About HowMuchChildSupport

HowMuchChildSupport is a free calculator that works out the child support guideline amount for each US state and the District of Columbia. Enter two incomes and the number of children and it applies that state's own rules, line by line, and shows the worksheet so you can see where the number comes from.

Why it exists

Child support guidelines are public, but they are written for courts and agencies. Schedules run to hundreds of rows, worksheets have dozens of lines, and official calculators often need an account or only work for one state. Parents who want a quick, honest idea of the guideline amount, before a hearing, a negotiation or a review, deserve a clear answer that shows its working. That is what this site tries to give: a fast estimate for every state, with the rules and sources in plain view.

How figures are verified

• Every schedule, percentage, threshold and limit comes from an official source: the state's statute or court rule, its published guidelines, its child support agency, or federal agencies such as the IRS and HHS. Each figure is stored with its source, the date we retrieved it and the date it took effect.
• Where a state publishes an official calculator, we run test cases through it and require our result to match. Where it publishes worked examples, we reproduce them. Each state's test cases run every time the site is built.
• Every calculator page shows the date the state's sources were last verified. The methodology page explains the approach and lists, for each state, how it was checked.

Independence

HowMuchChildSupport is not affiliated with any court, state agency, government body or law firm. It is not an official calculator. Results are estimates of the guideline amount, not legal advice, and courts can deviate from the guidelines.

How the site is funded

The site is free to use and is funded by advertising. Advertisers have no influence on the calculations or the content, and ads never appear between the calculator's inputs and its result. See the editorial policy.

Reviewers

We invite family law attorneys to review the methodology for their state. A reviewer's name appears only on the pages for the state they reviewed, only after they have agreed in writing, and only for the version of the guidelines they reviewed. No state has a recorded reviewer yet.

Contact

Questions, corrections and suggestions are welcome at hello@howmuchchildsupport.com. See thecontact page for what we can and can't help with.

HowMuchChildSupport is operated by Tech Mage (Pty) Ltd, a company registered in South Africa (2026/392539/07).