New York Child Support Calculator (2026)

How New York calculates child support

New York uses an income-shares model under the Child Support Standards Act, Family Court Act § 413 and Domestic Relations Law § 240(1-b). The court adds both parents’ income, applies a percentage based on the number of children, and assigns each parent a share of the result in proportion to income. The parent who is not the custodial parent pays that share to the custodial parent.

The percentages are fixed by statute: 17% for one child, 25% for two, 29% for three, 31% for four, and no less than 35% for five or more. The percentage is applied to the combined income as a whole, so the obligation rises with the higher earner’s income even though the split is by income share. The guideline is presumptive; a court can depart from it only by explaining why the result is unjust or inappropriate.

This page assumes Parent A is the noncustodial parent, which is the input the official worksheet uses. If the parents share physical custody, the court still needs to identify the noncustodial parent for the basic obligation, and the parenting-time adjustment is a separate discretionary question.

Income and deductions under the CSSA

New York’s income definition starts with gross income from the most recent federal tax return. It also adds items that may not appear there: investment income, deferred compensation, workers’ compensation, disability benefits, unemployment insurance, Social Security benefits, veterans’ benefits, pensions and retirement benefits, fellowships, stipends, and annuity payments.

The statute then allows deductions for FICA taxes actually paid, New York City or Yonkers income tax actually paid, maintenance or child support actually paid to a spouse or for a child who is not part of this case, public assistance, supplemental security income, and certain self-employment and unreimbursed employee business expenses. Federal and state income tax are not deducted, which is why the input is closer to gross pay than to take-home pay.

Self-employment income is the usual source of disagreement. A court can add back depreciation, subtract ordinary business expenses, or impute income when a parent is voluntarily underemployed. Non-recurring income such as a one-time bonus or a capital gain may be averaged rather than treated as a monthly figure. The calculator cannot resolve any of that; it applies one annual number per parent.

The $193,000 cap

The percentages apply to combined parental income up to $193,000, effective March 1, 2026, up from $183,000. The cap is adjusted every two years against the Consumer Price Index, so the figure changes without a new statute. Above the cap, the law permits but does not require the court to apply the percentages to the excess, and it may instead consider the statutory factors.

That discretion is why two high-income cases with the same numbers can produce different orders. Some courts apply the percentage to the full combined income; others cap at the statutory figure and weigh the child’s standard of living, the parents’ circumstances, and the other factors in the statute. This calculator applies the percentages only up to $193,000 combined, which is the mandatory part of the guideline.

The self-support reserve and the $25 minimum

The official worksheet checks what the paying parent has left after support. If income minus the obligation is at least the self-support reserve of $21,546, the full share applies. If the remainder falls between the reserve and the poverty guideline of $15,960, the obligation is reduced to the greater of $600 a year or income minus the reserve. If the remainder would fall below the poverty line, the obligation is $300 a year, or $25 a month.

Those thresholds are the 2026 figures published with the Child Support Standards Chart, and they are why the chart shows the same amount for many low-income rows. The rule is a floor, not a waiver: a $25 order is still an order, and it can be modified when income rises.

Parenting time, add-ons, and what this estimate leaves out

The basic obligation does not contain a parenting-time variable. Overnights matter only if a court adjusts the guideline result under the “unjust or inappropriate” standard, and that adjustment is discretionary. This is different from California, where the timeshare is inside the formula, and from Florida, where a shared-time multiplier applies inside a band.

Add-ons are also outside the basic number. Work-related childcare, the children’s health insurance premium, and unreimbursed medical expenses are usually ordered on top and split in proportion to income. The court can also allocate educational expenses and life insurance. None of those amounts appear in this estimate.

• Work-related childcare and after-school care.
• The children’s health insurance premium and unreimbursed medical costs.
• Parenting-time adjustments and shared-custody deviations.
• Income imputed for a voluntarily underemployed parent.
• Support for children from another relationship, which changes the income available here.
• College, private school, and extracurricular costs ordered separately.

A New York example at $150,000 combined

Parent A earns $90,000 and Parent B earns $60,000, with one child. Combined income is $150,000, below the cap, and the one-child percentage is 17%, so the basic obligation is $25,500 a year. Parent A’s income share is 60%, which makes the annual obligation $15,300, or $1,275 a month.

The self-support check does not change the result: $90,000 minus $15,300 leaves $74,700, well above the $21,546 reserve. With Parent A at $250,000 and Parent B at $50,000, only $193,000 of the $300,000 combined counts, so the basic obligation is $32,810 and Parent A’s five-sixths share is about $2,278 a month, before any above-cap adjustment the court might make.

When the official worksheet is the better choice

The Child Support Standards Chart worksheet is the filing-ready version: it walks through income, the cap, the self-support reserve, the pro-rata shares, and the add-ons line by line. Use it if the combined income is above $193,000, if either parent is self-employed or has income that needs imputing, or if the parents share custody and the adjustment is in dispute.

A New York family law attorney is the right next step when the parents disagree about income or custody. The guideline is the starting point; the court’s order controls, and the order can include add-ons and adjustments this estimate does not.

Frequently asked questions