Calculating Child Support

Calculating child support is one of the key discussions during any divorce or allocation of parental responsibilities. Colorado uses a formula based on the gross income of both parties, along with expenses for the child, including child care, medical expenses, and educational expenses, to determine the amount of child support. This article is a very general overview of how the formula works.

The following items are considered income for purposes of calculating child support:

  • Wages: Anything you get paid by your employer.

  • Income from self-employment: Gross income minus reasonable business expenses.

  • Monetary gifts: Any money you receive from other people.

  • Interest and dividends: Money earned on any savings or investment accounts.

  • Expense reimbursements from your employer, if they are significant and reduce living expenses.

  • Maintenance: Support payments you receive from your spouse.

  • Rental income: If you own a rental property, the net income after your expenses.

  • Social security benefits.

  • Workers’ compensation benefits.

  • Unemployment.

  • Disability insurance benefits.

  • Monetary prizes, such as lottery winnings.

The following are NOT considered income for child support purposes:

  • Overtime, if it is voluntary and not required by your employer.

  • Income from a second job that results in more than 40 hours of work per week.

  • Benefits from a means-tested public assistance program (i.e., food stamps).

  • Gains on a retirement account (as long as the parent is not withdrawing money from the account).

Both parent’s gross incomes are entered into the child support worksheet. Next, the number of overnights the child has with each parent is entered into the worksheet. If the number of overnights with one parent is 92 or fewer, Worksheet A will be used. If both parents have more than 92 overnights, Worksheet B is used.

Next, each parent gets credit for the following expenses:

  • Work-related child care costs

  • Health insurance premiums (for the parent who agrees to cover the child)

  • Educational expenses (such as private school, if agreed to by the parties)

  • Extraordinary medical expenses (uninsured expenses greater than $250 per calendar year, unless changed by the parties) 

  • Extraordinary travel expenses (if there is a long-distance parenting plan in place)

All of these items are input into the proper child support worksheet (A or B) to determine how much child support is due.

If you’d like to get an idea of what your child support will be and you live in Colorado, you can visit the Colorado Judicial Branch website and use Family Law Software to calculate child support: https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/self-help/calculate-support-payments.

Do you have additional questions about how child support is calculated? Call Katelyn today!

Child SupportKatelyn ParkerChild Support, Money, Children