Georgia Child Support Calculator (2026): State Guidelines

How Georgia calculates child support

Georgia uses an "income shares" model. A table sets the basic amount parents with a given combined income are presumed to spend on their children each month. Each parent is responsible for a share in proportion to their income. The noncustodial parent, the one the children live with less than half the time, pays their share to the custodial parent, adjusted for court-ordered parenting time and for health insurance and child care costs (O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(b)).

The steps follow the Georgia Child Support Worksheet that courts use, as the Child Support Commission's official calculator (version 2.1, released January 2, 2026) computes it. The calculator here shows each line, so you can compare it with the official worksheet. The official calculator needs an account and a reCAPTCHA, so we can't run it ourselves: our results follow the Commission's published method and reproduce its worked examples to the cent.

1. Gross income	All income from any source before taxes: wages, overtime, bonuses, self-employment income, Social Security and VA disability benefits, unemployment, alimony from someone outside the case and more. Child support received for other children and means-tested benefits such as TANF, SNAP and SSI don't count ((f)(1)-(2)).
2. Adjusted income	Subtract one-half of self-employment tax (6.2% plus 1.45% of self-employment income), support paid under an earlier order, and, if the court allows it, 75% of a theoretical order for other children living with the parent ((f)(5)). Alimony paid is not subtracted.
3. Income shares	Each parent's adjusted income divided by the combined amount. The official calculator rounds the percentages to two decimals (66.67%).
4. Table amount	Look up the combined adjusted income and the number of children in the table, which runs from $800 to $40,000 a month in $50 steps for 1 to 6 children. Between rows, use the "most closely matched" row ((b)(4)). Each parent's share is their percentage of that amount.
5. Parenting time	Since January 1, 2026, the noncustodial parent's share is reduced by a formula based on each parent's court-ordered days a year ((g)). There is no minimum number of days.
6. Costs	The children's health insurance premium and work-related child care are added and split by income share; the parent who pays them gets credit ((h)). The result is the presumptive amount.
7. Low income	Since January 1, 2026, a parent whose adjusted income is within the low-income table pays the lesser of the presumptive amount and the table amount ((i.1), (p)).
8. The order	Deviations, if the court finds them, and a Social Security or VA benefit paid to the children on the noncustodial parent's record come next. The official calculator rounds the final amount to a whole dollar.

The Commission's example: 120 days a year

The Georgia Child Support Commission's guide to the 2026 changes shows this worksheet: one child, a custodial parent with $10,335 a month and a noncustodial parent with $6,250 a month and 120 court-ordered days a year. These are the calculator's starting numbers, with you as the noncustodial parent.

2. Combined monthly adjusted income: $10,335 + $6,250	$16,585.00
3. Income shares: $6,250 ÷ $16,585 and $10,335 ÷ $16,585	37.68% / 62.32%
4. Table amount, $16,600 row, one child	$1,777.00
5. Shares: 37.68% and 62.32% of $1,777	$669.57 / $1,107.43
6. Parenting time adjustment: 120 days and 245 days, each to the power of 2.5 ((g)(2)(B))	−$255.46
8. and 10. Noncustodial parent's presumptive amount: $669.57 − $255.46	$414.11
Final amount, rounded to a whole dollar as the official calculator does	$414

The adjustment in line 6 is (120^2.5 × $1,107.43 − 245^2.5 × $669.57) ÷ (120^2.5 + 245^2.5) + $669.57 = $255.46. The Commission's Parenting Time Formula Tool shows the same steps on another case: 100 and 265 days with shares of $800 and $700 give an adjustment of $120.66, leaving $679.34. With no court-ordered days in the example above, the noncustodial parent would pay the full $669.57, or $670 a month.

Parenting time and the 2026 changes

SB 454 (2024) rewrote Georgia's guidelines in two steps. The new table took effect on July 1, 2024. On January 1, 2026, the old parenting time deviation and low-income deviation, which were left to the court's judgment, were replaced by two formulas that apply in every case: the parenting time adjustment and the low-income adjustment.

Parenting time is counted in days a year, as the average over a two-year period: the overnights a parent has, or for regular daytime visits, the hours divided by 24 ((a)(17.1)). Only court-ordered time counts. Without a court order for parenting time, support is calculated without the adjustment ((g)(1)(C)). If the children have different schedules, the days are averaged.

The formula raises each parent's days to the power of 2.5, so the adjustment grows slowly with a few days and faster as time gets closer to equal. With exactly equal time, the custodial parent is the one with the lower gross income ((a)(9)), and the noncustodial parent owes half of the difference between the two shares. With near-equal time, if the custodial parent earns more, the result can be negative, and then the custodial parent pays ((b)(9)).

0 court-ordered days	No adjustment: the noncustodial parent pays their full share.
Any days from 1 up	The formula in (g)(2)(B): the adjustment is subtracted from the noncustodial parent's share.
120 of 365 days	In the Commission's example above, one child and a 37.68% share: $255.46 off $669.57.
Equal time	182.5 days each: the higher earner owes half of the difference between the two shares. With $6,000 and $3,000 and two children: ($1,204.73 − $602.27) ÷ 2 = $301.23, or $301.

Low income, high income and other rules

Low-income adjustment. When a parent's own adjusted income is within the low-income table, the support is the lesser of the presumptive amount and the table amount ((i.1)). At or below $1,500 a month, the table amount is 19% of income for one child, 24% for two, 25% for three, 26% for four, 27% for five and 28% for six. Above $1,500 the table lists dollar amounts, up to $2,450 of income for one child, $2,950 for two, $3,350 for three, $3,550 for four, $3,750 for five and $3,950 for six. For example, a parent with $2,000 of adjusted income and two children whose share would be $546.61 pays the table's $522. The Commission's guide shows the adjustment on both parents' lines: with adjusted incomes of $800 and $1,261.50 and one child, the shares of $154.85 and $244.15 are capped at 19%, which is $152.00 and $239.69. There is no minimum order in the 2026 law.

Where the official calculator and the law's wording differ. We follow the official calculator in two places. First, it applies the low-income adjustment before deviations, while the law says to apply it to the amount "as changed by deviations" ((b)(8)); this estimate has no deviations, so it gives the same result. Second, it applies the adjustment when income equals the table's last amount (for example exactly $2,450 for one child), while the law says "less than the highest amount". The calculator's notes point out either case when it comes up.

High income. The table ends at $40,000 a month of combined adjusted income. Above that, the basic obligation is the table's highest amount ($3,222 for one child, $4,736 for two, up to $7,375 for six), and the court or the jury may consider an upward deviation ((i)(2)(A)).

Deviations. The court or the jury can raise or lower the amount with written findings, for example for high income, life insurance, travel costs, alimony, a mortgage, or extraordinary educational, medical or special expenses ((i)). Special expenses such as summer camp or lessons count only above 7% of the basic obligation. In the Commission's example, special expenses of $175 a month on a basic obligation of $1,083 give 7% = $75.81, so $99.19 may be considered as a deviation.

Not covered here. Split parenting (each parent has at least one child most of the time), expenses paid by a nonparent custodian, deviations, and the two-year step-down worksheets for children about to age out use extra steps on the official worksheet.

Health insurance	Only the premium for the children in this case. If it isn't known, divide the premium by the people covered and multiply by these children: in the Commission's example, $150 for three children, two of them in this case, gives $100 ((h)(2)).
Child care	Work-related care, projected over the next 12 months and averaged, after any subsidy ((h)(1)).
Uninsured medical	Not in the monthly amount. Split later by the income percentages unless the court orders otherwise ((h)(3)).
Social Security, VA	A benefit paid to the children on the noncustodial parent's record counts as support from that parent; if it is larger, nothing more is paid ((f)(3), (f)(3.1)).

Questions people ask

How is child support calculated in Georgia?

Add both parents' monthly adjusted income and look up the combined amount and the number of children in the table in O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15. Each parent owes a share in proportion to their income. The noncustodial parent's share is reduced for court-ordered parenting time, then their share of the children's health insurance and work-related child care is added, minus what they already pay. A parent with a low income pays no more than the low-income table allows. The official calculator rounds the result to a whole dollar.

How much is child support for one child in Georgia?

It depends on both parents' incomes. With a combined adjusted income of $6,000 a month, the table amount for one child is $1,009. A parent who earns 66.67% of the combined income owes $672.70, or $673 a month, before parenting time and other costs. With 100 court-ordered days a year, the parenting time adjustment brings it to $592.

How does parenting time change child support in Georgia?

Since January 1, 2026, the noncustodial parent's share is reduced by the parenting time adjustment, a formula based on each parent's court-ordered days a year, with no minimum number of days. Days are the yearly average over two years. With equal time, the higher earner owes half of the difference between the two shares. With near-equal time, the custodial parent can end up paying if they earn more. Time that isn't in a court order doesn't count.

What if a parent has a low income?

Since January 1, 2026, a parent whose own adjusted income is within the low-income table pays the lesser of the presumptive amount and the table amount. At or below $1,500 a month, that is 19% of income for one child up to 28% for six children; above that, the table lists amounts up to $2,450 of income for one child and $3,950 for six. The old low-income deviation, with its $100-a-month floor, was repealed. If the court finds a parent could earn more, it can count income that parent doesn't have.

Is there a maximum child support amount in Georgia?

There is no cap on the order itself. The table ends at $40,000 a month of combined adjusted income; above that, the basic obligation is the table's highest amount, $3,222 for one child up to $7,375 for six children, and the court or the jury may consider an upward deviation for high-income parents.

Does Georgia use gross or net income for child support?

Gross income, before taxes. The only tax subtracted is one-half of self-employment tax for a self-employed parent. Support paid under an earlier order and, if the court allows it, 75% of a theoretical order for other children living with the parent also come off. Alimony a parent pays is not subtracted, though the court can consider it as a deviation.

Georgia child support calculator

Georgia child support estimate