How much will i have to pay for child support

How much is child support?

If you’re preparing for divorce, you’re probably wondering – “How much is child support?”

If you’re preparing for divorce or merely curious, you want to understand how child support is calculated. You might be surprised by the amount deducted from your paycheck. You may also wonder what a reasonable cost is for monthly payments, and which parent spends the most.

We have answers to those questions here.

The court will consult the child support guidelines for their state to determine your child support obligation before making an official support order. Like any average, there are quite a few variables. Parents who are in a lower income bracket might not have enough gross income for paying child support, while others who are more well-off end up paying a higher monthly amount. Every state calculation takes into account your total monthly net resources.

Parent’s Pro-Rata Share

How much child support you pay also takes into account whether you are the non-custodial parent, how much income the other parent makes compared to you, and other factors such as whether you or the other parent will provide health insurance coverage for the children, and who will pay for educational expenses and other child care expenses.

The general rule is that the child support obligation is shared by both parents in proportion to their incomes, but there are a lot of other factors that go into how much each parent will actually pay.

Custodial Parent’s Income

In some cases, the custodial parent’s income can be imputed (or assumed) for child support purposes. This usually happens when the custodial parent is not working or is not working to their full potential. The court will look at factors like education and work history to determine how much gross income the custodial parent could be earning, and base child support on that amount.

Other Factors Affecting Child Support

There are other factors that might affect how much child support you pay, such as whether you have other children to support, whether you are paying spousal support (alimony), and your personal expenses. Some states also factor in the cost of living in each parent’s household when determining how much child support to award in a court order.

Example Child Support Calculation

In our example, the court starts by determining your “adjusted” gross income – this is your total income minus deductions for state taxes and business expenses – and multiplies it by the guideline percentage for the number of children involved.

For example: if your yearly salary is $15,000 and you have one child, you would be paying 17% of your income per year in child support–this comes out monthly to $212.50 or annually as $2,550.

Average Child Support Order

We have seen according to the 2010 Census Bureau Reports, the average monthly child support payment is $430. Again, this is just an average of the monthly amount of child support payments across the United States and should only be used as an estimate. Your situation is unique, and the amount the court determines will depend on your circumstances and financial resources.

To get a more accurate estimate of how much you might owe in child support, speak with an experienced family law attorney in your state. They will be familiar with how child support is calculated where you live and can help ensure you are paying (or receiving) the appropriate amount of support for your children.

If you’re interested in an estimate of what your support payments should be, use our child support calculator.

And for more information on how you can better understand the child support laws and regulations in your state, visit our state resources section.

Monthly Child Support Calculator | Office of the Attorney General

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This calculator provides an estimate for a single source of income. The actual amount set or approved by the court may differ.

Income

The person paying support is:

an employeeself-employed

Income Frequency:

YearlyMonthlySemi-MonthlyBi-WeeklyWeeklyHourly

Amount:

Deductions

Medical Support

If you are providing (or can provide) health insurance for your children, enter the monthly premium amount.

Dental Support

If you are providing (or can provide) dental insurance for your children, enter the monthly premium amount.

Union Dues

If you are a member of a union and make regular payments to be a member of the union, enter the monthly dues amount.

State Income Tax

If you work or reside in a state where a state income tax is assessed against your income, enter the monthly amount.

Support Order Determination

Children in this Action

Enter the number of children under age 18 in the child support order.

Children outside this Action

Enter the number of other children for whom you have a legal duty to support.

Support Order Calculations

Monthly Gross Income

Monthly OASDI, Medicare, and Federal Taxes

Monthly OASDI Taxes

Monthly Medicare Taxes

Monthly Federal Income Taxes

Monthly Income

Other Deductions

Medical Support Deduction

Dental Support Deduction

Union Dues Deduction

State Income Tax Deduction

Net Resources

Low-Income Child Support Guidelines Percentage:
Texas Family Code Sec. 154.125 Low-Income Child Support Guidelines are used in actions filed on or after 9/1/2021

Projected Monthly Child Support Obligation for net resources up to $9,200

**The Guidelines for the support of a child are specifically designed to apply to monthly net resources not greater than $9,200. This calculator does not calculate support in excess of the $9,200 net resource amount per Texas Family Code Sec. 154.125(a).

Amount of maintenance per child \ Acts, samples, forms, contracts \ Consultant Plus

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Amount of maintenance for one child

A selection of the most important documents upon request The amount of maintenance per child (legal acts, forms, articles, expert advice and much more).

Alimony:
Maintenance obligations of children to support their parents
Alimony obligations of spouses
Alimony in 6-NDFL
Alimony in a solid amount of
Alimony of individual entrepreneur
more . ..

Judicial practice : the amount of alimony per child

Open the document in your system ConsultantPlus:
Selection of court decisions for 2020: Article 120 "Termination of maintenance obligations" of the RF IC
(R.B. Kasenov) The court satisfied the plaintiff's claims to invalidate the decision of the bailiff on the calculation of alimony arrears. As the court pointed out, by virtue of paragraph 2 of Art. 120 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the payment of alimony, collected in court, stops when the child reaches the age of majority or in the event that minor children acquire full legal capacity before they reach the age of majority. In the case under consideration, one of the two children of the plaintiff, for the maintenance of which alimony was payable, had reached the age of majority. Thus, alimony for the maintenance of one child was subject to withholding, however, the bailiff-executor calculated the amount of alimony based on 1/3 of the plaintiff's earnings, which is not based on the law.

Open the document in your ConsultantPlus system:
Selection of court decisions for 2019: Article 120 "Continuation of alimony obligations" of the IC of the Russian Federation
(R. B. Kasenov) By virtue of paragraph 2 of Art. 120 of the Family Code of the Russian Federation, the payment of alimony, collected in court, stops when the child reaches the age of majority. At the same time, the court order of the justice of the peace did not contain information that the collection of alimony in the amount of 1/3 of the share stops when one of the children reaches the age of majority and then the alimony is subject to collection in the amount of 1/4 of the share. To reduce the amount of alimony established by the court, the bailiff-executor is not entitled to reduce. The reference to the fact that the bailiff had to apply to the court for clarification of the court order, but did not do this, does not indicate the illegality of his actions, since this appeal is a right, and not an obligation, of the bailiff. On the contrary, the debtor, being an interested party of enforcement proceedings, being active, was not deprived of the opportunity to resolve this issue. In addition, the court order contained no ambiguities and did not require clarification. Thus, the court dismissed the claim of the administrative plaintiff to declare illegal the decision on the calculation of the alimony arrears, the obligation to determine the alimony arrears.

Articles, comments, answers to questions : the amount of alimony per child

Open the Consultant Pluss:
Situation: Whoever Do I have to pay child support and how much?
("Electronic journal "Azbuka Prava", 2022) If an agreement on the payment of alimony for minor children has not been concluded, they can be collected in court. The amount of alimony that must be paid monthly will be determined by the court. As a general rule, the amount of alimony is: for one for a child - one quarter, for two children - one third, for three or more children - half of the earnings and (or) other income of the parents. the court may increase or decrease the amount of these shares.

Regulations : Amount of alimony per child

Alimony from self-employed citizens of the Russian Federation in 2022

Alimony from self-employed citizens of the Russian Federation in 2022-2023 are withheld in the manner prescribed by the Family Code. In the article we will tell you how self-employed citizens in Russia pay alimony, what needs to be done in order for the child to receive a payment, and what will change if a self-employed person gets a permanent job under an employment contract.

Alimony from the self-employed: what law 9 says0085

A self-employed citizen is an individual who is a tax payer on professional income. The essence of self-employment is simple: if the taxpayer has income, he pays tax on it. If there is no income, there is no tax to pay. This tax regime is designed specifically for those who do not have regular customers and receive money irregularly - in case of downtime, you will not have to make mandatory payments from your own pocket.

The question arises: how can a self-employed person pay alimony? He does not have a stable income, which means that it will not be possible to establish alimony as a percentage of the income received - in months without income, the child may be left without money. In this case, you should be guided by the rules of Art. 83 of the RF IC - it provides the possibility of collecting alimony in a fixed amount of money.

How the amount of alimony is calculated

The amount of alimony is determined by the court. The basis for the calculation is the subsistence minimum established in the region where the child lives - a certain percentage of this amount will be paid as alimony.

The calculation takes into account the amount of mandatory expenses for the child - they should be indicated in the statement of claim. If the child needs regular expensive treatment or additional education, the court may increase the amount of the payment. In addition, the court takes into account the standard of living of the payer - the higher it is, the greater the alimony will be assigned.

The subsistence minimum is quarterly adjusted by the regional authorities - the amount of alimony for the self-employed changes after it.

Assignment of child support

ConsultantPlus has many ready-made solutions, including how to collect child support for minor children. If you don't have access to the system yet, sign up for a trial online access for free. You can also get the current K+ price list.

Alimony from self-employed citizens in a fixed amount of money is appointed in court (clause 1, article 83 of the RF IC). To do this, the parent with whom the child remains must file a lawsuit with the relevant requirement in court. In it, according to Art. 131 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation, you must specify:

name of the court to which the plaintiff applies;
information about the plaintiff and the defendant - full name, address, contact phone number;
description of the circumstances of the situation, information about the child, grounds for going to court;
a request for a fixed amount of support due to the fact that the defendant is self-employed and has irregular, fluctuating earnings;
list of documents attached to the claim.

If the parents were able to agree on the amount of alimony

If the parents were able to independently determine the amount that one of them will transfer to the other to meet the needs of the child, you can not go to court. The agreement must be sealed with an agreement (clause 1, article 80 of the RF IC). The agreement must be certified by a notary - otherwise it will be considered invalid (clause 1, article 100 of the RF IC).

The agreement must include the following information:

procedure for calculating the amount of alimony;
frequency and timing of money transfers;
enumeration method.

How money is transferred

A self-employed person can transfer money to pay child support in the following ways:

personally into the hands of the other parent with whom the child lives;
by transfer to a bank account;
postal order.

Documents confirming the transfer of money should be kept. If disputes arise in the future, it will be much easier to prove your good faith as a payer of alimony. If the money is transferred in cash, it is worth taking a receipt from the other parent for receiving it.

What to do if a self-employed person does not pay alimony

If the alimony payer refuses to fulfill his obligations, the other parent (with whom the child remains) can apply to the bailiffs or to the bank where the payer has an account. Unpaid money will be forcibly withheld. But to receive payments through the employer (this is often done by bailiffs, sending a writ of execution to the accounting department of the enterprise) will not work, because the self-employed does not have an employer.

You need to apply to bailiffs with a writ of execution - it is issued by the court. If there was no court, and the amount of alimony was established by an agreement on the payment of alimony, certified by a notary, submit this agreement to the bailiffs - it also has the force of a writ of execution (clause 2, article 100 of the RF IC).