Free Florida Child Support Calculator
This Florida child support calculator uses the official s. 61.30 schedule with both parents' net income and the overnight schedule. Results update as you type.
Estimate only, not legal advice. This calculator applies the published Florida rules to the numbers you enter. A judge can order a different amount, and the result depends on how income is proven in your case. Settle101 is not a law firm. For advice on your situation, talk to a family-law attorney, legal aid or your state's child support agency.
How Florida child support is calculated
- Work out each parent's net monthly income (s. 61.30(2)–(4)).
- Add them together to get combined net income (s. 61.30(5)).
- Look up the basic obligation in the guidelines schedule for that income and number of children (s. 61.30(6)). The schedule runs from $800 to $10,000 a month in $50 steps.
- Add child care and the children's health insurance (s. 61.30(7), (8)).
- Split by income share. Each parent's share is their net income divided by the combined income (s. 61.30(9), (10)). The parent with fewer overnights pays their share to the other parent, less any child care or insurance they already pay.
- Adjust for substantial time-sharing if each parent has at least 20% of overnights (s. 61.30(11)(b)).
Worked example: standard time-sharing
Parent 1 nets $3,000 and parent 2 nets $2,000 a month, with two children who spend 300 nights a year with parent 2. Combined income is $5,000, so the schedule gives $1,551. Parent 1 has 60% of the income and pays $930.60 a month.
Worked example: substantial time-sharing
Same incomes, but parent 2 has 146 nights (40%) and parent 1 has 219 (60%). The basic obligation × 1.5 is $2,326.50. Parent 1's share × parent 2's overnights, minus parent 2's share × parent 1's overnights, leaves parent 1 paying $0.00 a month.
What counts as net income
Gross income includes wages, bonuses, overtime, tips, business income, disability and workers' compensation benefits, unemployment, pensions, Social Security, spousal support received, interest, dividends and net rental income (s. 61.30(2)(a)). Subtract:
- federal, state and local income tax for your actual filing status (Florida has no state income tax)
- Social Security and Medicare tax, or self-employment tax
- mandatory union dues and mandatory retirement contributions
- your own health insurance (the children's coverage is handled separately)
- court-ordered child support for other children that you actually pay, and court-ordered spousal support
Combined income between two schedule rows
The statute lists the schedule in $50 steps and does not say how to treat an income between two rows. The calculator shows the amount using the row at or below your combined income, and tells you the amount using the next row up when it differs, so you can see the range.
What this calculator does not include
- Deviations a judge may order under s. 61.30(11)(a), including the 55%-of-gross-income limit.
- Imputed income for a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.
- Credit for Social Security benefits paid to the child (s. 61.30(10)(b)).
- Uncovered medical costs ordered to be paid separately by percentage.
- Retroactive support.
Related calculators
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- Texas child support calculator
- California child support calculator
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Frequently asked questions
How is child support calculated in Florida?
Florida uses an income shares model (s. 61.30, Florida Statutes). Both parents’ net incomes are added together, the combined figure is looked up in the statutory schedule to find the basic obligation, and each parent pays their percentage share of income. Child care and the children’s health insurance are added and shared the same way.
How do overnights affect Florida child support?
If each parent has the children for at least 20% of overnights (73 nights a year), the substantial time-sharing formula applies: each parent’s share of the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5 and by the other parent’s percentage of overnights, and the difference is what changes hands.
What counts as net income in Florida?
Gross income from almost every source, minus federal, state and local income tax, Social Security and Medicare (or self-employment tax), mandatory union dues and retirement contributions, the parent’s own health insurance (not the children’s), court-ordered child support actually paid for other children, and court-ordered spousal support.
What if combined income is more than $10,000 a month?
The schedule stops at $10,000. Above that, the obligation is the $10,000 amount plus a percentage of the income over $10,000: 5% for one child, 7.5% for two, 9.5% for three, 11% for four, 12% for five and 12.5% for six.
Can a Florida judge order a different amount?
Yes. Under s. 61.30(1)(a) the court may vary the guideline amount by up to 5% after considering all relevant factors, and by more than 5% only with a written finding that the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate. The deviation factors in s. 61.30(11)(a) include extraordinary medical costs, the child’s independent income and special needs.