How Is Child Support Calculated in Florida?

Use the free tool — Child Support Estimate FL

Florida child support is a formula, not a negotiation

Florida Statutes §61.30 sets a guideline. It is not something you and the other parent simply agree on in mediation — the guideline uses both parents' net incomes, the number of children, how many overnights each parent has, and add-ons like childcare and health insurance. Knowing the guideline number before mediation changes the conversation.

The pieces that go into the number

The guideline calculation moves through several steps:

Net incomes for both parents — this depends on actual tax withholding and allowable deductions.
Income shares — each parent's share of the combined net income.
The basic obligation — taken from the statutory schedule based on combined net income and number of children.
The time-sharing adjustment — applied when a parent has 20% or more of the overnights.
Add-ons — childcare and health-insurance costs.

A tool can walk through this arithmetic using the numbers you type in. But the court uses the exact statutory table and the actual facts in evidence — a calculator's schedule rows are approximate.

The 20% overnight rule

If a parent has 20% or more of the overnights with the children, Florida's formula applies a time-sharing adjustment to the basic obligation. The overnights each parent actually has are part of the input — not the overnights written in an old parenting plan that nobody follows anymore.

Add-ons: childcare and health insurance

Childcare costs and health-insurance costs for the children are added into the guideline calculation, on top of the basic obligation and the time-sharing adjustment. Who pays which cost matters for how the final monthly figure comes out.

Deviating from the guideline, and imputed income

The guideline number is not always the final number. Courts can deviate: up to 5% freely, and more than that with written findings. A court can also impute income to a parent — for example, if that parent is thought to be earning less than they're capable of. These are legal determinations, not something a calculator decides for you.

Changing an existing order

Florida uses a specific threshold for modifying an existing child support order: generally, the change has to be 15% or $50, whichever is greater. A calculator can show you this rule and walk through the math. It cannot tell you whether your situation actually qualifies, and it does not file anything for you.

What to do next

A free tool exists that reads the numbers you type — both parents' incomes, the number of children, overnights, childcare and health-insurance costs — and computes the §61.30 guideline step by step, in English and Spanish. It shows you the net incomes, the income shares, the basic obligation, the time-sharing adjustment if it applies, the add-ons, and the final monthly figure, with the arithmetic shown.

This is not legal advice, and it is not affiliated with any court, the Department of Revenue, or any law firm. The court uses the exact statutory table and the facts in evidence, and may deviate from the guideline. For your specific case, confirm with the Florida DOR Child Support Program (floridarevenue.com/childsupport) or with legal aid.

Use the free tool

Child Support Estimate FL is an informational calculator based on Florida Statutes 61.30 and the Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(e) as of 2025–26. The basic-obligation schedule is interpolated from anchor rows and is approximate; the statutory table controls. Net income depends on actual tax withholding and allowable deductions. It is not legal advice and does not file anything. It is not affiliated with any court, the Department of Revenue or any law firm.