Calculating Child Support - Frequently Asked Questions
What is child support?
- The parents financial obligation to support their child(ren)
- Federal and state laws require that child support be ordered whenever the
court makes a custody order
- Child support is not optional
- Child support cannot be waived
- Children are entitled to support
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When do I owe child support?
- It will depend on your parenting plan.
- For child support purposes, the parenting schedule will be described with
one of the following words so that both you and the court know which formula
to apply:
- The custodial parent may request child support from the date the parents
separated (even if that was long ago).
- The order will tell you when you started owing child support, and when payments
are due.
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How is child support calculated?
- According to Civil Rule 90.3
- Variation from the rule is allowed only in very rare circumstances.
- Just because you might agree to vary does not mean the court will approve
or accept your agreement.
- Where you can find Civil Rule 90.3:
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What does Civil Rule 90.3 say?
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.
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How do I calculate child support for a primary custody arrangement?
To figure out the child support for a
primary custody arrangement, do the following calculation:
- Gross income Deductions = Adjusted Income (AI)
- AI x Percentage (see below) = Child Support
| 1 kid: 20% |
3 kids: 33% |
| 2 kids: 27% |
More kids: 3% for each |
- 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 $105,000, you may be eligible to use the high income cap. Rule 90.3 says that the portion of an adjusted annual income over $105,000 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 $105,00 for the calculation.
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How do I calculate child support for a shared custody arrangement?
To figure out the child support for a
shared custody arrangement, use the Shared Custody Child Support Calculation
worksheet, DR-306
PDF | Fill-In PDF
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How do I calculate child support for a divided custody arrangement?
To figure out the child support for a divided
custody arrangement, use the Divided Custody Child Support Calculation
worksheet, DR-307
PDF | Fill-In PDF
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How do I calculate child support for a hybrid custody arrangement?
To figure out the child support for a hybrid
custody arrangement, use the Hybrid Custody Child Support Calculation worksheet,
DR-308
PDF | Fill-In PDF
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So whats the hard part?
- You must claim income and deductions according to the rule
- income for tax purposes DOES NOT EQUAL income for child
support purposes
- deductions for tax purposes DO NOT EQUAL deductions for child support
purposes
- Pulling together the required paperwork (W-2s, tax returns, pay stubs) to
submit to the court.
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What counts as income?
- Generally, ANY AND ALL income or payments, including
- wages, disability, SSDI or unemployment
- employer in-kind benefits such as meals, housing or transportation
- non-taxable benefits such as military allowances for quarters, rations,
COLA and specialty pay
- But not
- income from need based public benefit programs like ATAP, TANF
or SSI
- one-time, lump sum payments
- See the detailed list in the Civil Rule 90.3 Commentary
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What can I subtract for deductions?
- Federal taxes, SUI, Medicare & Social Security actually OWED (not withheld)
- The CSSD
Child Support Calculator may be able to help you calculate this IF you
are filing as an individual, have no dependents and take the standard deduction,
and you are doing a primary custody calculation.
- Mandatory retirement contributions and union dues
- Childcare for this child so you can work.
- Other deductions as allowed by Civil Rule 90.3 Commentary.
- Deductions allowed by Civil Rule 90.3 are not the same as those allowed for federal taxes. Read Rule 90.3 and the commentary to see which deductions are allowed for child support.
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If I quit or take a lower paid job will
I pay less child support?
- Probably not.
- The court may order child support according to your potential
income, based on your work and earnings history.
- This is called imputing.
- The court is likely to impute if you are voluntarily and unreasonably
unemployed or underemployed.
- If you want the court to impute the other parent, you can file a Motion
to Impute. See information on motion practice
to learn how to file motions.
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What if I am self-employed?
- Income includes the gross receipts minus the ordinary and necessary expenses
required to produce the income.
- However depreciation rules for child support are different than for taxes.
- See the Commentary to Civil Rule 90.3 and an
attorney for more information.
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What if my income varies a lot from
year-to-year?
- Under certain circumstances, Rule 90.3 allows
for income averaging.
- Prepare an Income Affidavit, SHC-1210 (Word
| PDF) for each year, as well as a proposed
averaged DR-305 (PDF | Fill-In PDF)
with the completed calculation.
- An attorney can help you determine whether this is appropriate in your situation
and how best to make your argument.
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What paperwork do I need to file?
- Completed Child Support Affidavit
Form DR-305 PDF | Fill-In PDF
- Pay stubs for the last two weeks
- W-2s for the last two years
- Tax returns for the last two years
- Your affidavit
explaining
- any unusual circumstances, and
- what you want the court to do about these circumstances
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How do I file papers in court?
- Attach your paperwork to something: tell the court why you are filing these
papers!
- Fill out the Certificate of Service
- Make two copies of everything
- One set for you and one set for the other side
- File the original set in court.
- Send one set of copies to the other side
- Keep your set of copies in an organized folder with your other court papers
and things for your case
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What happens after the information
is filed?
- If the court does not receive any objection or opposition to what is filed,
it will make a decision and issue a child support
order.
- If you disagree with something about the information submitted by the other
side, you must object in writing as soon as possible (2-5 days) so that the
court will know you have concerns.
- See information on motion practice to learn more
about how to get your message to the judge.
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What happens if one side doesnt give
the court the information?
- It depends.
- The court could impute the income to $105,000 (the cap under the Rule).
- The court could impute based on the persons work history as described by
the other side or Department of Labor records.
- Other as the court decides.
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Can the court ask CSSD to do the calculations?
- Yes, but it will probably delay your case and the obligor is likely to go
into arrearages.
- If you have filed all the necessary paperwork with the court, and done the
calculations, then the court will usually issue its own order.
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So what about CSSD?
- Main job is to
- They can also
- Establish
- Review (by request, not more than once every 3 years)
CSSD 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.
- Application for Services of Child Support Services Division, DR-315
[Fill-In PDF]
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What is the difference between child support orders issued by the court and child support orders issued by CSSD?
Both the court and the Child Support Service Division (CSSD) 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 CSSD 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 CSSD support order and then file a custody case in court later. If the court issues a child support order that is different from the CSSD order, the court’s child support order takes priority and replaces the CSSD order.
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What about modifying?
- Going through the court
- To modify a court order only
- Going through CSSD
- To modify an administrative order or court order
- There must be a change in circumstance
- a 15% change in the amount of child support ordered (this means that when you calculate support based on the non-custodial parents current income now, it is 15% more or less than the current support order)
- Change in parenting plan that affects formula
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How do I find out how much money the
other parent makes?
- Once a year you can ask the other parent in writing to provide documents
such as tax returns and pay stubs showing their income for the prior calendar
year.
- Within 30 days of the written request, the other parent must provide
the documents to you.
- You must also provide the other parent with documentation of your annual
income for the same period that you are asking for their income information.
- Do NOT file the written request in court. It is just between the parties.
- You can only request the other parent's income information once a year.
However, within a court case you can request this information through the
discovery process.
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How can I find out if the opposing party applied for their PFD?
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:
Fairbanks:
Juneau:
Toll-free: |
(907) 269-0370
(907) 451-2821
(907) 465-2326
(800) 733-8813 |
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What do I file to modify?
- Through court:
- Through CSSD:
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Do I have to send copies of modification
papers filed in court to CSSD?
- Yes, if CSSD is collecting in your case.
- CSSD's lawyer is the Attorney General, so you need to send a copy of the papers
to:
Look at your case number to determine which office is handling your case:
Case numbers that begin with 1, 2 or 3:
Example: 1AN-08-8888, 2BA-08-8888
3AN-08-8888
|
Attorney General's Office
Collections and Support Division
1031 West Fourth Ave., Ste. 200
Anchorage, AK 99501 |
Case numbers that begin with 4:
Example: 4FA-08-8888 |
Attorney General’s Office
Collections and Support Section
100 Cushman St., Ste. 400
Fairbanks, AK 99701 |
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What can I do if the
obligor lives in a foreign country?
The U.S. Department of State's
Office of Children's Issues has a
web page addressing international
child support enforcement.
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Other resources
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Where do I find out more information about different stages of a case or specific topics?
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.
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Rev. 27 March 2013
© Alaska Court System
www.courts.alaska.gov
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