An educational estimate based on the Pennsylvania basic child support schedule
Pennsylvania uses an income shares model in the Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules 1910.16-1 through 1910.16-7. Each parent starts with monthly net income under Rule 1910.16-2. Those net amounts are added together. The combined monthly net income is run through the basic child support schedule in Rule 1910.16-3 to find the basic child support obligation for the number of children. Each parent is responsible for a share of that obligation equal to that parent's percentage of combined monthly net income, under the formula in Rule 1910.16-4(a)(1)(Part C).
This page uses the basic child support schedule published in Rule 1910.16-3, as amended August 11, 2025, and effective January 1, 2026. The same order updated the high-income percentages in Rule 1910.16-3.1 and set the self-support reserve in Rule 1910.16-2(e)(1)(i) at $1,255 a month. The official Pennsylvania Code text was retrieved on November 6, 2026.
The numbers below show how the pieces fit together. They are an educational example, not a prediction for your case.
Rule 1910.16-3.1(a) applies when combined monthly net income exceeds $30,000. The preliminary basic obligation is the amount at the $30,000 schedule row plus a percentage of the excess: 4.0 percent for one child, 4.0 percent for two children, 4.7 percent for three children, 5.3 percent for four children, 5.8 percent for five children, and 6.3 percent for six children. The amounts at $30,000 are $3,749, $4,981, $5,803, $6,482, $7,130, and $7,750. That preliminary figure is then apportioned by each parent's share of combined monthly net income. The court also considers the child's reasonable needs. This page reports the preliminary formula amount and does not invent a separate reasonable-needs adjustment.
Rule 1910.16-2(e)(1)(i) sets the self-support reserve at $1,255 a month. If the paying parent's monthly net income is at or below that reserve, the rule says the court may award support only after considering the parties' actual financial resources and living expenses. This page does not invent that case-by-case number.
If the paying parent's monthly net income is above the reserve, Rule 1910.16-2(e)(1)(ii) compares two figures when the income and child count fall in the schedule's low-income area: the schedule amount using only the paying parent's monthly net income, and the ordinary combined-income formula. The court uses the lesser amount. The official HTML publication of Rule 1910.16-3 does not mark which cells are shaded. This page still performs both calculations whenever the paying parent's income has a listed schedule row, and it uses the lesser amount. Outside the low-income portion of the schedule, the combined-income figure is the lesser amount, so the result matches the ordinary formula.
If a child spends 40 percent or more of the annual overnights with the paying parent, Rule 1910.16-4(c) creates a rebuttable presumption that the basic obligation is reduced. Forty percent of 365 overnights is 146 overnights. The formula subtracts 30 percentage points from the paying parent's overnight percentage, then subtracts that difference from the paying parent's income-share percentage, and multiplies the basic schedule amount by the adjusted percentage. When the parents have equal physical custody, the higher-income parent is the paying parent for the basic obligation, and the lower-income parent is not required to pay basic support to the higher-income parent. If that calculation would leave the parent who receives support with more than half of the combined monthly net income, the rule requires the payment to be adjusted so that combined monthly net income is allocated equally.
Reasonable work-related child care and allocated health insurance premiums are added under Rule 1910.16-6. This page treats the childcare, health insurance, and unreimbursed medical amounts you enter as costs paid by the parent who receives support, and it adds the paying parent's income share of those amounts. It does not apply the federal child care tax credit reduction in Rule 1910.16-6(a)(6), because that credit depends on tax facts this page does not compute.
The court may deviate from the guideline amount after considering the factors in Rule 1910.16-5. This estimate does not apply those discretionary deviations.
The court combines both parents' monthly net income, looks up the basic child support obligation on the Rule 1910.16-3 schedule, and assigns each parent a share equal to that parent's portion of combined net income. Childcare and health insurance costs are generally allocated the same way. If the paying parent has at least 146 overnights, the court also applies the Rule 1910.16-4(c) shared-custody adjustment.
Rule 1910.16-2 starts with gross income and subtracts the listed deductions to reach monthly net income. 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 $30,000 of combined monthly net income. Rule 1910.16-3.1 then adds a fixed percentage of the excess to the $30,000 schedule amount and apportions that figure by income share. A court also considers the child's reasonable needs before entering a final high-income order.
If the paying parent's monthly net income is at or below the $1,255 self-support reserve, Rule 1910.16-2(e)(1)(ii)(C) tells the court it may award support only after considering actual resources and living expenses. This page does not invent that case-by-case number. Above the reserve, the page compares the paying-parent-only schedule amount with the combined-income formula and uses the lesser figure.
Yes, when the paying parent has at least 40 percent of the annual overnights. The required method is the percentage adjustment in Rule 1910.16-4(c), not an invented overnight discount. Equal physical custody has additional rules so that the lower-income parent does not pay basic support to the higher-income parent.
Start with Rules 1910.16-2, 1910.16-3, 1910.16-3.1, 1910.16-4, and 1910.16-6 on the official Pennsylvania Code site, and with the Pennsylvania child support program at the Department of Human Services. Online calculators are for information only, and a court 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 rules before you rely on it.