Florida does not publish an official online child support calculator. The Department of Revenue and the Florida Courts publish the statute, the schedule, and the worksheet form, and leave the arithmetic to you. That arithmetic has 21 lines, two methods, and a schedule with 185 rows.
We built a free Florida child support calculator that runs the section 61.30 guidelines in the same line order as the court's worksheet, Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(e), and prints the result with your case caption on it. This post explains what to enter, where each number comes from, and what the result does and does not mean.
What the calculator asks for
Net monthly income for each parent. Not gross. Section 61.30(3) subtracts federal, state and local income tax, FICA or self-employment tax, mandatory union dues, mandatory retirement contributions, the parent's own health insurance premium (not the children's), court-ordered support for other children that is actually paid, and court-ordered alimony. If you have already completed a Financial Affidavit, Form 12.902(b) or (c), net income is line 27.
Number of children. Only the minor children common to both parents. The schedule runs from one to six.
Overnights per year for each parent. This is the number that most people get wrong, and it is the one that swings the result the most. Count the overnights under the parenting plan the court will apply, not the ones that happened last year. The calculator fills in the second parent's count as 365 minus the first.
Child care, health insurance, and noncovered medical costs, entered under the parent who actually pays them. Child care counts only when it is needed for employment, a job search, or education that leads to employment. Health insurance is the children's coverage only.
What it produces
The calculator shows every line of the worksheet, not just the answer.
Lines 1 through 9 are the standard method. Combined net income is matched to the schedule in section 61.30(6) for the number of children. That basic obligation is split between the parents in proportion to their incomes. Child care and health costs are added and split the same way, with a credit for what each parent already pays. When one parent has fewer than 73 overnights, that parent pays their line 9 amount.
Lines 10 through 21 are the gross-up method under section 61.30(11)(b), which the court must apply when each parent has the children at least 20 percent of the overnights, 73 nights a year. The basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5, split by income share, and each parent's share is multiplied by the other parent's percentage of overnights. The difference between the two figures, adjusted for the child care and health costs each parent pays, is the transfer. Line 21 is the presumptive amount.
The calculator picks the method from the overnight counts and tells you which one it used. When the gross-up method applies, it also shows what the standard method would have produced, so you can see how much the time-sharing schedule is worth.
Printing the worksheet
After the calculation, the Print Guidelines Worksheet button asks for the petitioner, the respondent, the case number, the division, and the county. The county fills in the judicial circuit. The printout follows the 12.902(e) line sequence with the same line descriptions the form uses, and prints only the worksheet, not the web page around it.
Two cautions. The worksheet you file with the court has to be completed on the current Florida Supreme Court approved form, and the income figures on it have to be sworn on the Financial Affidavit. The printout is a computation aid you can hand to a lawyer, a mediator, or the other parent. It is not the filed document.
What the court can change
The guideline amount is presumptive, not automatic. Under section 61.30(1)(a) the court may vary it up to five percent either way after considering the needs of the children, their age and station in life, the standard of living, and each parent's financial status. A variance greater than five percent requires written findings that the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate, and a Motion to Deviate, Form 12.943.
The deviation factors in section 61.30(11)(a) include extraordinary medical, psychological, educational or dental expenses, the child's independent income, seasonal variations in income, the age and special needs of the child, the total assets of both parents and the child, the dependency exemption and tax credits, and any order that would take more than 55 percent of the paying parent's gross income.
Where the estimate can go wrong
Imputed income. If a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court imputes income under section 61.30(2)(b) based on recent work history, qualifications, and the prevailing earnings in the community. The calculator uses the number you type. It cannot tell you what the court will impute.
Self-employment and business income. Gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses. Depreciation, personal expenses run through the business, and retained earnings are recurring fights. See our post on child support and self-employment income.
Military pay. BAH and BAS are gross income for child support purposes. Sailors at NAS Jacksonville and Mayport regularly underreport by leaving allowances out.
Overnights the court will not credit. A parenting plan that promises 50/50 and a schedule that delivers 30/70 are two different cases. The court applies the plan it orders, and a parent who does not exercise the time-sharing in the plan can find the support recalculated under section 61.30(11)(c).
Combined income under $800 or over $10,000. Below $800 the court sets support case by case, subject to the low-income cap in section 61.30(6)(a). Above $10,000 the statute adds a percentage of the excess, 5 percent for one child up to 12.5 percent for six. The calculator handles the top end and flags the bottom end.
Run your numbers
The Florida child support calculator is free, nothing you enter leaves your browser, and it prints the worksheet. If the number surprises you, or the other side's worksheet does not match yours, that is the point at which a consultation earns its keep. We can tell you which input the court is likely to see differently, and what that does to the result.
Steven C. Fraser, Esq., Florida Bar No. 625825, Florida Supreme Court Certified Family Mediator No. 37256 CFR. Jacksonville, Florida. 877-862-7188.