Does 50/50 custody mean no child support? Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)

Does 50/50 custody mean no child support?

No, not in any of the three states covered here. Child support follows income as well as time, and of the three, only Virginia’s guideline formula counts the days:

	Texas	New York	Virginia
Custody time in the formula	No	No	Yes, above 90 days a year
Where time can matter	A factor for departing from the guideline (Texas Family Code § 154.123)	Visitation expenses are a deviation factor (Family Court Act § 413(1)(f))	The shared custody formula (Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 G 3)

The same two children, with the parent they live with most earning $4,000 a month and the other parent $6,000, at 182 days a year with the other parent:

State	Guideline model	Support a month	Paid by
Texas	Percentage of net resources	$1,239.21	the other parent
New York	Combined income, up to a cap	$1,385.25	the other parent
Virginia	Income shares	$258.86	the other parent

How does Virginia’s shared custody formula work?

When each parent has the children for more than 90 days a year, Virginia multiplies the schedule amount by 1.4 to reflect the cost of keeping two homes. Each parent owes their income share of that need for the days the children spend with the other parent, plus their share of child care and health insurance the other parent pays; the two amounts are netted and the parent who owes more pays the difference. The shared amount applies unless a parent shows the sole custody amount is lower (§ 20-108.2 G 3).

As the days with the other parent rise, support falls, with a step at the line where the formula changes:

Days a year with the other parent	Formula	Support a month	Paid by
0 days	Sole custody	$1,094.40	the other parent
60 days	Sole custody	$1,094.40	the other parent
90 days	Sole custody	$1,094.40	the other parent
91 days	Shared custody	$895.51	the other parent
120 days	Shared custody	$692.62	the other parent
146 days	Shared custody	$510.72	the other parent
160 days	Shared custody	$412.77	the other parent
182 days	Shared custody	$258.86	the other parent

The full Virginia explanation, with a worked example, is in shared custody in Virginia.

Who pays when parenting time is equal?

In Virginia, with equal time the result depends on the incomes. With equal incomes, the two parents’ amounts nearly cancel out; with unequal incomes, the parent who earns more usually pays, whichever parent the children are counted as living with:

Incomes, two children, 182 days with the other parent	Guideline
Both parents earn $5,000	$3.50 a month, paid by the other parent to the parent the children live with
Other parent $9,000, parent the children live with $3,000	$724.60 a month, paid by the other parent to the parent the children live with
Other parent $3,000, parent the children live with $9,000	$716.70 a month, paid by the parent the children live with to the other parent

In Texas and New York, the guideline itself is worked out from incomes alone, and any adjustment for equal time comes from the court’s decision to depart from it. In New York, which parent pays under an equal schedule is settled by case law: the parent with the larger share of combined parental income pays their share of the guideline amount to the other parent (Baraby v. Baraby, 250 A.D.2d 201, 204, Third Department 1998; Barr v. Cannata, 57 A.D.3d 813, Second Department 2008).

How are days counted?

Virginia defines a day as a period of 24 hours. When the parent with fewer overnights has the children overnight but for less than 24 hours, each parent is presumed to get half a day for that period. The custody share is worked out over a year, and the court decides when the year and the day begin (§ 20-108.2 G 3 (a) and (c)). So two schedules with the same number of overnights can count differently.

The Texas and New York guideline statutes do not count days, because their formulas do not use them.

How does Texas treat parenting time?

The Texas guideline applies a percentage to the paying parent’s net resources whatever the possession schedule (Texas Family Code § 154.125). Among the factors a court must consider when deciding whether applying the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate is “the amount of time of possession of and access to a child” (§ 154.123). A court that departs from the guideline does so on the evidence in the case; the calculator shows the guideline amount.

How does New York treat parenting time?

New York’s Family Court Act § 413 sets the support owed by the parent the children do not live with and has no calculation for shared custody. Among the factors that allow a court to find the basic amount unjust or inappropriate are the extraordinary expenses the other parent incurs in exercising visitation, and expenses of extended visitation where the expenses of the parent the children live with are substantially reduced (§ 413(1)(f)). The parent who receives support is the one with physical custody for the majority of the time (Bast v. Rossoff, 91 N.Y.2d 723, 728, Court of Appeals 1998). With truly equal time, the appellate courts treat the parent with the larger income share as the paying parent, and the Fourth Department has treated an even split as extended visitation that can justify a lower amount (Matter of Carlino v. Carlino, 277 A.D.2d 897, 2000). More in shared custody in New York.

What if a parent does not use the parenting time in the order?

In Virginia, when support was set with the shared custody formula and one parent consistently does not exercise custody or visitation in line with the custody share the award was based on, there is a rebuttable presumption that the award should be modified (§ 20-108.2 G 3 (e)). See changing an order in Virginia.

What this guide does not cover

This guide does not cover how courts decide custody, how Texas and New York courts apply their deviation factors in particular cases, Virginia’s split and mixed custody rules (§ 20-108.2 G 2, G 4 to G 6), or the Virginia rule that makes the shared amount not presumptive when either parent’s income is at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level (§ 20-108.2 G 3 (d)). Each state’s own shared custody guide goes further; for Virginia see shared custody in Virginia. The figures are estimates of the guideline amount, not legal advice.