Virginia child support calculator
Income 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.
How Virginia gets to $650.28
Virginia's formula (income shares), written out with your numbers. Each step names the part of the law it comes from.
Add the two incomesCode of Virginia § 20-108.2
$4,000 + $6,000 = $10,000 a month. The other parent's share is $6,000 ÷ $10,000 = 60%.
60%Look up the schedule§ 20-108.2 B, schedule of support
The schedule's amount for $10,000 of combined income and 1 child.
$1,251.00Work out the sole-custody figure§ 20-108.2 G, sole and shared custody
($1,251.00 + child care $500) × 60% = $1,050.60.
$1,050.60Check for shared custody§ 20-108.2 G, sole and shared custody
146 days with the other parent is more than 90, and so is the rest of the year with the parent the children live with, so shared custody applies. Shared need = $1,251.00 × 1.4 = $1,751.40. The other parent's custody share is 146 ÷ 365 = 40%.
$1,751.40Work out the shared-custody figure§ 20-108.2 G, sole and shared custody
The other parent: $1,751.40 × 60% income share × 60% of the year with the parent the children live with = $630.50, plus 60% of the costs the parent the children live with pays, $300.00, so $930.50. The parent the children live with: $1,751.40 × 40% income share × 40% of the year with the other parent = $280.22. Difference: $930.50 − $280.22 = $650.28, paid by the other parent.
$650.28Take the lower of the two§ 20-108.2 G, sole and shared custody
When the other parent pays, the lower of the sole and shared figures applies when a party shows it.
Sole custody $1,050.60Shared custody $650.28, applies$650.28 a month
Notes
- Half of any self-employment tax paid is also deducted from income (not modeled).
- Reasonable and necessary unreimbursed medical and dental costs are shared in proportion to gross income as they are incurred, outside the monthly amount (§ 20-108.2 D, not modeled).
- Deductions for other children are not modeled: support paid for other children under an order or written agreement, and the schedule amount for a parent's own children living with that parent (§ 20-108.2 C).
- Disability benefits paid to the children from a parent's entitlement count as that parent's income and are credited against support (§ 20-108.2 C); not modeled.
- Low income is not modeled beyond the minimum: when the paying parent's gross income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, a court may set less than the statutory minimum, and the minimum does not apply to some parents (for example those imprisoned for life or totally and permanently disabled) (§ 20-108.2 B). Shared custody support is not presumed correct when either parent's income is that low (G 3 (d)).
- Days are counted as whole days; the half-day rule for an overnight of less than 24 hours (§ 20-108.2 G 3 (c)) is not modeled.
- Split custody, different schedules for different children, and mixes of sole, split and shared custody (§ 20-108.2 G 2, 4 to 6) are not modeled.
Rules: Virginia guideline in force from 1 Jul 2025, checked 2 Nov 2026. Schedule imported from the statute page on 31 Oct 2026.
Quick facts (2026)
Virginia's guideline as the calculator applies it on the date the page was built.
- Guideline model
- Income shares
- Income used
- Both gross incomes
- Schedule
- 844 rows of combined monthly income, from $350 to $42,500, for 1 to 6 children
- Cap
- The schedule runs to $42,500 of combined monthly income. Above it, the amount is the top row plus 2.6% for 1 child, 3.4% for 2, 3.8% for 3, 4.2% for 4, 4.6% for 5 and 5% for 6 or more of the income above it.
- Days with each parent
- Shared custody rules apply when each parent has the children more than 90 days of the 365-day year. The schedule amount is then multiplied by 1.4 and split by income and time.
- Rules in force
- Virginia guideline from 1 Jul 2025, Code of Virginia § 20-108.2, checked 2 Nov 2026. Next review due 31 Oct 2029.
| Combined monthly income | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children |
|---|---|---|---|
| $350 | $68 | $104 | $126 |
| $7,400 | $1,095 | $1,619 | $2,043 |
| $14,400 | $1,587 | $2,307 | $2,888 |
| $21,450 | $2,099 | $3,011 | $3,718 |
| $28,450 | $2,491 | $3,635 | $4,525 |
| $35,500 | $2,900 | $4,216 | $5,199 |
| $42,500 | $3,306 | $4,792 | $5,867 |
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 | $333.00 | $496.33 | $624.00 |
| $4,000 | $560.50 | $821.00 | $1,044.50 |
| $6,000 | $750.60 | $1,094.40 | $1,384.80 |
| $8,000 | $946.67 | $1,372.67 | $1,739.33 |
| $10,000 | $1,111.43 | $1,617.86 | $2,030.71 |
| $12,000 | $1,275.00 | $1,838.25 | $2,284.50 |
| $15,000 | $1,508.68 | $2,163.95 | $2,675.53 |
Custody time, health insurance and child care
How each one enters Virginia's formula.
Days with each parent
Shared custody rules apply when each parent has the children more than 90 days of the 365-day year. The schedule amount is then multiplied by 1.4 and split by income and time. Shared custody child support in Virginia (2026).
Health insurance and child care
Child care and health insurance are added to the schedule amount and shared by income, inside the custody step.
Virginia'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 incomeCode of Virginia § 20-108.2
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.
Add the two incomesCode of Virginia § 20-108.2
Add the two incomes and work out each parent's share of the total.
Look up the schedule§ 20-108.2 B, schedule of support
Look up the basic obligation for both parents in the schedule, by combined monthly income and number of children: 844 rows from $350 to $42,500, for 1 to 6 children. Below $350 the first row applies; between rows the amount is interpolated in a straight line. Above $42,500: the top row plus 2.6% for 1 child, 3.4% for 2, 3.8% for 3, 4.2% for 4, 4.6% for 5 and 5% for 6 or more of the income above it.
Work out the custody figure§ 20-108.2 G, sole and shared custody
Sole custody: the schedule amount plus health insurance and child care, times the other parent's income share, less any health insurance and child care that parent pays. Shared custody applies when each parent has the children more than 90 days of the 365-day year. The schedule amount times 1.4 is the shared need. Each parent owes their income share of the need for the days the children spend with the other parent, plus their income share of the other parent's costs, and the difference is paid. When the other parent pays, the lower of the sole and shared amounts applies when a party shows it. If sole custody support is below the statutory minimum, the minimum applies: the schedule's lowest amount for the number of children ($68 a month (from 1 Jul 2025) for one child).
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 | 2.6% for 1 child, 3.4% for 2, 3.8% for 3, 4.2% for 4, 4.6% for 5 and 5% for 6 or more | from 1 Jul 2025 | Code of Virginia § 20-108.2, checked 2 Nov 2026 |
| Statutory minimum | $68 a month | from 1 Jul 2025in force | Code of Virginia § 20-108.2, checked 2 Nov 2026 |
Not confirmed yet
- Nothing in Virginia's formula is marked unconfirmed.
Compare Virginia
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 | $650.28 | the other parent |
| Texas | Percentage of net resources | $991.37 | the other parent |
| New York | Combined income, up to a cap | $1,241.97 | the other parent |
- New York vs Virginia child support: which state is higher? (2026)For most middle income families New York's guideline is higher. For two children with incomes of $4,000 and $6,000 a month it is $1,385.25 in New York and $1,094.40 in Virginia, and New York support runs to 21 rather than 18. Virginia can come out lower still with shared custody, which its formula uses and New York's does not, while at very high incomes Virginia, which has no cap, can be higher.
- Texas vs Virginia child support: which state is higher? (2026)It depends mostly on two things: the income of the parent the children live with, and custody time. Texas looks only at the paying parent's net income, so for two children and a paying parent earning $6,000 a month it is $1,239.21 whatever the other parent earns. Virginia uses both incomes and is $1,094.40 when the other parent earns $4,000, and $258.86 with 182 days a year of shared time. When the parent the children live with has no income, or at very high incomes, Virginia can be higher.
- 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.
Questions about Virginia child support
How is child support calculated in Virginia?
Income 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. 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 Virginia for 1 child?
It depends on the incomes. For 1 child; the parent the children live with earns $4,000 a month and the other parent $6,000, before tax; 146 days a year with the other parent; child care of $500 a month, paid by the parent the children live with, the guideline amount is $650.28 a month, paid by the other parent to the parent the children live with, with the rules in force on 2 Nov 2026.
Is there an income cap in Virginia?
The schedule runs to $42,500 of combined monthly income. Above it, the amount is the top row plus 2.6% for 1 child, 3.4% for 2, 3.8% for 3, 4.2% for 4, 4.6% for 5 and 5% for 6 or more of the income above it.
Does time with each parent change child support in Virginia?
Shared custody rules apply when each parent has the children more than 90 days of the 365-day year. The schedule amount is then multiplied by 1.4 and split by income and time.
Are child care and health insurance included?
Child care and health insurance are added to the schedule amount and shared by income, inside the custody step.
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 Virginia Beach, Fairfax or Richmond?
No. The guideline in Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 applies in every child support case in Virginia, so every city and county uses the same schedule and formula. A case is filed in the juvenile and domestic relations district court of the city or county where either parent lives, or where the responding parent is present (§ 16.1-243 A 2).
Virginia guides
Every scenario of Virginia's guideline, explained with figures from the same engine.
- Back child support (arrears) in Virginia: interest, enforcement and jail (2026)In Virginia, each child support payment that is not paid when due becomes a judgment by operation of law, and the arrears carry interest at the judgment rate of six percent a year unless the parent owed support waives it in writing (Code of Virginia §§ 20-60.3, 20-78.2, 6.2-302). Arrears are collected through income withholding, liens, tax refund offsets, credit reporting and license suspension, and a court can jail a parent for up to 12 months for contempt (§ 16.1-278.16). Arrears cannot be reduced retroactively, and they stay owed after the child turns 18 or 19.
- Child support and your tax refund: the offset rules (2026)Yes. Under 42 U.S.C. § 664, the Treasury withholds a federal tax refund to pay past-due child support that a state child support agency has certified, and sends the money to that state. A case qualifies when at least $150 is owed on support assigned to the state for public assistance, or at least $500 in other cases (45 CFR 303.72). The state must send a notice first that explains how to contest the amount, and a spouse on a joint return can claim their share back with IRS Form 8379.
- Child support when parents live in different statesWhen parents live in different states, the court that sets support applies its own state's law and guideline (Texas Family Code § 159.303). A state can make an order against a parent who lives elsewhere only on one of the jurisdiction bases in the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§ 159.201); otherwise the case is heard in the other parent's state, with the two states' child support agencies working together. An order from another state is registered to be enforced, and in Texas the other party has 30 days after notice to contest it (§ 159.605).
- 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.
- How child support is calculatedEvery state sets a guideline formula in law, and courts apply it unless they find it unjust or inappropriate. The formula takes the parents' income (gross or net, one parent's or both), turns it into a base amount with a percentage or a schedule, adds some costs such as child care and health insurance, and in some states adjusts for parenting time and very low or high incomes. Texas, New York and Virginia each do these steps differently, so the same family gets a different figure in each.
- Income shares vs percentage of income: how child support models differ (2026)A percentage of income model sets support as a fixed share of the paying parent's income, and the other parent's income does not enter the formula. An income shares model starts from both parents' combined income, finds the basic support amount the guideline sets for that income, and splits it in proportion to each parent's income. Texas uses a percentage of the paying parent's net resources, Virginia uses income shares, and New York applies a fixed percentage to both parents' combined income and splits it by income.
- Child support and taxes: what the IRS says (2026)Child support is neither taxable nor deductible under federal tax law: the IRS says child support payments are not deductible by the parent who pays them and not taxable to the parent who receives them. Who claims the child is a separate question. The IRS treats the parent the child lived with for more nights in the year as the one entitled to claim the child; that parent can release the child tax credit to the other parent with Form 8332, but head of household status, the earned income credit and the child care credit stay with the parent the child lived with.
- How a Virginia child support order is changed (2026)A Virginia child support order changes only when a court revises it, either on a parent's petition or after a review by the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE), and the court needs a material change in circumstances. A change can reach back only to the date the other parent was given notice of the petition (Code of Virginia § 20-108). In DCSE reviews, a material change is deemed to exist when the guideline amount differs from the current order by at least 10 percent and at least 25 dollars a month (§ 63.2-1921 C).
- Moving to another state: what happens to a child support orderMoving to another state does not change an existing child support order. The state that issued it keeps continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify it as long as either parent or the child still lives there, or the parents agree otherwise (28 U.S.C. § 1738B; Texas Family Code § 159.205). Once all of them have left, the order is usually modified in the state where the parent not asking for the change lives. The new state's guideline then sets the amount, but how long support lasts stays governed by the law of the state that issued the original controlling order (§ 159.611).
- Virginia child support by income (2026)Virginia child support depends on both parents' gross incomes and the number of children. When the other parent earns $5,000 a month ($60,000 a year) and the parent the children live with earns $4,000, the guideline is $664.44 a month for one child and $977.78 for two, before health insurance, child care or shared custody. The tables below give the amount at other incomes.
- Child support for more than one child in Virginia (2026)Virginia's schedule has a column for each number of children from one to six, and each extra child adds less than the one before. For the same family, two children cost more than one but not twice as much: with incomes of $4,000 and $6,000 a month, the guideline is $750.60 for one child and $1,094.40 for two. Children from other relationships are handled by deductions from income, and split custody has its own formula.
- Child support above the Virginia schedule (2026)Virginia's schedule stops at $42,500 of combined monthly gross income, but support does not. Above that, the schedule amount at $42,500 is increased by a fixed percentage of the combined income above it: 2.6% for one child, 3.4% for two and 3.8% for three. The total is then split by income share like any other Virginia case.
- Health insurance, medical bills and child care in Virginia child support (2026)Virginia adds the cost of the children's health, dental and vision coverage, and child care needed because the parent the children live with works, to the basic obligation from the schedule. The total is split by income share, and a parent who pays the premium directly gets credit for it. Reasonable and necessary medical and dental bills that insurance does not cover are also shared in proportion to income, but outside the monthly amount (Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 D, E, F, G).
- Self-employment and imputed income in Virginia child support (2026)For a self-employed parent, Virginia counts gross receipts minus reasonable business expenses, and deducts half of any self-employment tax paid; the parent claiming the expenses has to prove them (Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 C). When a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, a court can base support on the income that parent could earn, within limits set by § 20-108.1 B 3.
- Child support at low incomes in Virginia (2026)At low incomes Virginia uses the bottom rows of its schedule, and when the sole custody amount would fall below what § 20-108.2 B calls the statutory minimum, that minimum is presumed instead. The subsection does not state a dollar figure; the words stand for the schedule's lowest amount for the number of children, $68 a month for one child. A court can set a lower amount when the paying parent's gross income is at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level and there is no ability to pay, and some parents are exempt from the minimum altogether.
- Shared custody child support in Virginia (2026)Virginia uses its shared custody formula when each parent has the children for more than 90 days a year. The schedule amount is multiplied by 1.4, each parent owes their share for the time the children spend with the other parent, and the difference is paid. The shared figure applies unless a parent shows the sole custody figure is lower.
- What counts as income for child support in Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)All three states count wages, bonuses, self-employment income, investment income and most benefits, such as unemployment, workers' compensation, Social Security and pensions. They differ on the starting point and the deductions: Texas uses net resources after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax; New York uses gross income on the tax return minus Social Security, Medicare, New York City or Yonkers taxes and a few other items; Virginia uses gross income. All three exclude supplemental security income or deduct it, and all three let a court count income a parent could earn but does not.
- When child support ends in Virginia (2026)Virginia child support generally ends when the child turns 18. It continues past 18 for a child who is a full time high school student, not self supporting, and living in the home of the parent receiving support, until the child turns 19 or graduates from high school, whichever comes first (Code of Virginia § 20-124.2 C). A court can also order support for an adult child with a severe and permanent disability that began before 18, and parents can agree to extend support.
- All Virginia guidesVirginia uses an income shares guideline. Both parents' monthly gross incomes are added, the schedule in Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 gives the basic amount for that income and number of children, the children's health insurance and work related child care are added, and the total is split by each parent's share of income. A shared custody formula applies above 90 days a year with each parent, and a court can order a different amount only with written findings.
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.
Virginia, version from 1 Jul 2025in force
- Half of any self-employment tax paid is also deducted from income (not modeled).
- Reasonable and necessary unreimbursed medical and dental costs are shared in proportion to gross income as they are incurred, outside the monthly amount (§ 20-108.2 D, not modeled).
- Deductions for other children are not modeled: support paid for other children under an order or written agreement, and the schedule amount for a parent's own children living with that parent (§ 20-108.2 C).
- Disability benefits paid to the children from a parent's entitlement count as that parent's income and are credited against support (§ 20-108.2 C); not modeled.
- Low income is not modeled beyond the minimum: when the paying parent's gross income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, a court may set less than the statutory minimum, and the minimum does not apply to some parents (for example those imprisoned for life or totally and permanently disabled) (§ 20-108.2 B). Shared custody support is not presumed correct when either parent's income is that low (G 3 (d)).
- Days are counted as whole days; the half-day rule for an overnight of less than 24 hours (§ 20-108.2 G 3 (c)) is not modeled.
- Split custody, different schedules for different children, and mixes of sole, split and shared custody (§ 20-108.2 G 2, 4 to 6) are not modeled.
Sources
Every law, chart and table the formula and its figures come from, with the date each was last checked.