- Child support is not optional
- Child support cannot be waived
- Children are entitled to support
According to Civil Rule 90.3
Where you can find Civil Rule 90.3 :
Civil Rule 90.3 discusses the different calculations to figure out the child support amount. The specific calculation depends on your parenting plan. Civil Rule 90.3 discusses how to calculate for primary custody, shared custody, divided custody, and hybrid custody.
Parents in cases involving child custody (divorce and custody cases) must fill out the Child Support Guidelines Affidavit DR-305 [Fill-In PDF] form. Fill out the column for yourself if you are the Father or the Mother. You may also fill out the column for the other parent if you know the information.
Please view How to Fill out the Child Support Guidelines Affidavit
627 KB.
To figure out the child support for a primary custody arrangement, do the following calculation:
If the calculation results in a support amount below $50.00, the support amount will be $50.00 a month. The minimum calculation for a primary custody arrangement is $50.00.
If your AI is over $138,000, you may be eligible to use the high income cap. Rule 90.3 says that the portion of an adjusted annual income over $138,000 will not be used in calculating the child support amount, unless the other parent presents evidence showing the higher income should be used in the calculation. If the cap is used, the AI will be $138,000 for the calculation.
To figure out the child support for a shared custody arrangement, use the Shared Custody Child Support Calculation worksheet, DR-306 [Fill-In PDF]
To figure out the child support for a divided custody arrangement, use the Divided Custody Child Support Calculation worksheet, DR-307 [Fill-In PDF]
To figure out the child support for a hybrid custody arrangement, use the Hybrid Custody Child Support Calculation worksheet, DR-308 [Fill-In PDF]
Rule 90.3 and the commentary lists other allowable deductions. Deductions allowed by Civil Rule 90.3 are not the same as those allowed for federal taxes.
The CSED Child Support Calculator may be able to help you calculate deductions if you know your gross wages.
New in 2023: If your total income is $30,000 or less, follow these steps to figure out your deductions.
When figuring out your annual adjusted income (gross income – deductions), you may deduct for:
For example:
You earn $40,000 gross wages/year.
6% of your wages goes into a mandatory retirement account ($40,000 x .06 = $2,400).
3% of your wages goes into a voluntary retirement account (deferred compensation, 401(k), TSP). ($40,000 x. .03 = $1,200).
Your total retirement contributions are 9% of gross wages. However, the total allowed deduction for both mandatory and voluntary retirement contributions is 7.5 % of total income. Because you have a mandatory 6% contribution, you can only deduct 1.5% of the voluntary contribution ($40,000 x .015 = $600). Both the mandatory contribution of $2,400 + the voluntary contribution of $600 = $3000.
So for this example when filling out the Child Support Guidelines Affidavit DR-305 [Fill-In PDF] Deductions in section B, next to:
First, figure out how much time the older children live with you. Is it a primary custody arrangement or a shared custody arrangement? Once you figure out the custody arrangement, review the Prior Child Deduction chart to figure out how much to deduct.
If primary custody, figure out how much child support you would pay for the children if you were paying support. You can use the CSED calculator by inputting your annual gross income. It will provide a child support amount. Take that amount and write it into the Child Support Guidelines Affidavit, DR-305 [Fill-In PDF] as a deduction in the appropriate spot "In-kind support for prior children of a different relationship calculated under 90.3(a)(1)(D)."
If shared custody, figure out the deduction by reviewing the Prior Child Deduction chart which provides the calculation. Take that amount and write it into the Child Support Guidelines Affidavit form, DR-305 [Fill-In PDF] as a deduction in the appropriate spot "In-kind support for prior children of a different relationship calculated under 90.3(a)(1)(D)."
Be aware that the total amount allowed as a deduction is capped by the higher amount of either:
For example of a capped deduction,
Mother has 40% shared custody of 2 prior children. Mother’s child support order for these 2 prior children is $6,000 per year. Mother’s current adjusted annual income is $20,000 per year. Based on her current adjusted annual income, Mother’s primary support amount for the 2 prior children if they were her only children would be $5,400 per year ($20,000 x 27% = $5,400) (under Civil Rule 90.3(a)(2) calculation).
Math:
90.3(a)(2) primary $5,400
x 90.3(b) custody percent 40%
= 90.3(a)(1)(D) in-kind $2,160
+ 90.3(a)(1)(C) actual $6,000
= total allowed deduction $8,160 $6,000
$8,160 is more than what Mother is allowed to deduct because $8,160 is more than the (a)(2) primary amount of $5,400 and more than the (a)(1)(C) ordered amount of $6,000. Mother is limited to the higher of the (a)(2) amount or (a)(1)(C) amount. In this example, the higher amount is $6,000, so $6,000 is Mother’s total allowed deduction. Mother can deduct $6,000 for prior child support and $0 for in-kind prior child support.
Parents can deduct their out-of-pocket cost of their own health insurance premiums, including medical, dental and vision coverage, with the following limits:
For example, for a parent with health insurance that they pay the premiums for their own insurance, the deduction is calculated as:
| Parent with Individual Health Insurance | Dollars ($) |
|---|---|
| Gross monthly income | 4,000 |
| Health insurance premium | (500) |
Health insurance deduction |
(400) |
| Income for 90.3 child support calculation | 3,600 |
You can deduct life insurance premiums if the beneficiary of the policy is the other parent, or children you and the other parent have together. If you pay more than $1200 in premiums, you can only deduct $1200. If you have other beneficiaries (besides the other parent or children you have together), you can only deduct the part of the premium that covers the other parent or your children.
For example: Your premium is $150 each month. The beneficiaries are 2 children you have with the other parent and 1 child you have with someone else. That means 2/3 of the premium can be deducted (2 of the 3 people covered are the other parent or your children). $150 / 3 is $50, so it costs $50 for each person. 2 x $50 is $100. It costs $100 for the two children you have with the other parent in this case. You can deduct $100 each month, or $1200 each year.
The child support order will include information about the child(ren)’s health insurance coverage and the cost to cover just the child(ren). If the children are able to receive free medical services through the Indian Health Service or the military, the order will note it. If health insurance is available to one or both parents for free or at a reasonable cost, the child support order will state which parent must get health insurance. In general, the court considers the cost of health insurance to be reasonable if it is 5% or less than the adjusted annual income of the parent who may be required to purchase the insurance. Usually the order will split the cost of health insurance between the parents, although the court may order unequal payments if there is a good reason.
An obligor's child support obligation will be decreased by the amount of the obligee's portion of health insurance payments ordered by the court and actually paid by the obligor. A child support award will be increased by the obligor's portion of health insurance if the obligee is ordered to, and actually does obtain and pay for insurance. So you need to figure out how much it costs to insure just the child(ren) included in the child support order.
If the cost of covering the parent alone is the same as the cost of covering the parent and child(ren), then there is no additional cost to the parent for adding the child(ren); no portion of the cost of coverage may be allocated to the children. If dependent coverage can be added for a single cost, rather than per child, and the child(ren)’s coverage covers other child(ren) in addition to the child(ren) subject to the order, the cost to cover the child(ren) will be divided equally among all of the children covered by the insurance.
See the child health insurance diagram to figure out the cost to insure just the child(ren).
When the court issues a parenting plan or a custody and visitation order, it must issue a child support order based on Civil Rule 90.3. The parents cannot agree to waive child support or to have a specific amount that is lower than the calculated amount. The parents can agree on what is reasonable income to use for a parent for the calculation which should be based on their earnings and current and past employment history. There may be flexibility on the start date for the child support order.
If the parents decide not to follow the child support order, the debt will accrue based on the ordered amount. If one parent decides at a later date to enforce the child support order, the court is likely to find the obligor parent owes the full back support amount. So it is always a good idea to save the full monthly child support amount so that if the other parent enforces the order, you will have enough to pay him or her. Remember, child support is required to financially support your children.
explaining
It depends.
CSED is not automatically involved in your case unless the parent who receives child support is getting a public benefit. Usually, one party must apply for services.
Both the court and the CSED have the authority to issue child support orders. However, the child support orders come about in different ways. The court must issue a child support order when it decides the custody and visitation arrangement for a child in a case involving divorce, dissolution, or custody between unmarried parents. The CSED issues an order when one parent requests child support because the parents have split up and the parent taking care of the child(ren) wants the other parent to pay support for the child. Sometimes a parent will have a CSED support order and then file a custody case in court later. If the court issues a child support order that is different from the CSED order, the court’s child support order takes priority and replaces the CSED order.
There must be a change in circumstance:
Where you file depends on who issued the child support order you want to modify.
The court often orders the person who owes child support to apply for their own PFD. You can ask the PFD Office if someone has applied by calling:
Anchorage: (907) 269-0370
Fairbanks: (907) 451-2821
Juneau: (907) 465-2326
Toll-free: (800) 733-8813
No, the Attorney General’s office who represents CSED does not want you to send it copies of modification papers.
If both parents agree to reduce the amount of back owed child support (called arrears) and neither was receiving public assistance from the State of Alaska, they can file a written agreement.
If either parent was receiving public assistance and the obligor parent was supposed to be paying child support to the state of Alaska, then CSED must agree to reduce any back owed child support to the State before the parents can agree to a reduction between them. Contact CSED to request a reduction in the amount of arrears owed to the State.
Anchorage Child Support Enforcement Division |
You can also visit CSED's forms page for more information. The website includes forms about forgiveness of arrears.
The U.S. Department of State's Office of Children's Issues has a web page addressing international child support enforcement.
This website has forms and information for all of the stages of the case. You can also find information about specific topics such as divorce, parenting and custody, paternity, property and debt division and dividing retirement benefits.
| Rev. 15 December 2023 © Alaska Court System www.courts.alaska.gov |
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