How is Child Support Calculated in Florida?

How is Child Support Calculated in Florida?

How is Child Support Calculated in Florida?Many people in Florida are curious or confused as to how child support is actually calculated. There are many factors that go into a child support calculation, the first being the parties’ respective incomes. The child support calculator starts with your gross income and automatically deducts any State or Federal taxes you are paying. Another important factor is how many overnights each parent has with the child (or children).  Typically, the more overnights a parent has, the lower their child support will be. A third factor used in a child support calculation will be any health insurance costs the parents are paying for themselves or on behalf of the child.

Other factors that may be applicable in a child support calculation are the costs of childcare (if any), any mandatory union dues a parent may be paying, and any mandatory retirement costs a parent may be paying.  Once all of the above numbers are agreed-upon, they will be plugged into a computer program that automatically calculates the guideline child support number.  In the vast majority of cases, the Judge will order child support exactly as calculated by the child support program. However, the Judge does have the discretion to deviate from that number by plus or minus 5% if there is sufficient reason to do so.

Chris Wilson
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Chris Wilson

Chris has been a Family Law and Criminal Law attorney since 2001. He is an attorney with the Jacksonville Law Firm of Harris Guidi Rosner, P.A.