Who writes the pages
Support Kept is an independent site run by its owner. Pages and calculators are built from the primary sources below and checked against them, with the help of software tools. We don't put invented names, bylines or credentials on the site, and no lawyer has reviewed the pages.
Where our numbers come from
We use primary sources only:
- the state's own law: its child support guideline statute, court rules and the official guideline schedule;
- official state worksheets, instructions and tax charts, and the state child support agency's own pages and calculator;
- federal agencies for the figures they set: the IRS (tax rules), the U.S. Census Bureau (child support statistics), and the HHS Office of Child Support Services.
Other calculator sites, law firm blogs, news stories and forums are never a source for a number. If one of them says a rule changed, we go to the official source and use that. Every page ends with an "Updated" line naming its sources and the date.
Each state's formula, exactly as its law writes it
States use different models, and many update their schedules every few years. For each state we read the current statute and schedule, note the date it took effect, and build the calculator step by step from that text. Where the law leaves something to the court, such as a deviation from the guideline, the page says so rather than guessing.
How we test the calculators
- Each state's math lives in its own file. Automated tests check it against the state's own worked examples, to the dollar, wherever the state publishes them (in its statute, worksheet instructions or tax charts), and against the edge cases its law names: income caps, low-income rules and shared-parenting thresholds.
- Tables such as a state's support schedule are copied into the site by a program from the official document, and checked row by row, not typed by hand.
- We open each page in a real browser on a desktop screen, an iPhone-sized screen and a 320-pixel-wide screen, and check that it fits, works and shows the same numbers.
A second review checks every new page
Every new page gets a separate review whose only job is to find what's wrong: a number that doesn't match its source, a rule stated more broadly than the law allows, anything that sounds like legal advice, a confusing sentence, a broken link, or a layout that breaks on a phone.
Estimates, not legal advice
Our calculators show what a state's guideline formula gives for the numbers you enter. The court or the state child support agency sets the actual amount, may count income or parenting time differently, and may order a different amount when the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate. So we don't tell anyone what to do in their case, don't give tips on paying less or getting more, and don't collect contact details or refer people to lawyers. Each calculator links to the state's own child support agency and, where one exists, the state's official calculator.
Not affiliated with any state
Support Kept is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by any state agency, court or federal agency. We don't use state seals or logos, and every page says so.
How to report an error
Email hello@supportkept.com with the page, what you think is wrong and, if you have it, a link to the official source. We check every report against the primary source, and if we got it wrong, we fix the page and update its date. Fixes are listed on our updates page.
Independence: ads and affiliate links
We plan to support the site with a small number of Google AdSense ads. Advertisers have no say in what we write or how the calculators work. Our rules:
- no pop-ups, full-screen ads, "wait 5 seconds" screens, or redirects you didn't click;
- no ads inside a calculator or between its inputs and its result;
- few ads per page. If ads make pages slow, we cut ads first.
We have no affiliate links today. If we add one later, there will be at most one affiliate block on a page, never inside a calculator, always marked: "Some links are affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you." A commission or an ad never changes a calculation or what we say about a rule.
Updated November 8, 2026. See also About Support Kept, How we calculate and our privacy policy.