Child support for more than one child in Virginia (2026)

How much is child support for two or three children in Virginia?

The schedule in Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 B gives one basic obligation for all the children together, read from the column for the number of children. “Number of children” means the children for whom the parents share joint legal responsibility and for whom support is being sought. The total is then split by income share like any Virginia case.

With the parent the children live with earning $4,000 a month and no shared custody:

Other parent's income a month	1 child	2 children	3 children	4 children	5 children	6 children
$3,000	$461.14	$685.71	$862.29	$963.00	$1,059.43	$1,151.57
$6,000	$750.60	$1,094.40	$1,384.80	$1,546.80	$1,701.00	$1,849.20
$9,000	$1,035.69	$1,510.62	$1,906.62	$2,129.54	$2,342.77	$2,546.31
$12,000	$1,275.00	$1,838.25	$2,284.50	$2,552.25	$2,807.25	$3,051.00

Does child support double for a second child?

No. A second child adds to the household’s costs, but some costs are shared, and the schedule reflects that: each extra child adds less than the one before. For the same family:

Children	Guideline a month
1	$750.60
2	$1,094.40
3	$1,384.80
4	$1,546.80

The step by step working for two children:

Two children, sole custody

In Virginia: 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.

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 2 children.

   $1,824.00

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

   $1,824.00 × 60% = $1,094.40.

   $1,094.40

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.

   $1,094.40 a month

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

Section 20-108.2 C sets two presumptions that reduce a parent’s income before the schedule is read:

• Support paid for other children. Where a parent has an existing court or administrative order or written agreement for other children, the amount that parent actually pays under it is deducted from their gross income.
• Other children in the parent’s home. Where a parent has their own or adopted children living with them, or in their primary physical custody, who are not part of this case, the schedule amount for those children on that parent’s income alone is deducted.

Both are presumptions, so a court can decide otherwise. Having a new child to support is not by itself a material change for modifying an existing order, and no adjustment may seriously impair the ability of the parent the children live with to provide minimal adequate housing and basic necessities. The Division of Child Support Enforcement says other children are counted only if a parent must support them by law. The calculator does not make these deductions; enter each parent’s income after them.

What if each parent has one of the children?

That is split custody: each parent has physical custody of at least one of the children (§ 20-108.2 G 2). Each household is treated as its own family unit. The support each parent would owe for the children living with the other parent is worked out with the sole custody formula, and the parent who owes the larger amount pays the difference. The court worksheet for this is form DC-638. The calculator does not compute split custody.

What if the children have different schedules?

Section 20-108.2 G covers three mixed arrangements, none of which the calculator computes:

• Different shared schedules for different children (G 4): the parents’ days with each child are added up and averaged across the children, and one shared custody calculation is done.
• Sole custody of some children and shared custody of others (G 5): the schedule amount per child is split between a sole custody calculation and a shared custody calculation, and the results are combined.
• Split custody of some children and shared custody of others (G 6): the same approach, with a split custody calculation and a shared custody calculation.

For one shared schedule for all the children, see shared custody in Virginia.

What about more than six children?

The schedule’s last column is six children, and § 20-108.2 does not say how to treat a family with more. The calculator covers one to six children.

What happens when one child’s support ends?

Support for each child follows the rules on age and high school in § 20-124.2 C; see how long it lasts. The statute sections cited here do not say how a single amount ordered for several children changes when one child’s support ends, so this guide does not cover it; the order’s own terms matter.

What this guide does not cover

This guide does not cover split or mixed custody amounts (described but not computed), the deductions for other children (described but not computed), or how a combined order changes when one child’s support ends. 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.