Florida child support calculator
Income shares. Both incomes are added, a schedule sets what the children need, and each parent covers their share. Incomes are counted after tax, and substantial time-sharing starts at 73 overnights a year with each parent.
How Florida gets to $1,163.02
Florida's formula (income shares), written out with your numbers. Each step names the part of the law it comes from.
Take off taxes, then add the incomes§ 61.30(3) and (4), deductions and net income
Net income a month: the other parent $6,000 − $584.17 federal income tax (single) − $459.00 Social Security and Medicare = $4,956.83; the parent the children live with $4,000 − $0.00 federal income tax (head of household, 2 children claimed) − $306.00 Social Security and Medicare = $3,694.00. $3,694 + $4,956.83 = $8,650.83 a month. The other parent's share is $4,956.83 ÷ $8,650.83 = 57.3%.
57.3%Look up the schedule§ 61.30(6), guidelines schedule
$8,650.83 of combined income uses the row below, $8,650: the schedule's amount for 2 children.
$2,082.00Multiply the schedule by 1.5 and split it by income§ 61.30(6)(a), (7), (8), (10) and (11)(b), child care, health insurance and substantial time-sharing
100 overnights a year with the other parent and 265 with the parent the children live with: each has at least 73, so substantial time-sharing applies. $2,082 × 1.5 = $3,123.00; the other parent 57.3%, $1,789.44; the parent the children live with 42.7%, $1,333.56.
$3,123.00Weigh each share by the other parent's overnights§ 61.30(6)(a), (7), (8), (10) and (11)(b), child care, health insurance and substantial time-sharing
the other parent $1,789.44 × 265/365 = $1,299.18; the parent the children live with $1,333.56 × 100/365 = $365.36. Each parent's net share of child care and health insurance (child care $400), less what they pay: the other parent $229.20, the parent the children live with $0.00. The other parent owes $1,528.38 and the parent the children live with $365.36, so the other parent pays the difference.
$1,163.02 a month
Notes
- Net income counts wages only, with federal income tax for a single or head-of-household filer after the child tax credit, Social Security and Medicare, and union dues. Not modeled: self-employment tax, married filing status, refundable credits (a court may weigh them as a deviation, § 61.30(11)(a)8), mandatory retirement, a parent's own health insurance, and support paid for other children (§ 61.30(3)(d) to (f)). A net income already worked out on a financial affidavit can be entered instead.
- Not modeled: uninsured medical, dental and prescription costs (§ 61.30(8)), usually ordered split by percentage as they come up; imputed income; Social Security paid to the children; children on different time-sharing schedules; deviation factors, including time-sharing under 20% of overnights (§ 61.30(11)(a)).
- Spousal support received counts as income and spousal support paid under a court order is deducted (§ 61.30(2)(a)9 and (3)(g)). Federal tax is worked out on wages only, since spousal support under orders made since 2019 is neither taxable nor deductible.
- Federal tax is worked out for the parent the children live with filing as head of household and claiming the children, and the other parent filing as single. § 61.30(3)(a) uses each parent's actual filing status and dependents; a different arrangement changes net income.
Rules: Florida guideline in force from 1 Jan 2026, checked 3 Nov 2026. Schedule imported from the statute page on 3 Nov 2026.
Quick facts (2026)
Florida's guideline as the calculator applies it on the date the page was built.
- Guideline model
- Income shares
- Income used
- Both net incomes: wages minus federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and union dues
- Schedule
- 185 rows of combined monthly income, from $800 to $10,000, for 1 to 6 children
- Cap
- The schedule runs to $10,000 of combined monthly income. Above it, the amount is the top row plus 5% for 1 child, 7.5% for 2, 9.5% for 3, 11% for 4, 12% for 5 and 12.5% for 6 or more of the income above it.
- Days with each parent
- Substantial time-sharing applies when each parent has the children for at least 73 overnights of the 365-night year (20%). The schedule amount is then multiplied by 1.5, split by income, and each parent's part is multiplied by the other parent's share of the overnights. With fewer overnights, time does not change the formula; a court may deviate for a significant amount of time.
- Rules in force
- Florida guideline from 1 Jan 2026, Fla. Stat. § 61.30, child support guidelines (2026 Florida Statutes), checked 3 Nov 2026. Next review due 1 Jul 2027.
| Combined monthly income | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children |
|---|---|---|---|
| $800 | $190 | $211 | $213 |
| $2,350 | $515 | $799 | $1,000 |
| $3,850 | $802 | $1,248 | $1,553 |
| $5,400 | $1,051 | $1,628 | $2,037 |
| $6,950 | $1,208 | $1,879 | $2,355 |
| $8,450 | $1,325 | $2,058 | $2,581 |
| $10,000 | $1,437 | $2,228 | $2,795 |
Support by income
The guideline amount as the other parent's income rises, for 1 to 3 children, with the income of the parent the children live with held fixed and no shared custody.
| Other parent's income a month | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | $343.52 | $532.87 | $666.58 |
| $4,000 | $584.53 | $905.71 | $1,135.14 |
| $6,000 | $768.37 | $1,192.96 | $1,496.65 |
| $8,000 | $912.57 | $1,412.45 | $1,771.94 |
| $10,000 | $1,025.06 | $1,584.60 | $1,988.77 |
| $12,000 | $1,125.70 | $1,738.18 | $2,182.37 |
| $15,000 | $1,265.25 | $1,950.56 | $2,450.32 |
Custody time, health insurance and child care
How each one enters Florida's formula.
Days with each parent
Substantial time-sharing applies when each parent has the children for at least 73 overnights of the 365-night year (20%). The schedule amount is then multiplied by 1.5, split by income, and each parent's part is multiplied by the other parent's share of the overnights. With fewer overnights, time does not change the formula; a court may deviate for a significant amount of time. Time-sharing and 50/50 custody in Florida child support (2026).
Health insurance and child care
Yes. Work-related child care and the children's health insurance are added to the schedule amount in full and shared by net income; each parent is credited with what they already pay. Under substantial time-sharing they are shared by income only, not multiplied or weighted by overnights.
Florida's formula, step by step
The steps in the order the calculator runs them, each with the part of the law it comes from. The worked example under the calculator shows them with numbers.
Start from monthly incomeFla. Stat. § 61.30, child support guidelines (2026 Florida Statutes)
Start from each parent's monthly gross income. Spousal support is taken off the income of the parent who pays it and added to the income of the parent who receives it.
Take off taxes§ 61.30(3) and (4), deductions and net income
Work out each parent's net income: monthly gross wages minus federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare, and union dues. Tax is the actual federal tax for a year divided by 12: this calculator assumes the parent the children live with files as head of household (standard deduction $24,150) and claims the children for the child tax credit ($2,200 a child), and the other parent files as single (standard deduction $16,100), from 1 Jan 2026.
Add the two incomesFla. Stat. § 61.30, child support guidelines (2026 Florida Statutes)
Add the two incomes and work out each parent's share of the total.
Look up the schedule§ 61.30(6), guidelines schedule
Look up the basic obligation for both parents in the schedule, by combined monthly income and number of children: 185 rows from $800 to $10,000, for 1 to 6 children. Below $800 the first row applies; between rows the row below applies. Above $10,000: the top row plus 5% for 1 child, 7.5% for 2, 9.5% for 3, 11% for 4, 12% for 5 and 12.5% for 6 or more of the income above it.
Work out the time-sharing figure§ 61.30(6)(a), (7), (8), (10) and (11)(b), child care, health insurance and substantial time-sharing
Sole time-sharing: the schedule amount plus child care and the children's health insurance, times the other parent's income share, less what that parent already pays for them. Substantial time-sharing applies when each parent has at least 73 overnights of the 365-night year: the schedule amount times 1.5 is split by income, each parent's part is multiplied by the other parent's share of the overnights, each parent's net share of child care and health insurance is added, and the parent who owes more pays the difference. When the paying parent's own net income is below $800 a month, the amount is the lesser of their share and 90% of their income above the federal poverty guideline, and the court sets a case-by-case amount.
Caps and dated figures
Percentages are written in the rule file. Caps, reserves and minimums move on their own calendar, so each is a dated value; the calculator uses the one in force on the date it computes for.
| Figure | Value | In force | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Percentages above the schedule | 5% for 1 child, 7.5% for 2, 9.5% for 3, 11% for 4, 12% for 5 and 12.5% for 6 or more | from 1 Jan 2026 | Fla. Stat. § 61.30, child support guidelines (2026 Florida Statutes), checked 3 Nov 2026 |
| Federal income tax, single filer | Standard deduction $15,750 a year; taxable income taxed at 10% up to $11,925, 12% up to $48,475, 22% up to $103,350, 24% up to $197,300, 32% up to $250,525, 35% up to $626,350, 37% above $626,350 | from 1 Jan 2025 to 31 Dec 2025 | Texas OAG revised 2025 tax charts (standard deduction and brackets used), checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Federal income tax, single filer | Standard deduction $16,100 a year; taxable income taxed at 10% up to $12,400, 12% up to $50,400, 22% up to $105,700, 24% up to $201,775, 32% up to $256,225, 35% up to $640,600, 37% above $640,600 | from 1 Jan 2026in force | IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments), checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Federal income tax, head of household | Standard deduction $24,150 a year; taxable income taxed at 10% up to $17,700, 12% up to $67,450, 22% up to $105,700, 24% up to $201,750, 32% up to $256,200, 35% up to $640,600, 37% above $640,600 | from 1 Jan 2026in force | IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments), Table 2, heads of households, and the standard deduction, checked 3 Nov 2026 |
| Social Security and Medicare | Social Security 6.2% up to $176,100 a year; Medicare 1.45%, plus 0.9% above $200,000 a year | from 1 Jan 2025 to 31 Dec 2025 | Social Security Administration: contribution and benefit base, and OASDI and HI tax rates, checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Social Security and Medicare | Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500 a year; Medicare 1.45%, plus 0.9% above $200,000 a year | from 1 Jan 2026in force | Social Security Administration: contribution and benefit base, and OASDI and HI tax rates, checked 31 Oct 2026 |
| Child tax credit | $2,200 a child, less $50 for each $1,000 of income above $200,000 a year | from 1 Jan 2026in force | IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 child tax credit of $2,200 per child), checked 3 Nov 2026 |
| Poverty guideline for one person | $15,960 a year | from 1 Jan 2026in force | HHS ASPE: 2026 poverty guidelines (one person, 48 contiguous states), checked 3 Nov 2026 |
Not confirmed yet
- Nothing in Florida's formula is marked unconfirmed.
Compare Florida
The sample family above in every state the calculator covers. Each state reads only what its formula uses.
| State | Guideline model | Support a month | Paid by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | Income shares | $1,072.54 | the other parent |
| Texas | Percentage of net resources | $1,239.21 | the other parent |
| New York | Combined income, up to a cap | $1,625.25 | the other parent |
| Florida | Income shares | $1,163.02 | the other parent |
| Georgia | Income shares | $1,230.28 | the other parent |
| Alabama | Income shares | $1,260.00 | the other parent |
- Florida vs Georgia child support: which state is higher? (2026)Neither is always higher. Without shared time the two are close at middle incomes: for two children with incomes of $4,000 and $6,000 a month, the guideline is $1,192.96 in Florida and $1,143.60 in Georgia. Time with the other parent makes the bigger difference: Georgia lowers support for every court-ordered day, while Florida changes nothing until 73 overnights a year and then drops faster. At low incomes Georgia's low-income table can bring support below Florida's.
- Florida vs Texas child support: which state is higher? (2026)It depends on the other parent's income and on time. Both states start from income after tax, but Texas takes a percentage of the paying parent's net resources only, while Florida adds both parents' net incomes, reads its schedule and splits it by income. For two children and a paying parent earning $6,000 a month, Texas is $1,239.21 whatever the other parent earns; Florida is $1,542.00 when the parent the children live with has no income and $1,192.96 when that parent earns $4,000. With 100 overnights a year with the other parent, Florida drops to $933.82; the Texas guideline does not change.
- Virginia child support calculatorIncome shares. Both incomes are added, a schedule sets what the children need, and each parent covers their share. Shared custody starts after 90 days a year with each parent.
- Texas child support calculatorPercentage of net resources. A set percentage of the paying parent's income after tax: 25% for two children.
- New York child support calculatorCombined income, up to a cap. A percentage of both incomes up to $193,000 a year, split by income share. Above the cap, the court decides.
- Georgia child support calculatorIncome shares. Both incomes are added, a schedule sets what the children need, and each parent covers their share. Every day of court-ordered parenting time adjusts the amount, and a low-income table caps it for a paying parent on a low income.
- Alabama child support calculatorIncome shares. Both incomes are added, a schedule sets what the children need, and each parent covers their share. A self-support reserve protects a low-income paying parent, and a court order for 50/50 time uses a shared worksheet.
Questions about Florida child support
How is child support calculated in Florida?
Income shares. Both incomes are added, a schedule sets what the children need, and each parent covers their share. Incomes are counted after tax, and substantial time-sharing starts at 73 overnights a year with each parent. The calculator on this page shows every step with your numbers and the part of the law it comes from.
How much is child support in Florida for 2 children?
It depends on the incomes. For 2 children; the parent the children live with earns $4,000 a month and the other parent $6,000, before tax; 100 overnights a year with the other parent; child care of $400 a month, paid by the parent the children live with, the guideline amount is $1,163.02 a month, paid by the other parent to the parent the children live with, with the rules in force on 3 Nov 2026.
Is there an income cap in Florida?
The schedule runs to $10,000 of combined monthly income. Above it, the amount is the top row plus 5% for 1 child, 7.5% for 2, 9.5% for 3, 11% for 4, 12% for 5 and 12.5% for 6 or more of the income above it.
Does time with each parent change child support in Florida?
Substantial time-sharing applies when each parent has the children for at least 73 overnights of the 365-night year (20%). The schedule amount is then multiplied by 1.5, split by income, and each parent's part is multiplied by the other parent's share of the overnights. With fewer overnights, time does not change the formula; a court may deviate for a significant amount of time.
Are child care and health insurance included?
Yes. Work-related child care and the children's health insurance are added to the schedule amount in full and shared by net income; each parent is credited with what they already pay. Under substantial time-sharing they are shared by income only, not multiplied or weighted by overnights.
Is this the amount a court will order?
This is an estimate of the guideline amount. A court can order a different amount, and an existing order only changes when it is modified.
Is child support different in Miami, Orlando or Tampa?
No. Fla. Stat. § 61.30 sets one guideline for every court in Florida, with the same schedule, time-sharing formula and low-income rule, so the amount is worked out the same way in Miami, Orlando, Tampa, Jacksonville or anywhere else.
Florida guides
Every scenario of Florida's guideline, explained with figures from the same engine.
- Back child support (arrears) in Florida: interest, enforcement and crime (2026)In Florida, a support installment that is due and unpaid becomes a final judgment by operation of law once the parent who owes it has been given notice and time to contest, and the depository charges interest on support judgments at the judgment rate set under § 55.03, which is 7.87 percent a year for judgments obtained in the quarter from 1 October 2026 (Fla. Stat. § 61.14(6)). Arrears are collected through income deduction, driver's license and vehicle registration suspension, liens, bank levies, credit reporting and tax refund and passport programs. Willfully not paying support that a parent is able to pay is a crime under § 827.06, and arrears that accrued before a petition to modify cannot be reduced.
- Changing a child support order in Florida (2026)Either parent can ask the court to increase or decrease child support when the circumstances or financial ability of either party change (Fla. Stat. § 61.14(1)(a)). The guidelines can show a substantial change on their own when the difference between the existing order and the guideline amount is at least 15 percent or $50, whichever is greater (§ 61.30(1)(b)). A modification can apply back to the date the petition was filed.
- Does 50/50 custody mean no child support? Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)No. In Texas, New York and Virginia, equal time with each parent does not by itself end child support. Only Virginia's guideline uses the number of days: above 90 days a year with each parent, a shared custody formula lowers support, and with equal time the parent who earns more usually pays the difference. Texas and New York apply their usual formula; in Texas, parenting time is a factor a court may weigh to depart from it, and New York's statute has no shared custody formula, but with truly equal time its appellate courts make the parent with the larger income share the paying parent.
- Child support at high incomes in Florida (2026)Florida's schedule runs to $10,000 of combined monthly net income. Above it, the obligation is the schedule's top amount plus a percentage of the income over $10,000: 5% for one child, rising to 12.5% for six (Fla. Stat. § 61.30(6)(b)). There is no cap: the amount keeps rising with income, and the court may deviate from it for the reasons in § 61.30(11)(a).
- How much is child support in Florida by income? (2026)In Florida the amount depends on both parents' net incomes, the number of children and the overnights with each parent. With the parent the children live with earning $4,000 a month in gross wages, fewer than 73 overnights with the other parent and no extra costs, a parent earning $6,000 pays $768.37 for one child and $1,192.96 for two.
- Child support for more than one child in Florida (2026)Florida's schedule gives one figure for all the children in the case, for 1 to 6 children, and each extra child adds less than the one before. With gross wages of $4,000 and $6,000 and no substantial time-sharing, the other parent pays $768.37 for one child, $1,192.96 for two and $1,496.65 for three.
- Self-employment and imputed income for child support in Florida (2026)For a self-employed parent, Florida counts business income as gross receipts minus the ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce it (Fla. Stat. § 61.30(2)(a)3), and deducts income tax and self-employment tax to reach net income (§ 61.30(3)(a) and (b)). Income is imputed to a parent whose unemployment or underemployment the court finds voluntary, and automatically, at a presumed median income, when a parent's income is unknown or the parent does not take part (§ 61.30(2)(b)).
- Health insurance and child care in Florida child support (2026)Florida adds child care for a parent's work, job search or education, and the children's health insurance, to the schedule amount, divides the total by net income, and takes what each parent already pays off that parent's share (Fla. Stat. § 61.30(7) and (8)). Child care counts in full: the 25 percent reduction was repealed from 1 January 2011. Uninsured medical, dental and prescription costs are added too, unless the court orders them split by percentage.
- Child support at low incomes in Florida (2026): § 61.30(6)(a)Florida's guidelines set no minimum order. When the paying parent's own net income is below the schedule's lowest row, $800 a month, the court should order an amount set case by case, to establish the principle of payment, and the payment is the lesser of that parent's share and 90% of their net income above the federal poverty guideline for one person (Fla. Stat. § 61.30(6)(a)). At these incomes that cap comes to zero, so the calculator shows zero and flags that the court sets the amount.
- Time-sharing and 50/50 custody in Florida child support (2026)When each parent has at least 20 percent of the overnights, 73 a year, Florida courts shall adjust child support under Fla. Stat. § 61.30(11)(b): each parent's share of the schedule amount is multiplied by 1.5, then by the other parent's percentage of the overnights, and the difference is paid, adjusted for child care and health insurance. With equal time, the parent with the higher net income usually pays.
- How long child support lasts in Florida (2026)Florida orders entered since 1 October 2010 must end child support on the child's 18th birthday, unless the court finds the child, dependent in fact and between 18 and 19, is still in high school and performing in good faith with a reasonable expectation of graduating before 19, or the parents agree to continue support (Fla. Stat. § 61.13(1)(a)1). A court may also require support past 18 for a child whose dependency comes from a mental or physical incapacity that began before 18 (§ 743.07(2)).
- All Florida guidesFlorida uses an income shares guideline on net income, Fla. Stat. § 61.30. Each parent's net income, gross income less taxes and other allowed deductions, is added; the schedule gives the minimum child support need for that income and number of children, and each parent's share is split by income. Child care and the children's health insurance are added in full, and when each parent has at least 73 overnights a year, the substantial time-sharing formula applies.
Versions
When a state changes its formula, the rule file gets a new version with the date it starts. Results use the version in force on their date.
United States, version from 1 Jan 2025in force
- This is an estimate of the guideline amount. A court can order a different amount, and an existing order only changes when it is modified.
Florida, version from 1 Jan 2026in force
- Net income counts wages only, with federal income tax for a single or head-of-household filer after the child tax credit, Social Security and Medicare, and union dues. Not modeled: self-employment tax, married filing status, refundable credits (a court may weigh them as a deviation, § 61.30(11)(a)8), mandatory retirement, a parent's own health insurance, and support paid for other children (§ 61.30(3)(d) to (f)). A net income already worked out on a financial affidavit can be entered instead.
- Not modeled: uninsured medical, dental and prescription costs (§ 61.30(8)), usually ordered split by percentage as they come up; imputed income; Social Security paid to the children; children on different time-sharing schedules; deviation factors, including time-sharing under 20% of overnights (§ 61.30(11)(a)).
- Spousal support received counts as income and spousal support paid under a court order is deducted (§ 61.30(2)(a)9 and (3)(g)). Federal tax is worked out on wages only, since spousal support under orders made since 2019 is neither taxable nor deductible.
Sources
Every law, chart and table the formula and its figures come from, with the date each was last checked.
- Fla. Stat. § 61.30, child support guidelines (2026 Florida Statutes)
- Florida Family Law Form 12.902(e), Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (06/25)
- Florida Family Law Form 12.902(c), Financial Affidavit, lines 18 to 27 (deductions and net income)
- Quadrennial Review of the Florida Child Support Guidelines, report to the Legislature (Office of Economic and Demographic Research, 1 February 2026)
- Texas OAG revised 2025 tax charts (standard deduction and brackets used)
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments)
- Social Security Administration: contribution and benefit base, and OASDI and HI tax rates
- HHS ASPE: 2026 poverty guidelines (one person, 48 contiguous states)