Arkansas
Child Support Laws

Arkansas Child Support Guide :: Table of Contents

What Is Child Support?
Child Support Calculation Law Table
State Child Support Law Summary
Child Support Calculation Method
Arkansas Child Support FAQ
Arkansas Child Support Law Text

What Is Child Support?

Child support is an ongoing payment by a non-custodial parent to assist with the financial support of their children. Child support payments are often determined during the process of dissolution of a marriage through divorce, though the only requirements for requesting child support payments are establishment of paternity and maternity.

Child support is handled on a state level, and Arkansas has a set of specific child support guidelines. On this page you can learn about how child support is calculated in Arkansas, how custody split and extraordinary costs affect child support payments, and more.

Arkansas Child Support Court Considerations Table

Income Share
Percent of Income
Extraordinary Medical Deduction
Childcare Deduction
College Support
Shared Parental Time Offset

Arkansas Child Support Law Summary

Arkansas is one of the minority of states that uses the "percentage of income" method for calculating child support payments.

Arkansas's child support formula directly accounts for parents who share custody of a child, and support payment amounts are connected to the custody split. Other special situations accounted for under Arkansas' child support law include childcare costs and extraordinary medical costs. These costs may be additions to the basic Arkansas child support order.

The parent who is not granted custody will provide written notification within 10 days when any reduction of child support should occur due to extended visitation to the clerk of the court responsible for receiving the child support payment, to the noncustodial parent's employer, if income withholding is in effect, and the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration.

All orders that direct payments through the court or through the Arkansas child support clearinghouse shall set forth a fee to be paid by the noncustodial parent in the amount of $36.00 per year.

When the order provides for payment of money for the support and care of any children, the court, in its discretion, may require the person ordered to make the payments to furnish and file with the court a bond or post security or give some other guarantee in such amount as the court directs.

Arkansas Child Support Calculation Formula Methods

Child support can be arranged out of court by a mutual support agreement between the parents, or can be decided in Arkansas family court through a child support order. In Arkansas, a number of factors are taken into account when determining the amount of child support to be paid in court. Here is an explanation of the two most common methods used to calculate basic child support amounts.

Income Share Method

Under the income share model, the court uses economic tables to estimate the total monthly cost of raising the children. The non-custodial parent pays a percentage of the calculated cost that is based on their proportional share of both parents' combined income.

Example: The non-custodial parent of one child has an income of $2,000 per month, and the custodial parent has an income of $1,000 per month. The court estimates that the cost of raising one child is $1,000 a month. The non-custodial parent's income is 66.6% of the parent's total combined income. Therefore, the non-custodial parent pays $666 per month in child support, or 66.6% of the total child support obligation.

Arkansas does not use the income share method to calculate child support

Percentage Of Income Method

This method of calculating child support is simple - a set percentage of the non-custodial parent's income is paid monthly to the custodial parent to cover basic child support expenses. The percentage paid may stay the same, or vary if the non-custodial parent's income changes.

Example: The non-custodial parent of one child has an income of $2,000 per month. The court orders a flat percentage of 25% of the non-custodial parent's income to be paid in child support to the custodial parent. Therefore, the non-custodial parent pays $500 per month in child support. If the non-custodial parent's monthly income changes, the dollar amount they pay in child support will change as well.

Arkansas does use the percentage of income method to calculate child support

Arkansas Child Support Frequently Asked Questions

Arkansas Child Support FAQ

How does having shared custody of the child affect child support in Arkansas?
How are extraordinary medical costs treated by child support in Arkansas?
How are child care costs treated by child support in Arkansas?
Does child support cover college education expenses in Arkansas?
How is child support enforced in Arkansas?
What are child support arrears?
How are child support payments taxed in Arkansas?

How does having shared custody of the child affect child support in Arkansas?

All states have a method of modifying the amount of child support owed in cases where the custody agreement provides for joint or shared custody of a child between both parents.

Arkansas law accounts for shared custody of a child directly in the child support formula used to calculate payment amounts. This means that, in cases where custody is shared, the amount of child support paid by the paying parent will be reduced according to the amount of time they have custody of the child.

How are extraordinary medical costs treated by child support in Arkansas?

Arkansas has specialized guidelines for the sharing of a child's extraordinary medical care costs that are separate from, and in addition to, basic child support payments. Extraordinary medical costs are generally costs generated by things such as illness, hospital visits, or costly procedures such as getting braces.

Arkansas treats extraordinary medical care costs as a "deviation factor", which means that the judge determining the amount of child support to be paid may take ongoing medical care costs into account when calculating the monthly amount to be paid. This means that in situations where the custodial parent needs to pay child care costs, the judge may raise the child support payments in order to help cover them.

How are child care costs treated by child support in Arkansas?

Due to the high costs of child care for a single payment, Arkansas has specialized guidelines that consider child care costs separately from the general costs of raising a child for the purposes of calculating child support payments.

Arkansas treats child care costs as a "deviation factor", which means that the judge determining the amount of child support to be paid may take child care costs into account when calculating the monthly amount to be paid. This means that in situations where the custodial parent needs to pay child care costs, the judge may raise the child support payments in order to help cover them.

Does child support cover college education expenses in Arkansas?

While the state of Arkansas has no explicit requirement for college expenses to be covered under child support, support for college expense by the non-custodial parent may be voluntarily agreed to by both parties, after which it is contractually enforceable.

How is child support enforced in Arkansas?

In the state of Arkansas, child support is enforced by the state child support agency. The state agency handles the location of non-custodial parents, enforcement of support orders, and the handling of unpaid child support arrears.

What are child support arrears?

Child support arrears are the amount of child support that is delinquent, or unpaid, by the noncustodial parent to the custodial parent. Child support arrears may be collected by the state through wage garnishment, bank levy. withholding of Arkansas welfare benefits, or other collection methods.

How are child support payments taxed in Arkansas?

Under IRS guidelines, the recepient of child support does not need to pay federal tax on child support payments, and the payer of child support cannot deduct their child support payments. This differs from the federal taxation of alimony payments, which are treated as taxable income by the receiver and are deductible by the payor. Arkansas tax law may vary on tax treatment of child support.

| State Law Official Text

Section(s):
ARK. CODE ANN. § 9-12-312 ARK. CODE ANN. § 9-14-106

9-12-312. Alimony -- Child support -- Bond -- Method of payment.

(a) (1) When a decree is entered, the court shall make orders concerning the alimony of the wife or the husband and the care of the children, if there are any, as are reasonable from the circumstances of the parties and the nature of the case. Unless otherwise ordered by the court or agreed to by the parties, the liability for alimony shall automatically cease upon the earlier of:

(A) The date of the remarriage of the person who was awarded the alimony;

(B) The establishment of a relationship that produces a child or children and results in a court order directing another person to pay support to the recipient of alimony, which circumstances shall be considered the equivalent of remarriage; or

(C) The establishment of a relationship that produces a child or children and results in a court order directing the recipient of alimony to provide support of another person who is not a descendant by birth or adoption of the payor of the alimony, which circumstances shall be considered the equivalent of remarriage.

(2) In determining a reasonable amount of support, initially or upon review to be paid by the noncustodial parent, the court shall refer to the most recent revision of the family support chart. It shall be a rebuttable presumption for the award of child support that the amount contained in the family support chart is the correct amount of child support to be awarded. Only upon a written finding or specific finding on the record that the application of the support chart would be unjust or inappropriate, as determined under established criteria set forth in the family support chart, shall the presumption be rebutted.

(3) The family support chart shall be revised at least once every four (4) years by a committee to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to ensure that the support amounts are appropriate for child support awards. The committee shall also establish the criteria for deviation from use of the chart amount.

(4) The Supreme Court shall approve the family support chart and criteria upon revision by the committee for use in this state and shall publish it through per curiam order of the court.

(5) (A) The court may provide for the payment of support beyond the eighteenth birthday of the child to address the educational needs of a child whose eighteenth birthday falls prior to graduation from high school so long as such support is conditional on the child remaining in school.

(B) The court may also provide for the continuation of support for an individual with a disability that affects the ability of the individual to live independently from the custodial parent.

(b) In addition to any other remedies available, alimony may be awarded under proper circumstances to either party in fixed installments for a specified period of time subject to the contingencies of the death of either party, the remarriage of the receiving party, or such other contingencies as are set forth in the award, so that the payments qualify as periodic payments within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code.

(c) (1) When the order provides for payment of money for the support and care of any children, the court, in its discretion, may require the person ordered to make the payments to furnish and file with the clerk of the court a bond or post security or give some other guarantee in such amount and with such sureties as the court shall direct.

(2) The bond, security, or guarantee is to be conditioned on compliance with that part of the order of the court concerning the support and care of the children.

(3) If such action is taken due to a delinquency under the order, proper advance notice to the noncustodial parent shall be given.

(d) All orders requiring payments of money for the support and care of any children shall direct the payments to be made through the registry of the court unless the court in its discretion determines that it would be in the best interest of the parties to direct otherwise. However, in all cases brought pursuant to Title IV-D of the Social Security Act, the court shall order that all payments be made through the Arkansas child support clearinghouse in accordance with 9-14-801 et seq.

(e) (1) (A) Except as set forth in subdivision (e)(5) of this section, all orders directing payments through the registry of the court or through the Arkansas child support clearinghouse shall set forth a fee to be paid by the noncustodial parent or obligated spouse in the amount of thirty-six dollars ($36.00) per year.

(B) The fee shall be collected from the noncustodial parent or obligated spouse at the time of the first support payment and during the anniversary month of the entry of the order each year thereafter, or nine dollars ($9.00) per quarter at the option of the obligated parent, until no children remain minor and the support obligation is extinguished and any arrears are completely liquidated.

(2) The clerk, upon direction from the court and as an alternative to collecting the annual fee during the anniversary month each year after entry of the order, may prorate the first fee collected at the time of the first payment of support under the order to the number of months remaining in the calendar year and thereafter collect all fees as provided in this subsection during the month of January of each year.

(3) Payments made for this fee shall be made on an annual basis in the form of a check or money order payable to the clerk of the court or such other legal tender that the clerk may accept. This fee payment shall be separate and apart from the support payment and under no circumstances shall the support payment be reduced to fulfill the payment of this fee.

(4) Upon the nonpayment of the annual fee by the noncustodial parent within ninety (90) days, the clerk may notify the payor under the order of income withholding for child support who shall withhold the fee in addition to any support and remit it to the clerk.

(5) In counties where an annual fee is collected and the court grants at least two thousand five hundred (2,500) divorces each year, the court may require that the initial annual fee be paid by the noncustodial parent or obligated spouse prior to the filing of the order.

(6) All moneys collected by the clerk as a fee as provided in this subsection shall be used by the clerk's office to offset administrative costs as a result of this subchapter. At least twenty percent (20%) of the moneys collected annually shall be used to purchase, maintain, and operate an automated data system for use in administering the requirements of this subchapter. The acquisition and update of software for the automated data system shall be a permitted use of these funds. All fees collected under this subsection shall be paid into the county treasury to the credit of the fund to be known as the "support collection costs fund". Moneys deposited into this fund shall be appropriated and expended for the uses designated in this subdivision (e)(6) by the quorum court at the direction of the clerk of the court.

(f) The clerk of the court shall maintain accurate records of all support orders and payments made under this section and shall post to individual child support account ledgers maintained in the clerk's office all payments received directly by the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration and reported to the clerk by the office. The office shall provide the clerk with sufficient information to identify the custodial and noncustodial parents, a docket number, and the amount and date of payment. The clerk shall keep on file the information provided by the office for audit purposes.

(g) The clerk may accept the support payment in any form of cash or commercial paper, including personal check, and may require that the custodial parent or nonobligated spouse be named as payee thereon.

9-14-106. Noncustodial parents -- Amount of support.

(a) (1) (A) In determining a reasonable amount of support initially or upon review to be paid by the noncustodial parent or parents, the court shall refer to the most recent revision of the family support chart.

(B) It shall be a rebuttable presumption for the award of child support that the amount contained in the family support chart is the correct amount of child support to be awarded.

(C) Only upon a written finding that the application of the family support chart would be unjust or inappropriate as determined under established criteria set forth in the family support chart shall the presumption be rebutted.

(2) (A) The court may provide for a partial abatement or reduction of the stated child support amount for any period of extended visitation with the noncustodial parent.

(B) The court shall consider whether an adjustment in child support is appropriate, giving consideration to the fixed obligations of the custodial parent that are attributable to the child, to the increased costs of the noncustodial parent associated with the child's visit, and to the relative incomes of both parents.

(C) Abatement or reduction of the chart amount and justification of the abatement or reduction shall be clearly set forth in the written findings of the court.

(D) (i) The noncustodial parent shall provide written notification within ten (10) days when abatement or reduction of child support should occur due to extended visitation to the clerk of the court responsible for receipt of the child support payment, the noncustodial parent's employer, if income withholding is in effect, and the Office of Child Support Enforcement of the Revenue Division of the Department of Finance and Administration when applicable.

(ii) It is the responsibility of the noncustodial parent to notify the clerk of the court responsible for receipt of the child support payment, the noncustodial parent's employer, if income withholding is in effect, and the office, when applicable, when abatement or reduction should stop and payment of child support should resume.

(E) If the noncustodial parent fails to exercise extended visitation periods, the child support shall not be abated or reduced.

(b) Subsequent to the finding by the court that the defendant should be ordered to pay support for the minor child, the court shall follow the same procedure and requirements as set forth in the laws of this state applicable to child support orders and judgments entered by the circuit courts in cases involving separation or divorce between the parents of the child.

Arkansas Child Support Laws

Income Share Method

Percentage Of Income Method

Arkansas
Child Support Laws