Virginia child support: the guideline from start to finish (2026)

How is child support calculated in Virginia?

Virginia’s guideline is in Code of Virginia § 20-108.2. It is an income shares guideline: the support the children need is worked out from both parents’ incomes together, and each parent is responsible for their share. The steps are:

1. Gross income of each parent. All income from all sources, with a few deductions (§ 20-108.2 C).
2. Combined income and income shares. Add the two incomes and work out each parent’s percentage of the total.
3. The basic obligation. Look up the combined income and the number of children in the schedule in § 20-108.2 B. Between two rows, the amount is extrapolated.
4. Add costs. Add the children’s share of health, dental and vision coverage and work related child care (§ 20-108.2 E, F).
5. Split by income share. Each parent’s share of the total is their percentage of combined income. The parent the children do not live with pays their share, less any health coverage they already pay directly (§ 20-108.2 G 1).
6. Shared custody, if it applies. When each parent has the children more than 90 days a year, a different formula applies (§ 20-108.2 G 3).

Here is the whole calculation for one family under sole custody, with the arithmetic written out by the engine:

One child, sole custody, with child care

In Virginia: 1 child; 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 $500 a month, paid by the parent the children live with.

1. Add the two incomesCode of Virginia § 20-108.2

   $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§ 20-108.2 B, schedule of support

   The schedule's amount for $10,000 of combined income and 1 child.

   $1,251.00

3. Work out the sole-custody figure§ 20-108.2 G, sole and shared custody

   ($1,251.00 + child care $500) × 60% = $1,050.60.

   $1,050.60

4. Check for shared custody§ 20-108.2 G, sole and shared custody

   0 days with the other parent is not more than 90, so the sole-custody figure applies.

   $1,050.60 a month

How much is child support in Virginia by income?

The schedule rises with combined income and with the number of children, but more slowly than income: a family with twice the income does not owe twice the support. The table holds the income of the parent the children live with at $4,000 a month.

Other parent's income a month	1 child	2 children	3 children
$2,000	$333.00	$496.33	$624.00
$4,000	$560.50	$821.00	$1,044.50
$6,000	$750.60	$1,094.40	$1,384.80
$8,000	$946.67	$1,372.67	$1,739.33
$12,000	$1,275.00	$1,838.25	$2,284.50
$20,000	$1,868.33	$2,699.17	$3,344.17

More income levels are in Virginia child support by income.

What counts as income?

Gross income means all income from all sources: wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, self employment income, dividends, interest, pensions, Social Security benefits (with exceptions), unemployment and workers’ compensation, disability benefits, rental income, spousal support received, gifts and prizes (§ 20-108.2 C). Public assistance, federal Supplemental Security Income and child support received are not counted.

Deducted from gross income: reasonable business expenses for self employment, half of any self employment tax paid, and spousal support paid under an order or written agreement. Support paid for other children under an existing order, and an amount for other children living in a parent’s home, are presumed deductions too. A new spouse’s income is not used. See self employed and imputed income and more than one child.

What changed in Virginia child support in 2025?

Chapter 702 of the 2025 Acts of Assembly (Senate Bill 805) updated the amounts in the schedule and extended it from $35,000 to $42,500 of combined monthly income, according to the Child Support Guidelines Review Panel’s December 2025 report. Laws from a regular session take effect on 1 July, so the new schedule applies from 1 July 2025. No 2026 law changed § 20-108.2. Above the top of the schedule, the amount at $42,500 is increased by a percentage of the extra income; see high incomes.

An existing order does not change by itself when the schedule changes. It changes only through a modification; see changing an order.

How do health insurance and child care change the amount?

The cost of the children’s health, dental and vision coverage, paid by either parent or a parent’s spouse, and child care needed because the parent the children live with works, are added to the basic obligation and shared by income (§ 20-108.2 E, F). Uncovered medical and dental bills are shared by income too, but outside the monthly amount (§ 20-108.2 D). Details are in health insurance and child care.

How does shared custody change child support?

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 days the children spend with the other parent, and the difference is paid (§ 20-108.2 G 3). For the family above:

Days a year with the other parent	Formula	Support a month	Paid by
0 days	Sole custody	$1,050.60	the other parent
90 days	Sole custody	$1,050.60	the other parent
91 days	Shared custody	$914.19	the other parent
146 days	Shared custody	$650.28	the other parent
182 days	Shared custody	$477.54	the other parent

The full explanation is in shared custody in Virginia.

Is there a minimum amount of child support in Virginia?

Section 20-108.2 B says that when the sole custody amount is below “the statutory minimum per month”, there is a presumptive minimum obligation of the statutory minimum. That subsection does not state a dollar figure: since 2014 the words have stood for the schedule’s lowest row, which differs with the number of children, $68 a month for one child. A court may 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. See low incomes.

Can a court order a different amount?

Yes, but the guideline amount is presumed correct. To order a different amount, the court must make written findings that the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate, state what the guideline amount would have been, and explain why, using the factors in § 20-108.1 B. These include other family support, custody arrangements and travel costs, imputed income, debts for the children, special needs, the children’s own resources, the standard of living during the marriage, tax consequences and a written agreement of the parents.

How long does child support last in Virginia?

Until 18, and past 18 for a child who is a full time high school student, not self supporting and living in the home of the parent receiving support, until 19 or graduation, whichever comes first (§ 20-124.2 C). A court can also order support for an adult child with a severe and permanent disability that began before 18. See how long it lasts.

How is a Virginia child support order changed?

Either parent can ask the court to revise the order (§ 20-108). A change applies only from the date the other parent was given notice of the petition. The Division of Child Support Enforcement can also review orders, and says most can be reviewed every 36 months. See changing an order.

What happens when child support is not paid in Virginia?

Each unpaid payment becomes a judgment by operation of law and carries interest at the judgment rate unless the parent owed support waives it in writing (§ 20-60.3, item 14; § 20-78.2). DCSE and the courts collect arrears through income withholding, liens, tax refund offsets and license suspension, and a court can jail a parent for contempt. Interest, enforcement, jail and what happens after 18 are covered in back child support in Virginia.

Phone numbers, online account and payments

Virginia’s child support agency is the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE), part of the Virginia Department of Social Services (child support services).

What	Official contact
Customer Service Center	1-800-468-8894, on weekdays
Online account	The MyChildSupport portal: apply for services, make or track payments, upload documents, message the case manager and start a review request
Email	The askdcse form in MyChildSupport
Local offices	Monday to Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., walk-ins and appointments; the contact page lists the office for each city and county
Forms and other mail	Division of Child Support Enforcement, P.O. Box 28450, Richmond, VA 23228-8450
Help when payments are hard to keep up	Family Engagement Services, 540-569-4990

DCSE lists these ways to pay:

• Online in MyChildSupport, from a bank account at no fee, or by debit or credit card with a convenience fee. The case number or Social Security number is needed.
• TouchPay, with PayPal or Venmo on a phone, with a convenience fee.
• By phone, through the MyChildSupport Voice System at 1-877-670-2941.
• Military pay, through MyPay for service members.
• In person, at payment kiosks (with a kiosk fee) or at any MoneyGram location, receive code 14659.
• By mail, a check or money order payable to the Treasurer of Virginia, with the full name, case number and last four digits of the Social Security number, sent to P.O. Box 28990, Richmond, VA 23228-8990.

The parent who receives support can be paid by direct deposit or debit card.

Which Virginia child support worksheet applies?

The courts publish three guideline worksheets, one per custody arrangement, on the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court forms page:

Worksheet	Custody arrangement	Rule
DC-637, Child Support Guidelines Worksheet	Sole custody: the other parent has the children for 90 days a year or fewer	§ 20-108.2 G 1
DC-638, Split Custody	Each parent has physical custody of at least one of the children	§ 20-108.2 G 2
DC-640, Shared Custody	Each parent has the children for more than 90 days a year	§ 20-108.2 G 3

The shared custody worksheet multiplies the schedule amount by 1.4 and splits it by each parent’s days and income share; shared custody in Virginia walks through it. The worksheets refer to the schedule in § 20-108.2 B, sometimes called the Virginia child support chart or table, rather than printing it. DCSE describes a worksheet result as only an estimate.

The law itself: Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 (the guideline and schedule) and § 20-108.1 (deviations).

To compare Virginia with Texas and New York, see Texas vs Virginia and New York vs Virginia.

What this guide does not cover

This page explains the guideline and links to the detailed guides below. It does not cover spousal support, custody decisions, enforcement of unpaid support beyond the summary above, or cases where parents live in different states. The engine also leaves out these parts of Virginia’s guideline:

• Half of any self-employment tax paid is also deducted from income (not modeled).
• Reasonable and necessary unreimbursed medical and dental costs are shared in proportion to gross income as they are incurred, outside the monthly amount (§ 20-108.2 D, not modeled).
• Deductions for other children are not modeled: support paid for other children under an order or written agreement, and the schedule amount for a parent's own children living with that parent (§ 20-108.2 C).
• Disability benefits paid to the children from a parent's entitlement count as that parent's income and are credited against support (§ 20-108.2 C); not modeled.
• Low income is not modeled beyond the minimum: when the paying parent's gross income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, a court may set less than the statutory minimum, and the minimum does not apply to some parents (for example those imprisoned for life or totally and permanently disabled) (§ 20-108.2 B). Shared custody support is not presumed correct when either parent's income is that low (G 3 (d)).
• Days are counted as whole days; the half-day rule for an overnight of less than 24 hours (§ 20-108.2 G 3 (c)) is not modeled.
• Split custody, different schedules for different children, and mixes of sole, split and shared custody (§ 20-108.2 G 2, 4 to 6) are not modeled.

The figures are estimates of the guideline amount, not legal advice. A court can order a different amount, and an existing order only changes when it is modified.