Updated for 2026 guidelines
Florida Child Support Calculator 2026
Florida publishes no official calculator of its own. This page runs the section 61.30 income shares formula on both parents’ net incomes and cites the statute at every step.
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Estimate Florida child support
Estimated monthly child support: $517.50
The paying parent pays this amount to the receiving parent each month.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Combined monthly net income (61.30(5))Fla. Stat. 61.30 (child support guidelines; retroactive support), 2025 Statutes (Florida Senate) | $4,000.00 |
| Basic monthly obligation from the 61.30(6) scheduleFla. Stat. 61.30 (child support guidelines; retroactive support), 2025 Statutes (Florida Senate) | $828.00 |
| Payer pro rata share of the total need (62.5 percent, 61.30(9)-(10))Fla. Stat. 61.30 (child support guidelines; retroactive support), 2025 Statutes (Florida Senate) | $517.50 |
| Monthly guideline child support payable by the payerFla. Stat. 61.30 (child support guidelines; retroactive support), 2025 Statutes (Florida Senate) | $517.50 |
Assumptions
- Net incomes are taken as given; 61.30(2)-(3) gross-to-net deductions are not recomputed.
- Between-row combined incomes resolve to the next lower 50 dollar schedule row; the statute states no interpolation rule (official confirmation required).
Estimate only. The court or state agency calculation controls.
Florida guidelines, effective 2023-07-01.
Florida guideline facts
- Guideline model
- Income shares, built on both parents’ net monthly incomessource
- Statute
- Fla. Stat. § 61.30 (2025)source
- Schedule range
- Combined net income $800 to $10,000 a month, for 1 to 6 childrensource
- Official calculator
- None. Courts compute support on Family Law Form 12.902(e)source
- Low-income protection
- 90% of (payer net income minus the $1,330 monthly poverty guideline)source
- Time-sharing threshold
- 73 overnights a year (20%) triggers the 1.5x gross-up methodsource
- Guideline last amended
- July 1, 2023 (schedule dollar values unchanged)source
- Data last reviewed
- August 6, 2026source
How Florida calculates child support
Florida uses the income shares model. The goal is for the children to receive the same share of parental income they would have received in one household, so both parents’ incomes go into the math, not just the paying parent’s.
The formula runs on net income. Section 61.30(3) lists what comes off gross income first: income taxes for your actual filing status, FICA or self-employment tax, mandatory union dues, mandatory retirement payments, your own health insurance premium (not the children’s coverage), and court-ordered support you actually pay in other cases.
The two net incomes are added together, and a table in section 61.30(6) converts the combined figure into a basic monthly obligation for 1 to 6 children. The table covers combined net incomes from $800 to $10,000 a month. Above $10,000, a set percentage of the extra income is added instead.
Each parent is responsible for a share of that obligation in proportion to income. A parent earning 60 percent of the combined net income carries 60 percent of the need. Work-related child care and the children’s health insurance are added on top, and whoever pays those bills directly gets a credit for the payment.
Overnights can change the method. When each parent keeps the children at least 73 nights a year, which is 20 percent, the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5 and offset between the households based on each parent’s share of the nights.
The guideline amount is a presumption, not a command. A judge may move it up or down 5 percent after weighing the case, and further than that only with written findings explaining why the guideline number would be unjust or inappropriate (61.30(1)(a)).
Worked example: $2,500 and $1,500 net, 2 children
- Take a paying parent with $2,500 in monthly net income and a receiving parent with $1,500. There are 2 children, no child care or insurance add-ons, and the paying parent has fewer than 73 overnights a year.
- Add the incomes. $2,500 plus $1,500 makes $4,000 in combined monthly net income.
- Read the section 61.30(6) schedule at $4,000 for 2 children. The basic monthly obligation there is $1,288.
- Work out the paying parent’s share of the combined income. $2,500 divided by $4,000 is 62.5 percent.
- Multiply the obligation by that share. 62.5 percent of $1,288 is $805.00 a month. That is the guideline amount the paying parent transfers to the receiving parent.
- The calculator on this page returns the same $805.00 for these inputs. The scenario is pinned as a golden fixture in our test suite, so the prose and the tool cannot quietly drift apart.
The steps above follow the calculation method described on our methodology page.
Florida guideline history
- Substantial time-sharing threshold lowered to 20 percent of overnights (73 nights a year), paired with the 1.5x gross-up method for shared custody.source
- Amendments added the Social Security dependent benefit credit provisions to the guideline (61.30(10)(b)).source
- Chapters 2023-152 and 2023-213 changed how incarceration and voluntary unemployment are treated; the schedule dollar amounts stayed unchanged.source
Florida child support FAQs
Does Florida have an official child support calculator?
No. The Department of Revenue runs the state child support program, and its website points parents to outside calculators instead of offering one. The official computation instrument is the court worksheet, Family Law Form 12.902(e). This page exists to fill that gap with math that cites the statute line by line.
Why does this calculator ask for net income instead of gross pay?
Because the Florida formula runs on net income. Section 61.30(3) sets the allowed deductions: income taxes for your actual filing status, FICA or self-employment tax, mandatory union dues, mandatory retirement, your own health insurance premium, and court-ordered support you actually pay. Subtract those from gross income and enter the result for each parent.
How does 50/50 time-sharing work in the Florida formula?
Equal time does not automatically mean zero support. Once each parent has at least 73 overnights, the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5, split by income shares, and then offset by each parent’s percentage of the nights. With equal nights, the higher earner still pays a transfer to the other household unless both incomes match.
What happens when combined net income is over $10,000 a month?
The schedule stops at $10,000. Section 61.30(6)(b) then adds a percentage of the income above that line: 5 percent for 1 child, 7.5 for 2, 9.5 for 3, 11 for 4, 12 for 5, and 12.5 percent for 6 children. A judge can still deviate from the result with written findings.
Is there protection for low-income paying parents?
Yes. Section 61.30(6)(a) caps the payment at 90 percent of the gap between the paying parent’s net income and the federal poverty guideline for a single person, which is $1,330 a month under the 2026 guidelines. A parent netting $1,500 a month would pay at most 90 percent of $170, which is $153.
Can the judge order a different amount than the guideline?
Within 5 percent, yes, after considering the relevant factors. Beyond 5 percent, the order needs written findings explaining why the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate (61.30(1)(a)). The deviation factors include extraordinary expenses, the child’s own income, seasonal income swings, and the parenting plan.
How do child care and health insurance costs change the number?
Work-related child care (61.30(7)) and the children’s health insurance premium (61.30(8)) are added to the basic obligation, and the bigger total is split by income shares. The parent who actually pays the bill gets that payment credited back, so the same cost is never paid twice.
Good to know in Florida
- Florida courts compute support on Family Law Form 12.902(e), the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (revised June 2025). It is filed along with each parent’s financial affidavit in most support cases.
- The dollar amounts in the 61.30(6) schedule have been studied repeatedly but not re-based; the 2023 amendments left them unchanged.
- Our schedule data comes from an archived capture of the official statute page, because the Florida Legislature’s sites refused automated connections on our review date. The calculator refuses to compute schedule rows we have not transcribed rather than guessing.
How to use this estimate
The tool follows the same order as the court worksheet: add the net incomes, look up the schedule, split the need pro rata, apply add-ons and direct-payment credits, then check the low-income cap or switch to the time-sharing gross-up where those rules apply.
It asks for net income directly. The gross-to-net deductions in section 61.30(3) depend on your filing status and other personal facts, so the tool does not guess at them. Your pay stub, your tax return, or the financial affidavit from your case will give you the net figure.
Our copy of the schedule is transcribed from the official statute text row by row. If your combined income lands on a row we have not transcribed yet, the tool tells you so instead of estimating. It will not slide you onto a nearby row silently.
A Florida judge makes the final call. The guideline carries a 5 percent adjustment band, and section 61.30(11)(a) lists deviation factors from extraordinary expenses to the parenting plan.
What this estimate includes
- The 61.30(6) basic obligation schedule for 1 to 6 children
- Pro rata shares of the total need by each parent’s net income
- Child care and health insurance add-ons, with credits for direct payment
- The 1.5x substantial time-sharing method at 73 or more overnights each
- The low-income cap at 90 percent of net income above the poverty guideline
- The 61.30(6)(b) percentages for combined net income over $10,000
What it leaves out
- The gross-to-net deduction math (enter your net income directly)
- Judge-ordered deviations and the 61.30(11)(a) factor weighing
- Retroactive support, arrears, and enforcement questions
- Noncovered medical, dental, and prescription costs ordered separately
Official sources
Official sources last verified: .
- Fla. Stat. 61.30 (child support guidelines; retroactive support), 2025 Statutes
Florida Senate Last checked
- Family Law Form 12.902(e), Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (Rev. 06/2025)
Florida Courts (flcourts.gov) Last checked
- HHS 2026 Poverty Guidelines ($15,960 single; used in FL 61.30(6)(a) low-income test)
HHS / Federal Register Last checked
- DOR Child Support Program, "Child Support Amounts" page (confirms no official calculator)
Florida Dept. of Revenue Last checked
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Changelog: page first published with the section 61.30 schedule and the 2026 poverty guideline. Material changes are dated in the update log.