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tina.lewert@lewertlaw.com

301 Yamato Rd #4110, Boca Raton, FL 33431, United States

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Boca Raton Divorce Lawyer and Family Attorney

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Florida Child Support Calculator

The Florida Child Support Calculator below estimates the statutory guideline amount for your situation, using the same income-shares formula a Florida judge will start with under Florida Statute § 61.30. Enter each parent’s income, the children’s overnight schedule, and any healthcare or child-care costs, and the tool returns a per-parent breakdown, the monthly transfer, and a plain explanation of what could move that number in court.

A guideline estimate is a starting point, not an answer. The number a court actually orders depends on facts a calculator cannot capture, and Florida law gives judges room to vary from the guideline. The tool is built to be honest about both the math and its limits.

If you have questions about your specific situation after running the numbers, Tina L. Lewert is Board Certified in Marital and Family Law by The Florida Bar, a designation held by fewer than 300 attorneys in the state. She has handled Florida child support matters in Palm Beach County and Broward County since 2000. You can schedule a confidential consultation any time.

The tool above implements the income-shares formula in Florida Statute § 61.30, including the substantial time-sharing adjustment, the seven allowable deductions, the over-$10,000 percentage rule, and the under-$800 case-by-case carve-out.

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How Florida Child Support Is Calculated

Florida calculates child support using an income-shares model. The idea is that a child should receive roughly the same proportion of the parents’ combined income that the child would have received if the family lived together. Both parents contribute, proportional to what each earns, and the parent with fewer overnights pays the parent with more.

The full Florida child support guidelines live in Florida Statute § 61.30. The calculation runs in six clear steps, and the calculator above walks through every one of them automatically. Understanding the steps helps you see why two families with similar incomes can end up with very different numbers.

Florida Child Support Calculator
Florida Child Support Calculator

Tina Lewert

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Step 1: Combine both parents' monthly net income

Net income is gross income minus the seven specific deductions Florida law allows. Net income, not gross, is what the formula uses. Adding the two parents’ monthly net income together produces the combined net income, which is the input to the rest of the calculation.

Step 2: Look up the basic need from Florida's schedule

The statute contains a table, in $50 increments, from $800 of combined monthly net income up to $10,000, with columns for one through six children. That table sets the basic monthly obligation a Florida family at that income level is presumed to spend on the children. Combined incomes above $10,000 use a percentage formula on top of the $10,000 row. Combined incomes under $800 are handled case by case (more on both in a later section).

Step 3: Divide the basic obligation proportionally

Each parent’s share of the basic obligation equals their share of the combined net income. If Parent A earns 60 percent of the combined net income, Parent A is responsible for 60 percent of the basic obligation. If they earn 40 percent, they are responsible for 40 percent. The proportional principle is the heart of the income-shares model.

Step 4: Add healthcare and child-care costs

Three categories of recurring expenses are added to the basic obligation: the cost of health insurance for the child, work-related child-care (daycare, after-school programs), and recurring uncovered medical, dental, or prescription costs. Each parent’s proportional share applies to these add-ons, and a parent who already pays one of these costs directly receives credit for what they paid.

Step 5: Adjust for substantial time-sharing

When each parent spends at least 20 percent of the year (73 or more overnights) with the child, Florida applies a separate calculation called the time-sharing gross-up. The basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5, then each parent’s portion is cross-multiplied by the other parent’s overnight percentage, and the difference becomes the transfer. The math reflects the duplicated household costs both parents incur when the child genuinely lives in both homes.

Step 6: Determine who pays whom, and how much

The parent with fewer overnights generally pays the parent with more. When the gross-up applies, the direction of payment still usually runs from the higher earner to the lower earner, but the amount is smaller than the standard calculation would produce. The final transfer amount is the figure the calculator displays.

What Counts as Income, and What You Can Deduct

The single most common reason a calculator estimate misses what a court actually orders is that the income figures going in are wrong. Florida defines income broadly and allows only specific deductions. Knowing both lists matters.

Florida treats the following as gross income (the full list is in § 61.30(2)(a)): salary or wages, bonuses, commissions, overtime, tips, business income (gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses for self-employed parents), disability benefits, workers’ compensation benefits and settlements, unemployment, pension and retirement payments, Social Security benefits, spousal support received from a previous marriage or the current one, interest and dividends, rental income, royalties, income from trusts or estates, and gains from property unless the gain is nonrecurring.

The seven allowable deductions under § 61.30(3), which the Detailed mode of the calculator above asks for individually, are:

  • Federal, state, and local income tax, adjusted for actual filing status and dependents (Florida has no state income tax, so most parents will only enter federal)
  • FICA contributions (Social Security and Medicare) or self-employment tax
  • Mandatory union dues
  • Mandatory retirement contributions (not voluntary 401(k) or IRA contributions)
  • Health insurance premiums for the parent only, not for the child
  • Court-ordered support for other children, actually paid
  • Spousal support paid pursuant to a court order

What is not deductible trips many people up. Voluntary 401(k) contributions, credit card payments, rent or mortgage payments, car payments, student loans, and most other monthly expenses are not deducted before the formula runs. The child support guidelines presume the basic obligation has to come out of net income before discretionary spending.

For parents who are self-employed or who own a business, courts scrutinize claimed business expenses carefully. Florida courts can and do add back expenses that look more like personal spending than legitimate business costs. If your case involves a small business, expect to produce three to five years of tax returns and financial statements, and expect the other side’s lawyer to look closely at what you have classified as a business deduction.

The 73-Overnight Threshold and Why It Matters

Time-sharing is the variable that most often changes a Florida child support estimate by a meaningful amount. Florida’s child support guidelines treat 73 overnights per year, which is 20 percent of 365, as the line that separates a standard calculation from a substantial-time-sharing case.

Below 73 overnights for one parent, the calculator runs the standard formula. The parent with fewer overnights pays their proportional share of the combined obligation to the parent with more overnights, minus credit for any add-ons they already pay directly.

When both parents have 73 or more overnights, the calculation changes. The basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5 to reflect that both homes carry duplicated costs (a bedroom, clothes, food, supplies). Each parent’s portion is then cross-applied to the other parent’s overnight percentage. The result is usually a smaller transfer than the standard calculation would produce, sometimes much smaller.

A common misconception about Florida child support is that 50/50 time-sharing eliminates child support. It usually does not. The income-shares model is designed to equalize the child’s standard of living across both homes. If one parent earns substantially more, that parent typically still pays support even with equal overnights, because the formula does not let the child experience two very different living standards based on which bedroom they wake up in. The only practical scenario in which equal time-sharing produces a zero transfer is when both parents earn the same amount, both contribute equally to the add-ons, and the overnight split is genuinely 50/50.

A few practical notes about how courts count overnights:

  • Overnights means where the child actually sleeps, not daytime hours. A parent who picks the child up after school every day but returns them to the other parent’s home at night has zero overnights for the formula.
  • The overnight schedule in the parenting plan is what counts, not what the parents informally do. If your actual practice has drifted from the plan, talk to a lawyer before the next hearing.
  • A parent who does not actually exercise their court-ordered overnights can lose the support adjustment they were credited for. Under § 61.30(11)(c), that failure is a substantial change of circumstances that allows the other parent to seek a modification, retroactive to when the failure started.

When the Florida Child Support Calculator Cannot Give You a Reliable Answer

The Florida child support guidelines presumptively establish the amount a court will order, but there are several situations the schedule does not handle by itself, and an honest calculator should tell you about each one before you act on a number.

Combined monthly net income under $800. When the parents’ combined net income is less than the floor of the guidelines schedule, § 61.30(6)(a) instructs the court to set support on a case-by-case basis. The court still orders payment, but the amount is shaped by the obligor parent’s actual income and the federal poverty guideline for a single individual. The calculator above will show a notice in place of a result when combined net income falls below $800, because no guideline schedule estimate is reliable here.

Combined monthly net income over $10,000. Above the top of the schedule, § 61.30(6)(b) extends the calculation with a percentage formula. The basic obligation is the $10,000 row of the schedule, plus a percentage of every dollar over $10,000: 5 percent for one child, 7.5 percent for two, 9.5 percent for three, 11 percent for four, 12 percent for five, and 12.5 percent for six. The calculator handles this automatically.

Deviation factors. Florida law lists specific reasons a court can deviate from the guideline amount, even when the schedule produces a clean answer. Section 61.30(11)(a) names extraordinary medical, psychological, educational, or dental expenses; independent income of the child; seasonal income variation; the age of the child (older children typically need more); special needs of the child; total available assets of either parent or the child; the impact of federal tax credits and dependency exemptions; and several others. A court can also vary from the guideline by 5 percent in either direction without explanation, and by more than 5 percent with a written finding explaining why the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate in the case at hand.

The 55 percent ceiling. If the standard calculation would require one parent to pay more than 55 percent of their gross income for current child support on a single order, § 61.30(11)(a)(9) treats that as a deviation factor. Courts will adjust the result to keep the obligation within a workable range.

This is the part of Florida child support where a guideline calculator stops being a substitute for legal advice. The guideline is the starting point, but the actual order can sit meaningfully above or below it. If your case has any of the factors above, a confidential consultation is the right next step.

Modifying an Existing Child Support Order

Most Florida child support orders eventually need to change. Incomes rise and fall, time-sharing schedules shift as children get older, and parents move, remarry, or take on new responsibilities. Florida law allows for modification when circumstances have changed substantially.

The procedural threshold is in § 61.30(1)(b). A court may find a substantial change in circumstances if the difference between the existing monthly obligation and what the current guidelines would produce is at least 15 percent or $50, whichever is greater. Below that threshold, the existing order generally stays in place. Above it, either parent can petition the court to recalculate.

The Department of Revenue also reviews existing orders periodically. Under § 409.2564(11), if the department’s review shows the current order differs by at least 10 percent and at least $25 from the guideline amount, the department itself can seek a modification, without anyone needing to prove a change in circumstances.

Modifications can run in either direction. A parent who has lost a job, taken a pay cut, or had a major medical event can ask for the obligation to come down. A parent who learns the other side’s income has gone up significantly can ask for it to go up. The numbers a court will land on are based on the same § 61.30 formula the original order used, so the calculator above is useful for both kinds of conversations.

If you are weighing whether your situation meets the threshold, our Boca Raton child support modification attorneys can help you understand whether the change in your circumstances is the kind a court will recognize.

Florida Child Support in Palm Beach County and Broward County

A Florida child support calculator like the one above produces the same statutory guideline number regardless of which county your case will be filed in, because Florida Statute § 61.30 applies statewide. What does change is which court hears the case, which judges decide it, and how cases move through the local family court systems.

Most child support cases in our service area are filed in the Palm Beach County Family Division of the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, in West Palm Beach, or in the Broward County Family Division of the Seventeenth Judicial Circuit, in Fort Lauderdale. The Florida Department of Revenue handles administrative child support matters for most counties in the state through its Child Support Program. Miami-Dade and Manatee Counties operate their own programs separately.

Common Questions About the Florida Child Support Guidelines

Does the parent with 50/50 custody still pay child support in Florida?

In most cases, yes. Equal overnights do not eliminate child support when the parents have different incomes. The Florida child support guidelines aim to equalize the child's standard of living across both homes, so the higher-earning parent usually still pays the lower-earning parent, even with a 50/50 schedule. The transfer amount is smaller than it would be in a standard calculation, because both parents have at least 73 overnights and the gross-up rule applies, but it is rarely zero. The only situation in which equal time-sharing produces no child support is when the incomes are essentially identical and both parents share the add-on costs equally as well.

How long does it take to get a Florida child support order?

A standard Florida child support order is typically entered as part of a divorce, paternity case, or modification proceeding. The shortest path is an uncontested case in which both parents agree on numbers, file the required Family Law Financial Affidavit and the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (Form 12.902(e)), and submit a proposed order. That can move in a matter of weeks. A contested case in which the parents disagree about income, time-sharing, or deductions usually takes several months to a year, depending on the docket and the complexity of the financial issues.

Is child support taxable in Florida?

No. Florida child support is not taxable income to the receiving parent and is not tax-deductible for the paying parent. This is true at both the federal level and in Florida, which has no state income tax. The tax treatment is different from alimony, which had its own rules that changed for orders entered after 2018. When you are budgeting around an estimate from this calculator, the receiving parent should plan on the full transfer amount as cash in, and the paying parent should plan on it as cash out, with no offsetting tax adjustment in either direction.

What if a parent is self-employed or owns a business?

Self-employed parents face more scrutiny in a Florida child support case because business income is easier to manipulate than W-2 wages. Courts will usually require three to five years of tax returns, profit and loss statements, and bank records. Income for the formula is calculated as gross business receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce that income. Personal expenses run through the business (vehicle costs that are really personal driving, family travel labeled as business travel, oversized home-office deductions) routinely get added back to income when the other side's lawyer pushes on them. If your case involves a small business on either side, expect a more involved discovery process and an accurate income figure that may be different from what the tax return shows.

What if my ex hides income or works under the table?

Florida courts can impute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. Under § 61.30(2)(b), the court can assign an income figure based on the parent's recent work history, occupational qualifications, and the prevailing earnings in the community. If the parent fails to provide adequate financial information, there is a rebuttable presumption that the parent earns the median income of a full-time year-round worker, drawn from current U.S. Census data. Imputation is a real and frequently used remedy, but it requires evidence. A good Florida child support lawyer will gather pay stubs, tax returns, social media posts, business records, and witness testimony to make the case that imputation is appropriate.

Can a Florida child support order be changed later?

Yes. Either parent can ask a court to modify an existing child support order if there is a substantial change in circumstances. Florida law treats a difference of at least 15 percent or $50 (whichever is greater) between the current order and what the guidelines would produce as the threshold for a substantial change. Common triggers include a significant job change, a meaningful income shift, a change in the parenting plan, a child reaching an age that changes their needs, or the original order becoming clearly out of step with current incomes. The Department of Revenue can also seek a modification on a 10-percent and at-least-$25 threshold during its own periodic reviews.

When does child support end in Florida?

A Florida child support obligation usually ends on the child's 18th birthday or upon high school graduation, whichever is later, but in no case later than the child's 19th birthday. There are limited exceptions. Support can continue beyond 18 for an adult child who is dependent in fact because of a mental or physical incapacity that began before the child turned 18. Support can end earlier than 18 if the child legally emancipates, marries, or joins the military. If your order covers more than one child, the obligation steps down as each child ages out, but the calculation is not always a simple division by the number of remaining children. A modification is often needed to recalculate the new amount correctly.

What happens if our combined monthly net income is over $10,000?

The Florida child support guidelines schedule stops at $10,000 of combined monthly net income. Above that, § 61.30(6)(b) adds a percentage of every dollar over $10,000 to the $10,000 baseline. The percentages are 5 percent for one child, 7.5 percent for two, 9.5 percent for three, 11 percent for four, 12 percent for five, and 12.5 percent for six. The calculator above applies this formula automatically. For very high-income cases, the guideline amount can become the starting point for a deviation conversation, because courts can adjust the obligation when the formula produces a number that exceeds what the child actually needs.

What if combined net income is under $800?

Florida treats low-income cases individually. Section 61.30(6)(a) directs the court to set support case by case rather than using the schedule, with the obligor parent's payment capped at the lesser of their formula share or 90 percent of the difference between their net income and the federal poverty guideline for a single individual. The calculator displays a notice in place of a result when combined net income is below $800, because no honest schedule-based estimate is possible at that level. A confidential consultation is the right next step if this is your situation.

What if combined net income is under $800?

Florida treats low-income cases individually. Section 61.30(6)(a) directs the court to set support case by case rather than using the schedule, with the obligor parent's payment capped at the lesser of their formula share or 90 percent of the difference between their net income and the federal poverty guideline for a single individual. The calculator displays a notice in place of a result when combined net income is below $800, because no honest schedule-based estimate is possible at that level. A confidential consultation is the right next step if this is your situation.

Book Your Consultation with a Florida Child Support Lawyer

The earlier you bring the right specialist into a Florida child support matter, the more options you usually have. Walking into a courtroom or a mediation session with a clear-eyed read on the numbers, the deviation factors, the procedural deadlines, and the realistic settlement range is the difference between negotiating from strength and reacting to whatever the other side puts on the table.

If you would like an experienced read on what the Florida child support calculator estimate above means for your situation, schedule a confidential consultation with Lewert Law, LLC. Consultations are paid sessions, usually conducted by Zoom, in which we go over your specific facts, the realistic range of outcomes, and the next steps to take. You can reach the firm at (561) 544-6861 or reach out online to request a confidential consultation.

Disclaimer

The content of this page, including the Florida Child Support Calculator tool, is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship. Florida law and court procedures are subject to change, and the specifics of any divorce or family law matter depend on the individual facts and circumstances of the case.