Georgia Family Law Tools
Georgia Child Support Calculator
Estimate child support under Georgia's guidelines effective January 1, 2026, including the current parenting time and low-income adjustments.
Then learn what can affect the amount and what your Georgia child support estimate may mean for your family.
This calculator provides an estimate based on the information you enter and Georgia's child support guidelines effective January 1, 2026. It is not legal advice or a guarantee of what a court will order. A judge may use different income figures, approve adjustments or deviations, or consider details this calculator cannot evaluate. Using this calculator does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you have questions about your circumstances, talk with a Georgia family law attorney.
Need a More Personalized Estimate?
An online child support calculator cannot decide whether income should be imputed, which business expenses should count, or whether a deviation is appropriate. Share a few details with a Georgia family law attorney and learn what may raise, lower or otherwise change your estimate.
Beyond the number
What Can Change Your Georgia Child Support Estimate
Your estimate is based on the numbers you enter. The final Georgia child support amount may change if the court uses different income information, applies an adjustment or finds that a deviation would better serve the child's needs. These are some of the most common reasons an estimate and a court order may differ.
Georgia uses an income shares model, which means both parents' income matters. Gross income may include wages, bonuses, commissions, overtime, self-employment income, rental income, certain benefits and other sources—not just a regular paycheck.
If a parent does not provide reliable income records or is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court may use earning capacity or impute income based on the available evidence.
Business income can be harder to calculate than wages. Georgia generally looks at gross receipts minus ordinary and reasonable expenses needed to produce income. An expense allowed on a tax return does not always reduce income for child support.
Georgia changed how parenting time affects child support on January 1, 2026. The former discretionary parenting time deviation was replaced with a parenting time adjustment calculated on Schedule C.
The adjustment uses court-ordered parenting days. Those days should reflect the schedule established in the parents’ Georgia parenting plan. Parenting time is generally measured using overnights, although regular recurring daytime hours may be converted into days in some circumstances.
The portion of a health insurance premium paid for the child and qualifying work-related childcare costs are added to the calculation and generally divided according to each parent's share of combined adjusted income.
Future uninsured healthcare expenses are usually divided between the parents by the same income-based percentages unless the court orders another arrangement, but those future expenses are not included in the monthly child support amount.
An existing child support order that a parent is actually paying may reduce adjusted income. A court may also allow an adjustment for other qualified children living with and supported by a parent. These rules are detailed, so an estimate may change if the supporting records or legal requirements are disputed.
Georgia's 2026 low-income adjustment can limit a parent's obligation when adjusted income falls within the state's low-income table. The official Georgia calculator performs this comparison automatically.
When the parents' combined adjusted gross income is more than $40,000 per month, the court starts with the highest amount in Georgia's Basic Child Support Obligation Table and may consider an upward deviation based on the child's best interests.
The guideline result is a rebuttable presumption, not an automatic final answer. A court may approve a higher or lower amount when the required findings support a deviation and the change serves the child's best interests.
Possible deviations can involve extraordinary educational, medical or child-rearing expenses; substantial parenting-time travel costs; life or other health-related insurance; alimony payments; housing provided for the child; high income; or another circumstance supported by the evidence.
What Does This Mean for Your Situation?
Your result gives you a useful starting point for a budget or a conversation about support. It may change if income is disputed, a parent owns a business, the parenting schedule is not reflected in a court order, or additional adjustments or deviations apply.
A Georgia family law attorney can review what went into your estimate, explain the Georgia child support worksheet and help you prepare for the next step.
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Attorney-reviewed answers to common questions about Georgia child support calculations, parenting time and modifications.
Georgia uses an income shares model under O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15. The calculation starts with each parent's monthly gross income and applies permitted adjustments to find their combined adjusted income. Georgia's Basic Child Support Obligation Table provides a starting amount based on that combined income and the number of children.
Each parent receives a percentage of that obligation based on their share of the combined income. The worksheet then applies the parenting time adjustment, adds the child's health insurance premiums and work-related childcare costs, applies any supported deviations, and performs the low-income comparison when required.
You can also review the official Georgia Child Support Calculator provided by the Georgia Child Support Commission. Parents do not have to be married for child support to apply. Learn how paternity and legitimation work in Georgia.
Changes effective January 1, 2026 replaced the former parenting time deviation with a parenting time adjustment on a new Schedule C. The update also replaced the low-income deviation with a low-income adjustment that the official state calculator applies automatically.
The parenting time adjustment is based on court-ordered parenting days. Existing child support orders do not change automatically simply because the guidelines changed. A parent generally must request a modification and meet Georgia's legal requirements.
Under Georgia's current guidelines, court-ordered parenting time is part of the child support calculation. The Schedule C formula accounts for expenses the noncustodial parent has during parenting time and may reduce that parent's share of the basic support obligation.
For child support purposes, parenting time is usually measured by overnights. Certain shorter but regular daytime periods may be converted into days by dividing the recurring hours by 24. The law uses an annual average based on a two-year period. If there is no court order awarding parenting time, the adjustment is not used.
No. Equal parenting time does not automatically make child support zero. Both parents' income, health insurance, childcare and other adjustments still matter. When a child lives equally with both parents, Georgia generally treats the parent with the higher gross income as the noncustodial parent for the child support calculation.
Use our parenting time calculator to compare schedules, then enter the applicable court-ordered parenting days into the Georgia child support calculator.
Georgia's definition of gross income is broad. It can include salaries, tips, commissions, bonuses, overtime, self-employment income, rental income, interest, dividends, recurring retirement income, certain disability or unemployment benefits, and other income.
Determining income may be more complicated when earnings change, a parent owns a business, or the court must decide whether a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.
The calculator can provide a useful estimate when the information entered is complete and accurate. It cannot decide disputed income questions, evaluate evidence, determine whether parenting time is legally established, or predict whether a judge will approve a deviation. The final amount in a court order may be different.
Yes. A parent may request a modification when there has been a substantial change in either parent's income and financial status or in the child's needs. Georgia also has timing rules for repeat modification requests and exceptions involving parenting time or an involuntary loss of income.
The 2026 guideline changes do not automatically rewrite an existing order. For information about state review, payment and enforcement services, visit the Georgia Division of Child Support Services’ child support order review and modification page.
Georgia child support generally continues until a child reaches the age of majority, dies, marries or becomes emancipated, whichever happens first. A court may continue support for a child who reaches the age of majority while still enrolled in and attending secondary school, but support cannot be required after the child turns 20 under this provision.
The wording of the order matters, especially when more than one child is covered or a child is close to finishing high school.
Tools & Resources
Explore More Georgia Family Law Calculators
Child support may be only one part of the financial picture. Use our other free Georgia calculators to organize information and prepare questions about divorce, alimony, property and legal costs.
Need Help Understanding Your Georgia Child Support Estimate?
Whether you are preparing for divorce, establishing support for the first time or considering a modification, the number is only part of the answer. A Georgia family law attorney can review the income, parenting schedule and expenses behind your estimate and explain what may happen next.
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