Time-sharing and 50/50 custody in Florida child support (2026)
When each parent has at least 20 percent of the overnights, 73 a year, Florida courts shall adjust child support under Fla. Stat. § 61.30(11)(b): each parent's share of the schedule amount is multiplied by 1.5, then by the other parent's percentage of the overnights, and the difference is paid, adjusted for child care and health insurance. With equal time, the parent with the higher net income usually pays.
How does Florida’s substantial time-sharing formula work?
Whenever a parenting plan, a court-ordered time-sharing schedule, or an arrangement the parents exercise by agreement gives each child a substantial amount of time with each parent, the court “shall adjust” the award (Fla. Stat. § 61.30(11)(b)). The steps, as on lines 10 to 21 of Form 12.902(e):
- Work out each parent’s share of the schedule amount, without child care and health insurance, and multiply it by 1.5.
- Work out each parent’s percentage of the overnights.
- Multiply each parent’s figure by the other parent’s percentage of the overnights.
- The difference between the two results is the transfer between the parents.
- Work out each parent’s net share of child care and health insurance: their income share of the costs, less what they pay.
- Credit or debit those amounts; the parent who owes more pays the difference.
A substantial amount of time means at least 20 percent of the overnights of the year (§ 61.30(11)(b)8), which Form 12.902(e) gives as 73 overnights. The calculator applies the formula when the parent with fewer overnights has at least that many.
Two children, 100 overnights with the other parent, with child care
In Florida: 2 children; the parent the children live with earns $4,000 a month and the other parent $6,000, before tax; 100 overnights a year with the other parent; child care of $400 a month, paid by the parent the children live with.
Take off taxes, then add the incomes§ 61.30(3) and (4), deductions and net income
Net income a month: the other parent $6,000 − $584.17 federal income tax (single) − $459.00 Social Security and Medicare = $4,956.83; the parent the children live with $4,000 − $0.00 federal income tax (head of household, 2 children claimed) − $306.00 Social Security and Medicare = $3,694.00. $3,694 + $4,956.83 = $8,650.83 a month. The other parent's share is $4,956.83 ÷ $8,650.83 = 57.3%.
57.3%Look up the schedule§ 61.30(6), guidelines schedule
$8,650.83 of combined income uses the row below, $8,650: the schedule's amount for 2 children.
$2,082.00Multiply the schedule by 1.5 and split it by income§ 61.30(6)(a), (7), (8), (10) and (11)(b), child care, health insurance and substantial time-sharing
100 overnights a year with the other parent and 265 with the parent the children live with: each has at least 73, so substantial time-sharing applies. $2,082 × 1.5 = $3,123.00; the other parent 57.3%, $1,789.44; the parent the children live with 42.7%, $1,333.56.
$3,123.00Weigh each share by the other parent's overnights§ 61.30(6)(a), (7), (8), (10) and (11)(b), child care, health insurance and substantial time-sharing
the other parent $1,789.44 × 265/365 = $1,299.18; the parent the children live with $1,333.56 × 100/365 = $365.36. Each parent's net share of child care and health insurance (child care $400), less what they pay: the other parent $229.20, the parent the children live with $0.00. The other parent owes $1,528.38 and the parent the children live with $365.36, so the other parent pays the difference.
$1,163.02 a month
How much does each overnight change the amount?
Nothing changes below the threshold. From it, each extra overnight lowers the amount, for two children with gross wages of $4,000 and $6,000:
| Overnights a year with the other parent | Formula | Support a month | Paid by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 overnights | Sole time-sharing | $1,192.96 | the other parent |
| 72 overnights | Sole time-sharing | $1,192.96 | the other parent |
| 73 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $1,164.84 | the other parent |
| 100 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $933.82 | the other parent |
| 120 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $762.70 | the other parent |
| 146 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $540.24 | the other parent |
| 165 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $377.68 | the other parent |
| 182 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $232.22 | the other parent |
Who pays with 50/50 custody in Florida?
The parent with the higher net income, usually. With equal time each parent’s figure is weighted by the same percentage, so the transfer comes down to the difference between the two income shares; with equal incomes and no extra costs it is close to zero. When the parent the children live with most earns more, more overnights with the other parent can reverse who pays:
When the parent the children live with earns more, more time with the other parent can reverse who pays
| Overnights a year with the other parent | Formula | Support a month | Paid by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 overnights | Sole time-sharing | $480.46 | the other parent |
| 73 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $285.97 | the other parent |
| 120 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $6.08 | the other parent |
| 146 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $148.75 | the parent the children live with |
| 182 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $363.13 | the parent the children live with |
Can crossing the threshold raise the amount?
It can. Because the schedule amount is multiplied by 1.5, the formula can give slightly more than the ordinary amount just above the threshold, when the paying parent has a large income share. The statute applies the formula as it is, and a court may deviate from its result (§ 61.30(11)(b)7). The calculator shows the formula’s figure and notes when it is higher:
One child, a paying parent with the larger share of income, near the threshold
| Overnights a year with the other parent | Formula | Support a month | Paid by |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72 overnights | Sole time-sharing | $812.74 | the other parent |
| 73 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $839.01 | the other parent |
| 80 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $802.56 | the other parent |
| 100 overnights | Substantial time-sharing | $698.43 | the other parent |
What about time below 20 percent of the overnights?
There is no formula. A time-sharing schedule where the child spends a significant amount of time, but less than 20 percent of the overnights, with one parent is a factor a court may use to deviate (§ 61.30(11)(a)10).
Can the court depart from the formula?
Yes. Under § 61.30(11)(b)7 the court may deviate for any of the general deviation factors, the low income of the parent receiving support and that parent’s ability to keep the basic necessities of the home, the likelihood that either parent will actually exercise the schedule, and whether all the children follow the same schedule.
What this guide does not cover
Children on different schedules, split custody, and time-sharing actually exercised that differs from the plan. The engine also leaves out:
- Net income counts wages only, with federal income tax for a single or head-of-household filer after the child tax credit, Social Security and Medicare, and union dues. Not modeled: self-employment tax, married filing status, refundable credits (a court may weigh them as a deviation, § 61.30(11)(a)8), mandatory retirement, a parent's own health insurance, and support paid for other children (§ 61.30(3)(d) to (f)). A net income already worked out on a financial affidavit can be entered instead.
- Not modeled: uninsured medical, dental and prescription costs (§ 61.30(8)), usually ordered split by percentage as they come up; imputed income; Social Security paid to the children; children on different time-sharing schedules; deviation factors, including time-sharing under 20% of overnights (§ 61.30(11)(a)).
Run your own numbers
This guide's example: in Florida, 2 children; the parent the children live with earns $4,000 a month and the other parent $6,000, before tax; 100 overnights a year with the other parent; child care of $400 a month, paid by the parent the children live with. The guideline amount is $1,163.02 a month. Change any number in the calculator and every step of the formula updates.
Open this family in the Florida calculatorQuestions
Do you pay child support with 50/50 custody in Florida?
Usually the parent with the higher net income does. With equal time, gross wages of $4,000 and $6,000 and two children, the guideline is $232.22 a month, paid by the other parent to the parent the children live with. With equal incomes and no extra costs it comes close to nothing.
What is the 20 percent rule for Florida child support?
When each parent has at least 20 percent of the overnights of the year, 73 nights, the court shall use the substantial time-sharing formula in § 61.30(11)(b). Below that, time is only a reason a court may deviate (§ 61.30(11)(a)10).
How does the Florida time-sharing formula work?
Each parent's share of the schedule amount is multiplied by 1.5, then by the other parent's percentage of the overnights. The difference between the two results is the transfer, adjusted by each parent's net share of child care and health insurance.
What if a parent does not use their time-sharing?
A parent's failure to regularly exercise the time-sharing schedule, not caused by the other parent, is a substantial change of circumstances for modifying support, retroactive to the date it began (§ 61.30(11)(c)).
Sources
- Fla. Stat. § 61.30(1)(a) and (11), deviation factors and substantial time-sharing (2026 Florida Statutes)
- Florida Family Law Form 12.902(e), Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (06/25), lines 10 to 21
- Laws of Florida, chapter 2010-199 (CS/HB 907): time-sharing threshold lowered to 20 percent from 1 January 2011
- 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
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- 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.
- 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.
- Self-employment and imputed income for child support in Florida (2026)For a self-employed parent, Florida counts business income as gross receipts minus the ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce it (Fla. Stat. § 61.30(2)(a)3), and deducts income tax and self-employment tax to reach net income (§ 61.30(3)(a) and (b)). Income is imputed to a parent whose unemployment or underemployment the court finds voluntary, and automatically, at a presumed median income, when a parent's income is unknown or the parent does not take part (§ 61.30(2)(b)).
- 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 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.
- Parenting time and 50/50 custody in Georgia child support (2026)Since 1 January 2026, Georgia adjusts child support for every day of court-ordered parenting time with the other parent, by a formula in O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(g). Each parent's share of the table amount is weighted by their days raised to the power 2.5. With equal time and equal incomes the amount is zero; with equal time, the parent with the higher income pays.
- Child support with shared or 50/50 custody in New York (2026)Yes, child support can still be owed with shared or 50/50 custody in New York. The guideline has no shared custody formula: the parent the children live with most is treated as the one who receives support, and the other parent's share is worked out with the usual percentages. When time is truly equal, the appellate courts treat the parent with the larger share of combined income as the paying parent, and a court can depart from the guideline for reasons the statute lists, including the costs of extended time with the children.
- Shared custody and child support in Texas (2026)Texas has no shared custody formula. The guideline is a percentage of the paying parent's net resources whatever the possession schedule, and joint managing conservators can still be ordered to pay each other support (Texas Family Code § 153.138). The time children spend with each parent is one of the factors a court weighs when it decides whether to order a different amount (§ 154.123(b)(4)).
- 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.
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.