Virginia child support by income (2026)

How much is child support in Virginia at different incomes?

Each table holds the income of the parent the children live with fixed and varies the other parent’s monthly gross income. Annual equivalents for the rows: $2,500 a month is $30,000 a year, $5,000 is $60,000, $7,500 is $90,000, $10,000 is $120,000, $15,000 is $180,000 and $20,000 is $240,000.

All the tables assume sole custody (no more than 90 days a year with the other parent), no health insurance and no child care.

When the parent the children live with has no income

Other parent's income a month	1 child	2 children	3 children
$2,500	$470.00	$710.00	$887.00
$3,750	$679.00	$1,025.00	$1,282.00
$5,000	$872.00	$1,304.00	$1,637.00
$6,250	$1,025.00	$1,527.00	$1,921.00
$7,500	$1,099.00	$1,621.00	$2,049.00
$10,000	$1,251.00	$1,824.00	$2,308.00
$12,500	$1,460.00	$2,126.00	$2,690.00
$15,000	$1,635.00	$2,369.00	$2,957.00
$20,000	$1,990.00	$2,853.00	$3,525.00

When the parent the children live with earns $4,000 a month

Other parent's income a month	1 child	2 children	3 children
$2,500	$401.92	$598.46	$752.69
$3,750	$536.13	$787.26	$999.19
$5,000	$664.44	$977.78	$1,242.78
$6,250	$772.56	$1,124.39	$1,421.34
$7,500	$899.35	$1,299.13	$1,648.70
$10,000	$1,111.43	$1,617.86	$2,030.71
$12,500	$1,307.58	$1,880.30	$2,331.82
$15,000	$1,508.68	$2,163.95	$2,675.53
$20,000	$1,868.33	$2,699.17	$3,344.17

When the parent the children live with earns $8,000 a month

Other parent's income a month	1 child	2 children	3 children
$2,500	$306.67	$445.48	$563.33
$3,750	$446.81	$646.28	$819.89
$5,000	$575.38	$839.23	$1,059.23
$6,250	$690.79	$1,004.82	$1,259.21
$7,500	$810.48	$1,170.97	$1,458.39
$10,000	$1,018.33	$1,461.11	$1,807.22
$12,500	$1,237.20	$1,773.78	$2,190.85
$15,000	$1,425.65	$2,054.35	$2,542.17
$20,000	$1,761.43	$2,568.57	$3,196.43

Why does the other parent’s share depend on both incomes?

Virginia works out one basic obligation from the parents’ combined income and splits it by each parent’s share of that income (§ 20-108.2 B and G 1). The schedule rises more slowly than income, so when the parent the children live with earns more, the combined obligation grows a little but the other parent’s share of it shrinks. The same other parent, earning $6,000 a month, with one child:

Parent the children live with earns	Guideline a month
$0	$999.00
$4,000	$750.60
$8,000	$666.86
$12,000	$611.00

How do costs and shared custody change these figures?

The tables leave out three things that often change the amount:

• Health insurance for the children, added to the basic obligation and split by income (§ 20-108.2 E); see health insurance and child care.
• Work related child care, added the same way (§ 20-108.2 F).
• Shared custody, when each parent has the children more than 90 days a year (§ 20-108.2 G 3); see shared custody in Virginia.

For combined incomes above the schedule’s top row, see high incomes. For four to six children, see more than one child.

Open a family with these incomes in the Virginia calculator

What this guide does not cover

These tables do not include deviations a court may order, deductions for other children, self-employment deductions, or spousal support. 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.