How much is child support in Alabama by income? (2026)
In Alabama the amount depends on both parents' incomes and the number of children. With the parent the children live with earning $4,000 a month and no extra costs, a parent earning $6,000 pays $693.00 for one child and $1,020.00 for two.
How much is child support in Alabama at different incomes?
With the parent the children live with earning $4,000 a month, no child care or health insurance, and the other parent’s income in the rows:
| Other parent's income a month | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children |
|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | $281.00 | $419.00 | $497.00 |
| $3,000 | $398.00 | $589.00 | $692.00 |
| $4,000 | $514.00 | $760.00 | $891.00 |
| $5,000 | $603.00 | $892.00 | $1,047.00 |
| $6,000 | $693.00 | $1,020.00 | $1,190.00 |
| $8,000 | $863.00 | $1,260.00 | $1,459.00 |
| $10,000 | $1,053.00 | $1,534.00 | $1,771.00 |
| $15,000 | $1,413.00 | $2,097.00 | $2,471.00 |
And when the parent the children live with has no income?
Then the other parent’s income is the whole combined income, and they owe the full schedule figure, subject to the self-support reserve at the bottom:
| Other parent's income a month | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,500 | $292.00 | $441.00 | $441.00 |
| $2,000 | $379.00 | $577.00 | $696.00 |
| $3,000 | $551.00 | $838.00 | $1,011.00 |
| $4,000 | $685.00 | $1,033.00 | $1,236.00 |
| $6,000 | $851.00 | $1,271.00 | $1,506.00 |
| $8,000 | $1,027.00 | $1,519.00 | $1,782.00 |
| $10,000 | $1,155.00 | $1,700.00 | $1,984.00 |
Why is it not a fixed percentage?
The schedule’s amounts rise more slowly than income, so the share of income falls as income rises, as the tables show. Each parent then owes their share of the schedule figure by income (Rule 32(C)). Child care and the children’s health insurance are added on top; see health insurance and child care.
What this guide does not cover
Shared 50/50 custody (shared custody), incomes above the schedule (high incomes), and deductions for other children. The figures are estimates, not legal advice.
Run your own numbers
This guide's example: in Alabama, 2 children; the parent the children live with earns $4,000 a month and the other parent $6,000, before tax; 0 days a year with the other parent. The guideline amount is $1,020.00 a month. Change any number in the calculator and every step of the formula updates.
Open this family in the Alabama calculatorQuestions
How much is child support in Alabama for one child?
With incomes of $4,000 and $6,000 a month and no child care or insurance, $693.00 a month. If the parent the child lives with earns nothing, a parent earning $6,000 pays $851.00.
How much is child support in Alabama for two kids?
With incomes of $4,000 and $6,000, $1,020.00 a month, before child care and health insurance.
What percentage of income is child support in Alabama?
There is no fixed percentage: Alabama uses a schedule whose amounts rise more slowly than income. At combined income of $10,000, the two-children figure is $1,700.00 for both parents together.
Sources
- Rule 32(C) and the Schedule of Basic Child-Support Obligations, Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration, archived copy
- Schedule of Basic Child-Support Obligations effective 5/1/2022, archived copy
- Figures on this page are computed by the Coparent Math engine with Alabama's rules in force on 3 Nov 2026 unless a table says otherwise, from:
- Rule 32, Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration, as amended effective 1 June 2023 (archived copy of the court's PDF), checked 3 Nov 2026
- Supreme Court of Alabama, order of 14 January 2022: Rule 32, Form CS-42 and the Schedule of Basic Child-Support Obligations, effective 1 May 2022 (archived copy), checked 3 Nov 2026
- Supreme Court of Alabama, order of 3 March 2023: shared 50% physical custody and Form CS-42-S, effective 1 June 2023 (archived copy), checked 3 Nov 2026
- Administrative Office of Courts: Schedule of Basic Child-Support Obligations effective 5/1/2022 (archived copy), checked 3 Nov 2026
Related guides
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In the same hub
- Child support at high incomes in Alabama (2026)Alabama's schedule runs to $30,000 of combined monthly gross income. Above that, Rule 32(C)(1) leaves the amount to the court's discretion, and the Committee Comments say the schedule should not be extrapolated, so there is no guideline formula. The calculator shows the top row of the schedule and marks the result as not a guideline figure.
- Child support for more than one child in Alabama (2026)Alabama's schedule gives a figure for 1 to 6 children at each combined income, and each extra child adds less than the one before. With incomes of $4,000 and $6,000, the other parent pays $693.00 for one child, $1,020.00 for two and $1,190.00 for three.
- Self-employment and imputed income for child support in Alabama (2026)For a self-employed parent, Alabama counts gross receipts minus the ordinary and necessary expenses the IRS allows, except accelerated depreciation, investment tax credits and other expenses the court finds inappropriate (Rule 32(B)(3)). Significant business perks that reduce living costs count as income. A court imputes income to a parent it finds voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, and calculates support on it (Rule 32(B)(5)).
- Child support with 50/50 custody in Alabama (2026): Form CS-42-SWhen a court orders shared 50/50 physical custody, Alabama uses Form CS-42-S: the schedule amount is multiplied by 1.5, child care and health insurance are added, each parent owes their income share of the total less their own costs and half the shared amount, and the parent who owes more pays the difference. Anything short of about half the time uses the ordinary worksheet; a court may deviate for extra time, but there is no formula for it.
- Health insurance and child care in Alabama child support (2026)Alabama adds the children's share of the health insurance premium and work related child care to the basic schedule amount, splits the total by income, and credits each parent with what they pay. Child care counts up to the cost of licensed care on the Department of Human Resources' schedule, and health insurance is reasonable in cost up to ten percent of the paying parent's gross income.
- Child support at low incomes in Alabama (2026): the self-support reserveAlabama protects a paying parent on a low income with a self-support reserve of $981 a month: support is capped at 85% of that parent's income above the reserve. When that leaves less than $50, a $50 minimum is presumed. A parent with no income who receives only means-tested assistance, or who is incarcerated or institutionalized for more than 180 days, is presumed to owe nothing.
The same topic in other states
- 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.
- How much is child support in Georgia by income? (2026)In Georgia the amount depends on both parents' incomes, the number of children and court-ordered parenting time. With the parent the children live with earning $4,000 a month, no parenting time and no extra costs, a parent earning $6,000 pays $771.00 for one child and $1,143.60 for two.
- New York child support by income: tables for 1 to 5 children (2026)New York guideline support is a fixed percentage of both parents' combined income, after Social Security and Medicare taxes, up to $193,000 a year, shared by income. Below the cap, the other parent's share works out to that percentage of their own income after those taxes: for example $784.98 a month for one child at $5,000 a month, and $1,154.38 for two.
- Texas child support by income (2026)Texas child support is 20% of the paying parent's net resources for one child, 25% for two and 30% for three, so it rises with income until net resources reach $11,700 a month. On a salary of $50,000 a year, the 2026 guideline for one child is $705.92 a month; on $100,000 it is $1,319.67.
- 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.