
Adjustments
Support Guidelines
| Combined Income | 1 Child | 2 Children | 3 Children |
|---|---|---|---|
| $5,000/mo | $1,000 | $1,500 | $1,800 |
| $10,000/mo | $1,700 | $2,600 | $3,100 |
| $15,000/mo | $2,200 | $3,400 | $4,100 |
| $20,000/mo | $2,600 | $4,100 | $4,900 |
Guidelines vary significantly by state
About Child Support Calculator
The calculator follows the shape of the income shares model that most US states use. You enter each parent's monthly gross income, how many other children each already supports, the health insurance the non-custodial parent pays, monthly childcare costs, the number of children in this case and the custody arrangement. It then adds the two incomes, applies a percentage for the number of children, splits that obligation in proportion to each parent's income and adds the direct costs.
Its simplified schedule takes 20% of combined income for one child, 28% for two, 32% for three, 35% for four and 38% for five or more. Children supported elsewhere reduce the income counted here by 7.5% each, capped at 30%. Shared 50/50 custody applies a 40% credit against the base share and a 70/30 arrangement a 20% credit. Health insurance is added in full and childcare is split by income share. The default entries — 6,000 and 4,000 a month, one child, 200 insurance, 500 childcare, sole custody — produce a 1,200 base obligation and a 1,700 monthly total, 20,400 a year, which the panel reports as 17.0% of combined income.
Every panel is shown so you can audit the number: Income breakdown lists combined income, the other-children adjustment, each parent's percentage share and the basic obligation; Adjustments lists the insurance, the childcare share and the custody credit before the final figure.
This is a planning estimate, not a legal determination and not legal advice. Real orders are set under the guidelines of a specific state or country, which use their own income definitions, their own tables and their own deviation factors, and a court can depart from any of them. Use the official calculator or worksheet for your jurisdiction, and a lawyer, before relying on a number.
Use Cases
How to use
Fill in Parent 1, the non-custodial parent: monthly gross income, the number of other children they already support and the health insurance cost they pay.
Fill in Parent 2, the custodial parent: monthly gross income, other children supported and the monthly childcare cost.
Choose the number of children in this case, from 1 to 5 or more, in the dropdown below the two columns.
Choose the custody arrangement: sole custody, shared 50/50 or primary 70/30. The credit applied to the base share depends on this.
Read the estimated monthly support, the yearly figure beside it and the percentage of combined income it represents.
Open Income breakdown and Adjustments to see the combined income, each parent's share, the basic obligation, the insurance, the childcare share and the custody credit that produced the total.
Pro Tips
- Enter gross monthly income, not take-home pay. The model works from income before tax, so using a net figure will understate the obligation for both parents.
- Other children supported is per parent and reduces that parent's counted income by 7.5% each, up to a 30% cap. The reduction shows on the Income breakdown line so you can see what it cost.
- The custody dropdown changes the result even when the incomes do not: shared 50/50 gives a 40% credit on the base share and 70/30 gives 20%. Compare the three settings before assuming a figure.
- Health insurance is added in full to the payer's total, while childcare is divided by income share. Put each cost in its own field rather than adding them together.
- Parent 1 is the non-custodial parent and Parent 2 is the custodial one. Swapping the two incomes changes the answer, so check the labels before reading the result.
Troubleshooting
The estimate does not match my state's official calculator.
It will not. This page applies one simplified schedule, while every state defines income, deductions, imputed income, parenting-time credits and low-income floors differently, and some use the percentage-of-obligor model rather than income shares. Treat this figure as a rough order of magnitude and use your state's worksheet for anything binding.
The result is still above zero with 50/50 custody.
That is normal in an income shares model. Shared custody applies a 40% credit to the base share, not a cancellation, so when one parent earns more the higher earner usually still transfers something. Set both incomes to the same figure with shared custody selected to see the payment shrink.
The number jumped when I entered another child supported elsewhere.
Each other child removes 7.5% of that parent's gross income from the calculation, up to 30%. That changes both the combined income and the income-share percentages, so the base obligation and the split move together. The Income breakdown panel shows the adjustment as its own line.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most US states use the income shares model this page follows: add both parents' gross monthly incomes, take a percentage of the total for the number of children, then split that obligation in proportion to each parent's income. Direct costs such as health insurance and childcare are added on top, and parenting time reduces the payer's share.
There is no answer without the other parent's income, because the model works from the combined figure. As an example, $2,000 a week is about $8,667 a month; against a co-parent earning $4,000 with one child and sole custody, this calculator estimates roughly a 68% income share of a $2,533 obligation. Enter both real incomes for your own figure.
In the United States the Consumer Credit Protection Act caps wage garnishment for support at 50% of disposable earnings if the worker is supporting another spouse or child, or 60% if not, with an extra 5% when payments are more than 12 weeks in arrears, according to the US Department of Labor. Those are withholding ceilings, not the amount an order will set.
Often yes, if the incomes differ. Choosing shared 50/50 in the custody dropdown applies a 40% credit to the base share rather than cancelling it, because the model assumes the higher earner should contribute more to the children's costs wherever they sleep. Set both incomes equal and the payment falls close to the direct costs alone.
It is accurate for the formula it implements, and that formula is a simplification. This one uses a single percentage schedule and one set of credits; real guidelines differ by state and country, define income differently and let a judge deviate. Use it to understand the shape of the calculation, then check your jurisdiction's own worksheet.
This calculator sets aside 28% of combined income for two children, against 20% for one. On a combined 10,000 a month that moves the basic obligation from 2,000 to 2,800, before each parent's share, insurance, childcare and any custody credit are applied. Your state's table will use its own percentages.
Here it does, and separately from the base amount. The monthly childcare cost you enter is divided between the parents in proportion to their incomes, and the payer's portion is added to the total. With a 60/40 income split and 500 of childcare, 300 is added to the non-custodial parent's monthly figure.
In this calculator the health insurance premium entered for the non-custodial parent is added to their monthly total in full, not split. That mirrors the common guideline treatment of the child's medical coverage as an add-on to the basic obligation, but states vary in whether the premium is added, credited or apportioned.
Nothing on this page changes an existing order, and only a court can. Support obligations generally continue until a judge modifies them, so the practical step is to ask the court or child support agency about a modification as soon as circumstances change. Running the calculator with your new income can show you the size of the gap you are describing.
This calculator has no gender in it at all: it works from whichever parent is entered as non-custodial, their income and the custody split. Any average you read elsewhere reflects who tends to be the payer in a given dataset, not a rule, and it will not predict your own figure. Enter both real incomes instead.