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.
How does Florida’s low-income rule work?
Section 61.30(6)(a) applies “if the obligor parent’s net income is less than the amount in the guidelines schedule”, that is, when the paying parent’s net income is below the lowest row, $800 a month. Then:
- The parent should be ordered to pay an amount determined case by case, “to establish the principle of payment” and to lay the basis for higher orders if their income rises.
- The payment is the lesser of the parent’s actual dollar share of the schedule amount and 90% of the difference between their monthly net income and the federal poverty guideline for a single person living alone.
The 2026 guideline for one person is $15,960 a year, more than the schedule’s lowest row once divided by twelve. So for any parent this rule covers, the second figure is zero or less. The calculator shows zero and flags that the court sets a case-by-case amount; it does not show a figure the statute does not give.
One child, a paying parent with net income below the schedule
In Florida: 1 child; the parent the children live with earns $3,000 a month and the other parent $800, before tax; 0 overnights a year with the other parent.
Take off taxes, then add the incomes§ 61.30(3) and (4), deductions and net income
Net income a month: the other parent $800 − $0.00 federal income tax (single) − $61.20 Social Security and Medicare = $738.80; the parent the children live with $3,000 − $0.00 federal income tax (head of household, 1 child claimed) − $229.50 Social Security and Medicare = $2,770.50. $2,770.50 + $738.80 = $3,509.30 a month. The other parent's share is $738.80 ÷ $3,509.30 = 21.05%.
21.05%Look up the schedule§ 61.30(6), guidelines schedule
$3,509.30 of combined income uses the row below, $3,500: the schedule's amount for 1 child.
$738.00Work out the other parent's share§ 61.30(6)(a), (7), (8), (10) and (11)(b), child care, health insurance and substantial time-sharing
($738) × 21.05% = $155.37.
$155.37Apply the low-income rule§ 61.30(6)(a), (7), (8), (10) and (11)(b), child care, health insurance and substantial time-sharing
The other parent's net income, $738.80, is below $800 a month. 90% of it above the poverty guideline for one person is −$532.08, so the formula gives $0.00; the court sets a case-by-case amount.
$0.00 a month
How much is child support at low incomes?
With the parent the children live with earning nothing. The first row is below the schedule; from there, the paying parent owes their full share of the schedule amount:
The other parent's gross wages, below and above the schedule's lowest row
| Other parent's income a month | 1 child | 2 children |
|---|---|---|
| $800 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| $900 | $190.00 | $211.00 |
| $1,000 | $213.00 | $302.00 |
| $1,200 | $258.00 | $400.00 |
| $1,500 | $310.00 | $482.00 |
| $2,000 | $390.00 | $606.00 |
| $3,000 | $557.00 | $864.00 |
The figures are worked out from gross wages: federal income tax, Social Security and Medicare come off first, so a gross income a little above $800 can still be below it after tax.
Is there a minimum order in Florida?
No. Section 61.30 sets no minimum amount, unlike states with a flat minimum.
What protects a paying parent above the lowest row?
Only the court’s power to deviate. Above $800 of net income the paying parent owes their share of the schedule amount. Among the deviation factors is an application of the schedule that would require a parent to pay more than 55% of their gross income for current support under a single order (§ 61.30(11)(a)9); the calculator notes when that happens. Under substantial time-sharing the court may also deviate for the low income of the parent receiving support (§ 61.30(11)(b)7).
Can a court impute income to a parent who is not working?
Yes. Income is imputed to a parent whose unemployment or underemployment the court finds voluntary, based on recent work history, qualifications and earnings in the community. If a parent’s income information is unavailable, or a parent does not take part or supply adequate financial information, income is imputed automatically, with a rebuttable presumption of the median income of year-round full-time workers (§ 61.30(2)(b)). Incarceration may not be treated as voluntary unemployment (§ 61.30(2)(c)). See self-employed and imputed income.
What this guide does not cover
Arrears and enforcement, and the Department of Revenue’s programs. The figures are estimates of the guideline amount, not legal advice.
Run your own numbers
This guide's example: in Florida, 1 child; the parent the children live with earns $3,000 a month and the other parent $800, before tax; 0 overnights a year with the other parent. The guideline amount is $0.00 a month. Change any number in the calculator and every step of the formula updates.
Open this family in the Florida calculatorQuestions
What is the minimum child support in Florida?
Section 61.30 sets no minimum amount. For a paying parent with net income below $800 a month, the court sets an amount case by case, within the cap of § 61.30(6)(a).
Can child support be zero in Florida?
The cap in § 61.30(6)(a) comes to zero for a paying parent below $800 of net income, yet the same paragraph says the parent should be ordered to pay an amount set case by case to establish the principle of payment. The court decides it.
Does Florida have a self-support reserve?
Not by that name. The low-income rule of § 61.30(6)(a) uses the federal poverty guideline for one person, $15,960 a year in 2026, but only below the schedule's lowest row. Above it, the paying parent owes their full share, and a court may deviate under § 61.30(11)(a).
Can a Florida court impute income to a parent who is not working?
Yes, when the unemployment or underemployment is voluntary. If a parent's income is unknown or the parent does not take part, income is imputed automatically, with a rebuttable presumption of the median income of year-round full-time workers (§ 61.30(2)(b)).
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 61.30(2)(b), (6)(a) and (11)(a), imputed income, low income and deviation factors (2026 Florida Statutes)
- 2026 poverty guidelines (one person, 48 contiguous states)
- Figures on this page are computed by the Coparent Math engine with Florida's rules in force on 3 Nov 2026 unless a table says otherwise, from:
- Fla. Stat. § 61.30, child support guidelines (2026 Florida Statutes), checked 3 Nov 2026
- Florida Family Law Form 12.902(e), Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (06/25), checked 3 Nov 2026
- Florida Family Law Form 12.902(c), Financial Affidavit, lines 18 to 27 (deductions and net income), checked 3 Nov 2026
- Quadrennial Review of the Florida Child Support Guidelines, report to the Legislature (Office of Economic and Demographic Research, 1 February 2026), checked 3 Nov 2026
- Texas OAG revised 2025 tax charts (standard deduction and brackets used), checked 31 Oct 2026
- IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32 (2026 inflation adjustments), checked 31 Oct 2026
- Social Security Administration: contribution and benefit base, and OASDI and HI tax rates, checked 31 Oct 2026
- HHS ASPE: 2026 poverty guidelines (one person, 48 contiguous states), checked 3 Nov 2026
Related guides
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In the same hub
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
The same topic in other states
- 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.
- 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.
Comparisons
- 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.