Florida Child Support Calculator (2026)

How Florida calculates child support

Florida’s guideline is an income-shares model. The first step is to determine each parent’s monthly net income. The second step is to add the two incomes together and find the basic child support obligation in the schedule under Section 61.30(6). The third step is to divide the obligation between the parents in proportion to their incomes.

The parent who pays is not necessarily the parent with the lower income. The parent with fewer overnights usually pays their share to the parent with more overnights. If the parents share time, the 1.5× adjustment changes the calculation. The result is the presumptive guideline amount; a court can deviate for the factors listed in Section 61.30(11).

The schedule is based on combined net income and the number of children. It begins at $800 of combined monthly net income and runs to $10,000 in $50 brackets. The calculator uses the bracket that contains the combined income, not an average of nearby rows.

Net income and allowable deductions

Gross income includes salary, wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, tips, self-employment income, disability benefits, retirement income, and other recurring resources. Florida then subtracts the deductions listed in Section 61.30(3): federal, state, and local income taxes; Social Security and self-employment tax; mandatory union dues; mandatory retirement payments; health insurance premiums other than coverage for the child; and court-ordered support for other children.

The child’s health insurance premium is not a deduction from income in the same way. It is an add-on to the basic obligation. That distinction matters: deducting the child’s premium from income and also adding it to the obligation would double-count it. The calculator avoids that by asking for net income before the child’s coverage.

When a parent is self-employed, the court can adjust business income for ordinary and necessary expenses. A voluntarily underemployed parent may have income imputed. Those adjustments happen before the schedule is applied, so the number you enter should reflect the income you expect the court to accept.

The substantial time-sharing adjustment

Florida uses a specific rule when each parent has “a substantial amount of time,” defined as at least 20% of the overnights in a year. The basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5. Each parent’s share is then multiplied by the other parent’s overnight percentage, and the difference between the two results is the monthly transfer.

The 1.5× factor is not a reward or a penalty. It reflects the reality that two households incur some duplicated costs for the child. The adjustment can reduce the transfer compared with a primary-custody calculation, but it can also increase it if the higher earner has more overnights than the other parent.

The calculator uses the percentages you enter. If Parent A has 50% and Parent B has 50%, the adjustment is symmetric. If Parent A has 30% and Parent B has 70%, the parent with 70% has the larger timeshare, and the transfer depends on both income shares and the overnight split.

A Florida example with and without shared time

Put Parent A at $5,000 of monthly net income and Parent B at $3,000, with one child and no overnights for Parent A. Combined income is $8,000. The schedule gives a basic obligation of $1,290. Parent A covers 62.5% of the combined income, so the estimate is $806 per month.

If the parents instead share the overnights 50/50, the 1.5× adjustment produces an adjusted obligation of $1,935. Parent A’s adjusted share is $1,935 × 62.5% × 50% = $604.69, and Parent B’s is $1,935 × 37.5% × 50% = $362.81. The difference is $242 per month, paid by Parent A to Parent B. The example excludes add-ons, deviations, and the cost of the child’s health insurance.

What the Florida estimate leaves out

• Work-related childcare, after-school care, and summer camp.
• The child’s health insurance premium and uninsured medical expenses.
• Dental, vision, and prescription costs.
• Deviations for extraordinary expenses, special needs, or travel.
• Arrears, interest, and credits for Social Security or other benefits paid to the child.
• The court’s allocation of add-ons if it does not use income shares.

The calculator also does not apply the low-income or imputation rules. If a parent’s income is below the guideline range or is disputed, the official worksheet and a lawyer are more reliable than a basic estimate.

When Florida’s worksheet is the better choice

The Florida Supreme Court publishes Form 12.902(e), the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet. It walks through income, deductions, the schedule, the time-sharing adjustment, and add-ons line by line. The Department of Revenue also publishes the child support program’s official materials. Use those forms if you are preparing a filing or if the other parent disputes the numbers.

A Florida family law attorney is the right next step if the parents have different views about overnights, if one parent is self-employed, or if the case involves a request to deviate. The guideline is presumptive, but the court’s order is what actually controls.

Frequently asked questions