Child support at low incomes in Alabama (2026): the self-support reserve
Alabama 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.
What is the self-support reserve in Alabama?
A floor for the paying parent’s basic subsistence needs (Rule 32(C)(5)(a)). It is $981 a month, based on the 2021 federal poverty levels adjusted for Alabama incomes, and applies to cases filed from 1 May 2022.
How does it limit child support?
On Form CS-42 (Rule 32(C)(5)(c) and (d)):
- The reserve is taken off the paying parent’s monthly adjusted gross income (line 11).
- 85% of what is left is the income available for support (line 12).
- The recommended order is the lower of that and the parent’s share of the guideline (line 10).
The rest, above the reserve, is left to the parent as an incentive to work, as the 2022 Committee Comments explain.
One child, the other parent earning just above the reserve
In Alabama: 1 child; the parent the children live with earns $0 a month and the other parent $1,100, before tax; 0 days a year with the other parent.
Add the two incomesRule 32, Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration, as amended effective 1 June 2023 (archived copy of the court's PDF)
$0 + $1,100 = $1,100 a month. The other parent's share is $1,100 ÷ $1,100 = 100%.
100%Look up the scheduleRule 32(C)(1) and the Appendix, schedule of basic child-support obligations
The schedule's amount for $1,100 of combined income and 1 child.
$221.00Work out the other parent's shareRule 32(C)(2), (C)(5) and (C)(7); Forms CS-42 and CS-42-S
$221 × 100% = $221.
$221.00Apply the self-support reserveRule 32(C)(2), (C)(5) and (C)(7); Forms CS-42 and CS-42-S
$1,100 − $981.00 reserve = $119; 85% of that, at least $50, is $101. The lower of $221 and $101 applies.
$101.00 a month
What is the minimum child support in Alabama?
When line 12 comes to less than $50, there is a rebuttable presumption that $50 a month is ordered. The court can depart from it on evidence.
How much is child support at low incomes?
With the parent the children live with earning nothing:
The other parent's income, just below and above the reserve
| Other parent's income a month | 1 child | 2 children |
|---|---|---|
| $900 | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| $1,000 | $50.00 | $50.00 |
| $1,100 | $101.00 | $101.00 |
| $1,200 | $186.00 | $186.00 |
| $1,500 | $292.00 | $441.00 |
| $2,000 | $379.00 | $577.00 |
The first rows are where the minimum and the reserve set the amount; higher up, the ordinary share applies.
When is no child support ordered?
Rule 32(C)(6) presumes a zero-dollar order when the paying parent has no gross income and either receives only means-tested assistance, or is incarcerated or institutionalized for more than 180 consecutive days. The calculator gives no support when the paying parent’s income is nil, as the court system’s own worksheet does.
Can a court impute income to a parent who is not working?
Yes. If the court finds a parent voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, it estimates the income that parent could have and calculates support on it. It considers the parent’s assets, work history, skills, education, health, criminal record and the local job market, and may take into account a young or disabled child who needs the parent at home. Incarceration may not be treated as voluntary unemployment (Rule 32(B)(5)). See self-employed and imputed income.
What this guide does not cover
Arrears and enforcement, and the state child support agency’s services, are not covered. The figures are estimates of the guideline amount, not legal advice.
Run your own numbers
This guide's example: in Alabama, 1 child; the parent the children live with earns $0 a month and the other parent $1,100, before tax; 0 days a year with the other parent. The guideline amount is $101.00 a month. Change any number in the calculator and every step of the formula updates.
Open this family in the Alabama calculatorQuestions
What is the minimum child support in Alabama?
When the self-support reserve leaves less than $50 a month, there is a rebuttable presumption that $50 is ordered (Rule 32(C)(5)(d)). With the other parent earning $1,000 a month and one child, the guideline is $50.00.
What is the self-support reserve in Alabama?
$981 a month, the 2021 federal poverty level adjusted for Alabama incomes. Support is capped at 85% of the paying parent's income above it.
Do you have to pay child support with no income in Alabama?
A parent with no gross income who receives only means-tested assistance, or who is incarcerated or institutionalized for more than 180 consecutive days, is presumed to owe nothing. Otherwise a court can impute income to a parent it finds voluntarily unemployed or underemployed (Rule 32(B)(5)).
Does the self-support reserve apply with 50/50 custody?
No. The reserve, the minimum and the zero-dollar order do not apply when the 50/50 worksheet, Form CS-42-S, is used (Rule 32(C)(7)(e)).
Sources
- Rule 32(C)(5), Self-support reserve, (C)(6), Zero-dollar order, and (B)(5), Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration (as amended effective 1 June 2023), archived copy
- Revised Child Support Worksheet (11-8-21), the Administrative Office of Courts' CS-42 in Excel, 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Back child support (arrears) in Alabama: interest, enforcement and jail (2026)In Alabama, child support judgments entered on or after 1 September 2011 carry interest at 7.5 percent a year, and older ones at 12 percent or 6 percent depending on the date (Code of Alabama § 8-8-10; Department of Human Resources). The Department of Human Resources (DHR) collects arrears through income withholding, state and federal tax refund intercepts, credit reporting, liens, license suspension and passport denial, and a court can jail a parent for contempt. Support can be modified only for installments that accrue after a petition to modify is filed, interest can be rebated only with the written agreement of the person owed it, and arrears stay owed after the child turns 19.
The same topic in other states
- 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.
- Child support at low incomes in Georgia (2026): the low-income adjustmentSince 1 January 2026, a Georgia parent whose own adjusted income is below the low-income table's limit for the number of children pays the lesser of the guideline amount and the table amount (O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(i.1)). At or below $1,500 a month the table is a percentage of that parent's income, 19% for one child; above it the table runs in rows. There is no flat minimum order.
- Low-income child support in New York: the minimum and the self-support reserve (2026)If paying the guideline amount would leave the paying parent's income below the federal poverty guideline for one person ($15,960 a year), New York sets the basic obligation at $25 a month. If it would leave that parent below the self-support reserve ($21,546 a year) but above the poverty line, the basic obligation is $50 a month or the income above the reserve, whichever is greater. Both come from Family Court Act § 413(1)(d).
- Child support on a low income in Texas (2026)When the paying parent's net resources are under $1,000 a month, Texas uses a low-income table: 15% of net resources for one child instead of 20% (Texas Family Code § 154.125(c)). When there is no evidence of a parent's income, the court presumes the federal minimum wage for a 40 hour week (§ 154.068), which the 2026 tax charts put at $1,256.67 a month gross.
- 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.