Child support for several children and other families in New York (2026)

How much is child support for each number of children in New York?

The percentage of combined parental income depends only on the number of children the order covers (Family Court Act § 413(1)(b)(3)):

Children	Share of combined parental income	Support with $6,000 and $4,000 a month
1	17%	$941.97
2	25%	$1,385.25
3	29%	$1,606.89
4	31%	$1,717.71
5 or more	no less than 35%	$1,939.35

The other parent earns $6,000 a month in the last column and the parent the children live with $4,000. The share for each child gets smaller as the number of children grows.

How much is child support for two children in New York?

25% of combined income up to the cap, split by income share. Here is the calculation for the family in the table:

How New York gets to $1,385.25 a month

In New York: 2 children; the parent the children live with earns $4,000 a month and the other parent $6,000, before tax.

1. Take off Social Security and MedicareFCA § 413(1)(b)(5)(vii)(H) and DRL § 240(1-b)(b)(5)(vii)(H), FICA paid

   Social Security and Medicare come off each income: the other parent $6,000 − $459.00 = $5,541.00, and the parent the children live with $4,000 − $306.00 = $3,694.00 a month. $3,694 + $5,541 = $9,235 a month. The other parent's share is $5,541 ÷ $9,235 = 60%.

   60%

2. Apply the percentage up to the capFCA § 413(1)(b)(3) and (1)(c)(2) and DRL § 240(1-b), percentages and the cap

   $9,235 × 12 = $110,820 a year, within the $193,000 cap. 25% × $110,820 = $27,705 a year for both parents. The other parent's share: $27,705 × 60% ÷ 12 = $1,385.25 a month.

   $1,385.25 a month

The support by income guide shows the amounts for one to five children across a wide range of incomes.

What about five or more children?

The statute says the percentage for five or more children is “no less than” 35%. The calculator applies exactly that figure, so for five or more children it shows the floor; a court can apply a higher percentage.

How is child support calculated for children with different parents in more than one household?

The statute handles this in two ways:

1. Support already ordered or agreed. Child support that a parent actually pays for a child who is not part of the case, under a court order or a written agreement, is deducted from that parent’s income before the percentage is applied (§ 413(1)(b)(5)(vii)(D)).
2. Other children without an order. The needs of other children the paying parent supports, whose support was not deducted, are one of the deviation factors in § 413(1)(f)(8). The factor applies only if the resources available to support those children are less than the resources available to the children in the case, and the court also looks at the resources of anyone else obligated to support them.

The calculator does not take either into account. It treats each parent’s income as the only income in the case.

Does child support go down when the oldest child turns 21?

New York’s guideline has no automatic step down. Support is owed for each child until 21, or earlier emancipation, and an order changes only through the court or a cost of living adjustment. The Child Support Program’s guidance is that a parent whose order is still charging current support needs to file a petition to end it, and past-due support stays owed.

When a child turns 21 or is emancipated, either parent can ask the court to modify the order. If the court recalculates support, it uses the percentage for the number of children the order still covers.

What this guide does not cover

This guide does not cover split custody, where each parent has at least one of the children, or how a court weighs the other-children factor in a particular case. The engine also leaves out these parts of New York’s guideline:

• Deductions from income not modeled: unreimbursed employee business expenses, maintenance paid to a spouse who is not a party, maintenance paid to the other parent (deducted only when the order or agreement provides a child support adjustment for when it ends), child support actually paid for other children, public assistance, SSI, and New York City or Yonkers income taxes (FCA § 413(1)(b)(5)(vii)(A) to (G)).
• Social Security and Medicare are computed as an employee pays them; self-employment tax is not modeled.
• Cash medical support when the children have no health insurance and are on Medicaid or the state child health plan is not modeled. It is capped at 5% of the paying parent's gross income or that parent's income above the self-support reserve, whichever is less (FCA § 413(1)(c)(5)(iii) and (iv)).
• Education costs and child care while the custodial parent looks for work are added at the court's discretion (FCA § 413(1)(c)(6) and (7)); not modeled.

The figures are estimates of the guideline amount. A court can order a different amount, and an existing order only changes when it is modified.