Child support guides
These guides explain the parts of child support that a calculator can't show on its own: where the guideline amount comes from, what counts as income, how parenting time and extra costs change the figure, and what happens when an order needs changing, goes unpaid or comes to an end. Every figure in them is worked out from each state's current guidelines when the site is built, so the examples stay in step with the official rules. They explain the guidelines; they are not legal advice, and courts can deviate from the guideline amount.
How child support is worked out
- Average child support payment in the US (2026)The average child support payment from Census and federal data, guideline amounts by state for one and two children, and why averages can mislead.
- Child support for 2, 3 or more childrenHow child support changes with the number of children: how schedules scale in three states, families larger than the table, split custody and step-downs.
- Child support guideline changes in 2026Which states' child support guidelines changed in 2026, computed from each state's rules, with new versions by date, what changed and changes already scheduled.
- How child support is calculated in the US (2026)How US states calculate child support: the income shares, percentage of income and Melson models, what every worksheet asks for, and why amounts differ.
- How much is child support for one child? (2026, by state)Guideline child support for one child in every state and DC at common incomes, computed from current state rules, and what moves the amount in 2026.
- How to read a child support worksheetA line-by-line walk through an official child support worksheet with a computed example, what each section does, and the mistakes that most often skew it.
- Income shares vs percentage of income vs MelsonHow the income shares, percentage of income and Melson child support models work, with computed examples for one family and a neutral look at their trade-offs.
- When courts deviate from the child support guidelinesWhy the guideline amount is presumed correct, the findings a court must make to depart from it, common deviation factors, and how agreements are reviewed.
Income
- Child support and Social Security benefits (SSDI, SSI, retirement)How SSDI, SSI and Social Security retirement affect child support: what counts as income, what can be withheld, and benefits paid to the child.
- Child support when a parent is self-employedHow child support guidelines count self-employment income: business expenses, depreciation, self-employment tax, uneven earnings and the records courts want.
- Imputed income: when courts assign income to a parentWhen courts impute income for child support: voluntary unemployment, minimum-wage presumptions by state, the evidence courts weigh, and the federal rule.
- Overtime, bonuses and commissions in child supportWhether overtime, bonuses, commissions and second-job pay count for child support, which states limit or average them, and how to enter them in an estimate.
- What counts as income for child supportWhich kinds of income count for child support: wages, overtime, bonuses, self-employment, benefits and gifts, what states leave out, and how the lists vary.
Custody and parenting time
Health care, child care and other costs
- College expenses and child supportCan child support cover college? Which states let courts order support for college, which leave it to the parents, and how courts decide who pays.
- Health insurance, cash medical support and uninsured costsHow child support guidelines split the children's health insurance premium, cash medical support and uninsured medical bills, compared state by state.
- Private school tuition and child supportIs private school tuition part of child support? How states treat tuition, what courts may weigh, how a share is usually split, and what to put in an agreement.
- What does child support cover? (And what it doesn't)What the basic child support amount is meant to pay for, which costs such as childcare, health insurance and school are added on top, and what is left out.
- Work-related childcare costs in child supportHow state child support guidelines share work-related childcare costs, which states net out the federal tax credit, and the records courts expect to see.
Changing, enforcing and ending orders
- Back child support, arrears and interestHow unpaid child support becomes arrears, which states charge interest and at what rate, how payment plans work, and the federal tools used to collect it.
- Can parents agree on child support without going to court?How parents can agree on child support, why the guideline amount is the starting point, why support usually can't be waived, and how agreements become orders.
- Child support and bankruptcy: what happens to support and arrearsWhy child support can't be discharged in bankruptcy, what the automatic stay does and doesn't stop, and how Chapter 13 plans must handle support arrears.
- How child support is enforcedHow unpaid child support is collected: income withholding and its federal limits, tax refund offsets, passport denial, license suspension, liens and contempt.
- How child support is paid: income withholding and payment optionsHow child support is paid through paycheck withholding and state disbursement units, how long payments take, other ways to pay, and why records matter.
- How to apply for child support through your state agencyWhat state child support agencies do, who can apply, the federal application and annual fees, what to bring, how paternity is established, and time frames.
- How to modify a child support orderWhen a child support order can be changed, each state's threshold for a change, how agency reviews and court motions work, and why timing matters.
- Moving out of state with a child support orderWhat happens to a child support order when a parent moves to another state, which state can change it, how payments follow you, and who to tell.
- Retroactive child support: how far back can it go?How far back support can reach before a first order, why federal law bars backdating a change before notice, and how courts work out support for past periods.
- What to do when your income drops or risesLost a job, took a pay cut or got a raise? Why child support doesn't change on its own, how big a change has to be, and how to ask for a review.
- When child support ends: age of majority and emancipation by stateWhen child support ends in each state: the usual end age, high school extensions, support for adult children with disabilities, emancipation and arrears.
Special situations
- Child support across state lines (UIFSA)When parents live in different states, which state's guidelines set child support, which state can change the order, and how orders are registered elsewhere.
- Child support and taxesChild support is not deductible or taxable. Who claims the child, the child tax credit, Form 8332, and how state guidelines build taxes into the amount.
- Child support for adult children with disabilitiesWhich states continue child support for an adult child with a disability, the usual conditions, when to ask, and how support affects SSI and trusts.
- Child support for high incomes: table tops, caps and extrapolationWhat happens to child support when income runs past the top of a state's schedule, from income caps to extrapolation formulas, with each state's rules.
- Child support for low-income parents: self-support reserves and minimum ordersHow self-support reserves, poverty-guideline links and minimum orders shape child support when the paying parent's income is low, with each state's rules.
- Child support for military parentsHow states count military pay and allowances like BAH and BAS, what service rules require before an order exists, and how the SCRA protects servicemembers.
- Child support for twins and multiplesHow child support works for twins, triplets and other multiples: two- and three-child amounts by state, child care, health insurance and larger families.
- Child support when a parent is incarceratedWhether child support stops in jail or prison, the federal rule on incarceration and voluntary unemployment, asking for a review, and arrears after release.
- Child support when a parent is unemployed or disabledHow job loss and disability affect child support: unemployment benefits as income, imputed income, SSDI dependent benefit credits, SSI and asking for a review.
- Does remarriage or a new spouse's income affect child support?Whether a new spouse's income counts toward child support, how new children in a parent's home change the guideline amount, and when remarriage matters.
- Paternity and child support: establishing parentageWhy legal parentage comes before a child support order, how paternity is established by acknowledgment, genetic testing or court order, and what happens next.