Child support with 50/50 custody in Alabama (2026): Form CS-42-S

When does Alabama’s 50/50 custody worksheet apply?

When a court orders shared physical custody of about half the time each: each parent retains physical custody of a child 50 percent, or approximately 50 percent, of the time (Rule 32(C)(7)(a)). The adjustment applies from 1 June 2023. Child support is then worked out on Form CS-42-S instead of Form CS-42.

Rule 32 gives no number of days for “approximately”. This calculator uses the shared worksheet from 175 to 190 days a year with the other parent, and marks any result that is not an even split as not confirmed.

How is child support calculated with 50/50 custody in Alabama?

Form CS-42-S, line by line (Rule 32(C)(7)(b)):

1. The schedule amount is looked up as if there were no shared custody.
2. It is multiplied by 1.5.
3. Work related child care and the children’s health insurance are added, in the column of the parent who pays them.
4. Each parent’s income share of that total is worked out.
5. Each parent is credited with the costs they pay and with half of the amount from step 2.
6. The parent who still owes more pays that amount to the other parent.

Two children, 50/50 custody, with child care and health insurance

In Alabama: 2 children; the parent the children live with earns $3,000 a month and the other parent $7,000, before tax; 183 days a year with the other parent; child care of $300 a month, paid by the parent the children live with; health insurance for the children of $150 a month, paid by the other parent.

1. Add the two incomesRule 32, Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration, as amended effective 1 June 2023 (archived copy of the court's PDF)

   $3,000 + $7,000 = $10,000 a month. The other parent's share is $7,000 ÷ $10,000 = 70%.

   70%

2. Look up the scheduleRule 32(C)(1) and the Appendix, schedule of basic child-support obligations

   The schedule's amount for $10,000 of combined income and 2 children.

   $1,700.00

3. Use the 50/50 worksheetRule 32(C)(2), (C)(5) and (C)(7); Forms CS-42 and CS-42-S

   183 days a year with the other parent counts as about half the time, so the shared worksheet applies. $1,700 × 1.5 = $2,550; plus the child care and health insurance both parents pay, $450, the total to share is $3,000. Each parent is credited with half of $2,550, $1,275.

   $3,000.00

4. Work out what each parent owesRule 32(C)(2), (C)(5) and (C)(7); Forms CS-42 and CS-42-S

   The other parent: 70% × $3,000 = $2,100, − $150.00 own costs − $1,275.00 = $675. The parent the children live with: 30% × $3,000 = $900, − $300.00 own costs − $1,275.00 = −$675. The other parent owes more and pays $675.

   $675.00 a month

Who pays with 50/50 custody?

The parent with the larger income share usually owes more and pays. With equal incomes and equal costs the two amounts cancel out. The Administrative Office of Courts’ own example, incomes of $1,200 and $1,000 with small costs on each side, comes out at a payment of $2.00 a month.

Does less than 50/50 time change child support in Alabama?

Not by formula. Time with the other parent short of about half is a reason the court may deviate from the guideline, when visitation is “substantially in excess” of what courts customarily order (Rule 32(A)(1)(a)). The calculator uses the ordinary worksheet and notes this.

Days a year with the other parent	Formula	Support a month	Paid by
0 days	Sole custody	$1,400.00	the other parent
100 days	Sole custody	$1,400.00	the other parent
150 days	Sole custody	$1,400.00	the other parent
174 days	Sole custody	$1,400.00	the other parent
175 days	Shared custody	$720.00	the other parent
183 days	Shared custody	$720.00	the other parent

Do the self-support reserve and the minimum apply with 50/50 custody?

No. The self-support reserve, the minimum and the zero-dollar order do not apply when Form CS-42-S is used (Rule 32(C)(7)(e)).

What if a parent does not use their custody time?

If a parent, without sufficient cause, fails to exercise their physical custody for more than 14 days in the 12 consecutive months before a petition to modify, the court may treat that as a material change in circumstances and modify support back to the date the petition was filed. If the failure was willful, the court may award attorney fees and costs to the other parent (Rule 32(C)(7)(c) and (d)). See changing an order.

What this guide does not cover

Split custody, where each parent has at least one of the children, and custody arrangements set by agreement without a court order. The engine also leaves out these parts of Alabama’s guideline:

• Not modeled: deductions for child support and alimony a parent already pays under another order (Form CS-42, lines 1a and 1b), and the discretionary deduction for other children living with a parent (Rule 32(B)(6)).
• Not modeled: the cap on child care at the Department of Human Resources' licensed-care rates, the 10%-of-income test for health coverage, benefits paid to the children on a parent's record, split custody, extraordinary medical, dental and education costs, and deviations (Rule 32(A)).