An educational estimate based on the Florida child support guidelines schedule
Florida uses an income shares model in Florida Statutes section 61.30. Each parent starts with monthly gross income, subtracts the allowable deductions in section 61.30(3) to reach monthly net income, and those net amounts are added together. The combined monthly net income is run through the guidelines schedule in section 61.30(6) to find the minimum child support need for the number of children, from one through six. Each parent is responsible for a share of that need equal to that parent's percentage of combined monthly net income, under sections 61.30(9) and 61.30(10).
This page uses the guidelines schedule published in the 2026 Florida Statutes compilation of section 61.30. The same schedule appears in the 2025 compilation. The History note to section 61.30 ends with chapter 2021-103, chapter 2023-152, and chapter 2023-213. The official Tables of Section Changes for 2024, 2025, and 2026 do not list section 61.30, so later sessions did not amend the schedule or the formula coded here. Chapter 2023-152, section 4, and chapter 2023-213, section 4, amended wording in section 61.30(1)(a) about the presumptive guideline amount the court must order. They did not republish new schedule dollar figures.
The numbers below show how the pieces fit together. They are an educational example, not a prediction for your case.
Section 61.30(6)(b) says that when combined monthly net income is greater than the amount in the guidelines schedule, the obligation is the minimum amount at the top of the schedule plus a percentage of the income over $10,000. Those percentages are 5.0 percent for one child, 7.5 percent for two children, 9.5 percent for three children, 11.0 percent for four children, 12.0 percent for five children, and 12.5 percent for six children.
Section 61.30(6)(a) applies if the obligor parent's net income is less than the amount in the guidelines schedule. Read together with section 61.30(6)(b), which treats "the amount in the guidelines schedule" as the top listed combined monthly net income of $10,000, paragraph (a) is applied on this page when the paying parent's monthly net income is below the first listed schedule income of $800. In that situation the statute says the court should determine support on a case-by-case basis. It also says the payment shall be the lesser of that case-by-case share and 90 percent of the difference between the paying parent's monthly net income and the current federal poverty guideline for a single individual living alone.
The HHS poverty guideline for one person in the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia is $15,960 for 2026, from the Federal Register of January 15, 2026. Section 61.30(6)(a)2 compares that guideline with monthly net income. This page uses the monthly figure of $1,330, which is $15,960 divided by 12. Because $1,330 is higher than $800, any paying parent below the $800 trigger also has monthly income below $1,330, so 90 percent of the difference is not a positive number. This page therefore does not invent a dollar estimate when section 61.30(6)(a) applies.
When each child spends a substantial amount of time with each parent, section 61.30(11)(b) requires a specific adjustment. Substantial time means that each parent has at least 20 percent of the overnights of the year, which is 73 overnights in a 365-day year. If one parent has 293 or more overnights, the other parent has 72 or fewer, and that adjustment does not apply. The statute first calculates each parent's share of the basic need without daycare and health insurance, multiplies each share by 1.5, multiplies those results by the other parent's overnight percentage, and uses the difference as the transfer, then adjusts for daycare and health insurance under sections 61.30(7) and 61.30(8).
Child care costs incurred due to employment, job search, or qualifying education are added to the basic obligation. Health insurance costs ordered under section 61.13(1)(b), and noncovered medical, dental, and prescription expenses unless separately ordered, are also added. Amounts a parent already paid are credited against that parent's obligation. This page treats the childcare, health insurance, and noncovered medical, dental, and prescription amounts you enter as costs paid by the parent who receives support, and it adds the paying parent's income share of those amounts.
The court may vary from the guideline amount by plus or minus 5 percent after considering the factors in section 61.30(1)(a), and it may vary by more than 5 percent only with a written finding. This estimate does not apply those discretionary deviations.
The court combines both parents' monthly net income, looks up the minimum child support need on the section 61.30(6) schedule, and assigns each parent a share equal to that parent's portion of combined net income. Childcare, child health insurance, and noncovered medical, dental, and prescription costs are generally added and split the same way, with a credit for amounts a parent already paid. If each parent has at least 73 overnights, the court must also apply the section 61.30(11)(b) gross-up calculation.
Section 61.30 starts with gross income and subtracts allowable deductions such as federal, state, and local income tax, FICA or self-employment tax, mandatory union dues, mandatory retirement payments, health insurance for the parent, court-ordered support actually paid for other children, and court-ordered spousal support. This page does not guess those deductions. Enter monthly net income if you have it. If you enter gross pay, the result will usually be higher than a court worksheet.
The schedule ends at $10,000 of combined monthly net income. Section 61.30(6)(b) then adds a statutory percentage of the excess, from 5.0 percent for one child through 12.5 percent for six children, to the schedule amount at $10,000.
If the paying parent's monthly net income is below $800, section 61.30(6)(a) tells the court to set support case by case, limited by a comparison with the current poverty guideline. This page does not invent that case-by-case number.
Yes, when each parent has at least 20 percent of the overnights of the year. The required method is the 1.5 multiplier and overnight-percentage transfer in section 61.30(11)(b), not an invented overnight discount. Time below 20 percent can still be a deviation factor under section 61.30(11)(a)10, and this page does not invent that deviation.
Start with Florida Statutes section 61.30 in the 2026 compilation on the Florida Senate site or Online Sunshine, and with the Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Program page on how support amounts are set. The Department of Revenue notes that online calculators are for information only and that a court or agency may consider factors that are not part of an estimate.
Estimate only. This page is an educational tool, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for the official guidelines schedule, a court worksheet, or advice from a qualified attorney. Nothing you enter is stored or sent to us from this page itself. Compare every figure with the current statute before you rely on it.