Florida
Child Support Laws

Florida Child Support Guide :: Table of Contents

What Is Child Support?
Child Support Calculation Law Table
State Child Support Law Summary
Child Support Calculation Method
Florida Child Support FAQ
Florida 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 Florida has a set of specific child support guidelines. On this page you can learn about how child support is calculated in Florida, how custody split and extraordinary costs affect child support payments, and more.

Florida Child Support Court Considerations Table

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

Florida Child Support Law Summary

Florida uses the "income share" method for calculating child support payments, which is designed to ensure that both the custodial and non-custodial parents contribute to their child's upkeep.

In the event of parents sharing custody of a child, the Florida judge who sets child support may deviate from the basic child support formula to account for this. Other special situations accounted for under Florida's child support law include childcare costs and extraordinary medical costs. These costs may be additions to the basic Florida child support order.

What Deductions are Considered in Calculating Child Support?

Once you determine the combined gross income, you subtract allowable deductions which include items such as:

federal, state and local taxes

mandatory union dues and retirement benefits

health insurance premiums

The Court’s Ability to Deviate from Child Support Guidelines

The amount of child support provided is presumed to be correct unless the court decides to deviate from the calculated amount.

If the court wants to deviate from the amount of support in the guidelines by an amount greater than 5%, the court can do so if it makes written findings explaining why calculating support according to guidelines would be unjust/inappropriate.

Modifying Existing Child Support Obligations

In order to modify child support, Florida requires a parent to show evidence of a substantial change in circumstances.

The Statutory Guidelines

Florida courts determine the amount of child support a parent owes based on mandatory schedules, or “guidelines” (Florida Statute § 61.30). The guidelines establish the minimum needs of the child with comparison and consideration to the parents’ level of income.

Child support is based on the idea that each parent is required to contribute to the wellbeing of their child.

Calculating Child Support Based on Net Monthly Income

Florida’s child support guidelines establish the minimum amount of support a parent is required to pay, based on the combined net income of both parents.

Florida 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 Florida family court through a child support order. In Florida, 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.

Florida does 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.

Florida does not use the percentage of income method to calculate child support

Florida Child Support Frequently Asked Questions

Florida Child Support FAQ

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

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

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.

Florida law allows the judge overseeing the child support order to use a shared custody agreement as justification for a variation from the state's general child support calculations. This means that if the non-custodial parent shares parenting time with the custodial parent, the judge might reduce the amount of child support owed to account for the resources spent by the non-custodial parent during their time with the child.

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

Florida 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.

Florida treats extraordinary medical care costs as a "mandatory deduction" for basic child support. This means that if the non-custodial parent pays child care costs, the portion of the total monthly child care costs attributed to the custodial partner are deducted from the noncustodial partner's monthly child support payment. If the custodial parent pays for child care, the non-custodial parent must pay their share in addition to basic child support.

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

Due to the high costs of child care for a single payment, Florida 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.

Florida treats child care costs as a "mandatory deduction" for basic child support. This means that if the non-custodial parent pays child care costs, the portion of the total monthly child care costs attributed to the custodial partner are deducted from the noncustodial partner's monthly child support payment. If the custodial parent pays for child care, the non-custodial parent must pay their share in addition to basic child support.

Does child support cover college education expenses in Florida?

While the state of Florida 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 Florida?

In the state of Florida, 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 Florida welfare benefits, or other collection methods.

How are child support payments taxed in Florida?

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. Florida tax law may vary on tax treatment of child support.

| State Law Official Text

Section(s):
F LA . STAT. § 61.30

The Statutory GuidelinesFlorida courts determine the amount of child support a parent owes based on mandatory schedules, or “guidelines,” set forth in Florida Statute § 61.30.

The guidelines establish the minimum needs of a child in relation to the parents’ level of income. Parties to a divorce proceeding sometimes misconstrue child support as an obligation imposed on one spouse for the benefit of another spouse. Instead, child support in Florida is a dual obligation owed by both parents to their child. The child support obligation begins the moment the child is born and continues until the child reaches adulthood. Child support is based on the idea that each parent is required to contribute to the wellbeing of their child.

Calculating Child Support Based on Net Monthly IncomeFlorida’s child support guidelines establish the minimum amount of support a parent is required to pay, based on both parents’ combined net income. Courts calculate the amount of support by adding the net monthly income of both parents together and look at the minimum child support need set forth in the guidelines. Next, the court calculates each parent’s individual percentage share of the child support by determining each parent’s separate net monthly income and dividing this amount by the total amount of both parents’ net monthly income.

Each parent’s actual dollar share of the child support obligation is then calculated by multiplying the minimum child support need by the parent’s parentage share of child support.Determining Net Income to Calculate Child SupportThe child support guidelines are based on the parents’ combined net income. Under Florida’s child support statute, net income is determined by taking the parents’ combined gross income and subtracting certain allowable deductions.

Under § 61.30(2)(a), gross include includes such things as salary, wages, bonuses, commissions, pension and retirement benefits, as well as social security benefits. Once you determine the parents’ combined gross income, you subtract allowable deductions which include items such as federal, state and local taxes; mandatory union dues and retirement benefits; and, health insurance premiums.Court’s Ability to Deviate from Child Support GuidelinesThe amount of child support provided for under § 61.30 is presumed to be correct unless the court decides to deviate from the scheduled amount.

A court in a divorce proceeding may increase or decrease the amount of support mandated by the child support guidelines up to five percent (5%) if the court takes into consideration “all relevant factors” including the needs of the child and the age, standard of living and financial status of each parent. If the court wishes to deviate from the amount of support in the guidelines by an amount greater than 5%, the court can do so provided it makes written findings explaining why awarding support in the amount set forth in the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate.Modifying Existing Child Support ObligationsIn order to modify child support, Florida requires a parent show there has been a substantial change in circumstances.

When a court enters a child support order, it has continuing jurisdiction to modify the child support amount when doing so is in the child’s bests interests, there has been a substantial change in circumstances or the child is no longer a minor. The party that wishes to modify the child support order carries the burden of convincing the court that modification is necessary and appropriate.To show a substantial change in circumstances that would warrant modifying a child support award, a parent must show the changed circumstances must be significant, material, involuntary and permanent in nature. For example, it is not appropriate to reduce a parent’s child support obligations where a parent voluntarily chooses to leave a high paying career for an occupation that pays less income. Instead, a court can “impute” income on to a parent where he or she voluntarily decided to become unemployed or underemployed.

Citations:Fla. Stat. § 61.30(5 – 6) and (9 – 10); Wilcox v. Munoz, 35 So. 3d 136, 139 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010).Fla. Stat. § 61.14(1); Overby v. Overby, 698 So. 2d 811, 813 (Fla. 1997).

Florida Child Support Laws