Health insurance and child care in Georgia child support (2026)

How is child care handled in Georgia child support?

Work related child care costs needed for a parent’s employment, education or vocational training, as the court finds appropriate to the parents’ means and the child’s lifestyle, are averaged to a monthly amount and entered under the column of the parent who pays them (O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(h)(1)(A)). Then:

• with a child care subsidy from a means-tested program, only the amount a parent or nonparent custodian actually pays counts;
• care a parent provides personally is not counted;
• care provided free of charge is not counted.

How is health insurance handled?

The part of the health insurance premium that covers the children in the case is added, under the column of the parent who pays it (§ 19-6-15(h)(2)). The amounts are added together, divided by income share, and each parent is credited with what they pay.

How do these costs change the amount?

Child care paid by the parent the children live with, insurance by the other parent

In Georgia: 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; child care of $400 a month, paid by the parent the children live with; health insurance for the children of $200 a month, paid by the other parent.

1. Add the two incomesO.C.G.A. § 19-6-15 as in force on 1 January 2026 (Georgia Child Support Commission copy, archived)

   $4,000 + $6,000 = $10,000 a month. The other parent's share is $6,000 ÷ $10,000 = 60%.

   60%

2. Look up the schedule§ 19-6-15(b)(4) and (o), basic child support obligation table

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

   $1,906.00

3. Work out the other parent's share§ 19-6-15(g), parenting time adjustment

   $1,906.00 × 60% = $1,143.60. No court-ordered days with the other parent, so there is no parenting time adjustment.

   $1,143.60

4. Add child care and health insurance§ 19-6-15(h), child care and health insurance

   60% of (child care $400 + health insurance $200) = $360.00. $1,143.60 + $360.00 − $200.00 the other parent already pays = $1,303.60, paid by the other parent.

   $1,303.60 a month

The other parent owes their share of the table amount plus their income share of child care and insurance, less what they already pay.

What about uninsured medical costs?

Uninsured health care expenses are shared between the parents by income share, but they are not used to calculate the monthly support amount (§ 19-6-15(h)(3)).

What this guide does not cover

Vision and dental insurance and other extraordinary expenses, which are deviations in Georgia; and the details of premiums paid by an employer. The engine also leaves out:

• Not modeled: deductions from income for half of self-employment tax (§ 19-6-15(f)(5)(A)), child support already paid under other orders ((f)(5)(B)), and the discretionary credit for other children living with a parent ((f)(5)(C)).
• Not modeled: deviations (Schedule E), including high income, extraordinary education, medical and special expenses, travel and alimony; uninsured medical costs, which are shared outside the monthly amount ((h)(3)); Social Security and VA benefits paid to the children ((b)(10)); and split parenting ((l)).