North Carolina child support calculator
Enter both parents' monthly gross income, the number of children and the overnights they spend with you. See the estimate under North Carolina's guidelines, line by line, as on the state's worksheets.
- North Carolina's own schedule, from the Child Support Guidelines in force since January 1, 2023, and the new 2027 edition for cases heard on or after January 1, 2027.
- Shared by income: each parent's share follows their part of the combined adjusted gross income.
- All three worksheets: primary custody, shared custody (123 nights or more with each parent) and split custody.
How North Carolina calculates child support
North Carolina uses an "income shares" model: a child should get the same share of the parents' income as if they lived together. A schedule sets the basic amount for the parents' combined income and the number of children, and each parent is responsible for a share in proportion to their income. The Conference of Chief District Judges sets the guidelines under G.S. 50-13.4(c1), and courts must use them unless they find a reason to deviate and write it down.
The court works the numbers on one of three official worksheets: A for primary custody, B for shared custody and C for split custody. The calculator picks the worksheet from the overnights you enter and shows each line, so you can compare it with the official forms.
Two editions. The guidelines in force took effect on January 1, 2023. A new edition, adopted on October 7, 2026, takes effect on January 1, 2027. Each edition applies "to child support actions heard on or after that date", so it is the hearing date that counts. The calculator starts with the edition in force today and lets you switch.
| 1. Gross income | Income from any source before taxes and other deductions: wages, commissions, bonuses, self-employment profit, rent, pensions, Social Security, unemployment, gifts and prizes, and alimony from someone other than the other parent. Means-tested benefits (TANF, SSI, food and nutrition benefits) and child support received for other children don't count. The schedule already has taxes built in. |
|---|---|
| 2. Adjusted gross income | Subtract current child support a parent actually pays for other children (not arrears), and the basic schedule amount for the parent's other children living with them (worksheet line 2). |
| 3. Income shares | Each parent's adjusted gross income divided by the combined amount (line 3). |
| 4. Schedule amount | Look up the combined adjusted gross income and the number of children (1 to 6) in the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations. Between two rows, the amount "should be interpolated": the calculator takes the straight-line value between them. |
| 5. Added costs | Work-related child care, the children's health insurance premium and any extraordinary expenses the court allows are added and shared by income. A parent who pays them directly gets credit. |
| 6. The worksheet | A: the parent with fewer than 123 nights pays their share. B: the basic amount × 1.5, each parent's share weighted by the other parent's time, then offset. C: each parent's share for the children living with the other parent, then offset. |
| 7. The order | A monthly amount, due on the first day of each month (G.S. 50-13.4(c)). The guidelines set no rounding rule; the calculator rounds each line to the cent and says so next to the result. |
A worked example: $8,000 combined, two children, Worksheet A
The guidelines and worksheets contain no full numeric example, so this one is ours, worked line by line on Worksheet A. One parent earns $5,000 a month and has the children 80 nights a year; the other earns $3,000, has the children the rest of the year and pays $400 a month of work-related child care. The paying parent pays $200 a month for the children's health insurance. These are the calculator's starting numbers.
| Worksheet A line | 2023 edition | 2027 edition |
|---|---|---|
| 2. Combined adjusted gross income | $8,000.00 | $8,000.00 |
| 3. Paying parent's share: $5,000 ÷ $8,000 | 62.50% | 62.50% |
| 4. Schedule, $8,000 row, two children | $1,727.00 | $1,847.00 |
| 5d. Child care $400 + insurance $200 | $600.00 | $600.00 |
| 6. Total child support obligation | $2,327.00 | $2,447.00 |
| 7. Paying parent's 62.50% share | $1,454.38 | $1,529.38 |
| 8. Minus the insurance the paying parent pays | −$200.00 | −$200.00 |
| 9. Recommended child support order | $1,254.38 | $1,329.38 |
Line 7 is $1,454.375 and $1,529.375 before rounding; we round half up to the cent. The paying parent's $5,000 is far above the shaded low-income area of the schedule ($2,150 for two children in 2023, $2,500 in 2027), so the usual worksheet applies.
Overnights: primary, shared and split custody
A parent has primary physical custody of a child who lives with them 243 nights or more a year. Visits of fewer than 123 nights don't change the amount: the guidelines' schedule leaves out the costs of visitation. Legal custody doesn't matter for any of this.
Custody is shared when a child lives with each parent at least 123 nights a year and each parent pays the child's expenses during their time. Then Worksheet B multiplies the basic amount by 1.5 for the cost of two homes. Each parent's share is multiplied by the percentage of nights the children spend with the other parent, and the parent with the higher amount pays the difference. If only some children are shared, Worksheet B still applies, and the nights of every child are counted (the total is 365 × the number of children).
Custody is split when each parent has primary custody of at least one child and no child is shared. Worksheet C divides the basic amount by the number of children in each home, and each parent owes their income share for the children living with the other parent.
| 0 to 122 nights | Worksheet A: the other parent has primary custody, and you pay your share. |
|---|---|
| 123 to 242 nights | Worksheet B: shared custody, if each parent really shares the expenses. |
| 243 nights or more | Worksheet A: you have primary custody, and the other parent pays their share. |
| Children in both homes | Worksheet C when each parent has at least one child 243 nights or more; Worksheet B as soon as any child is shared. |
Low income, high income and other children
Self-support reserve. The shaded cells of the schedule protect the paying parent's own living costs. If the paying parent's adjusted gross income falls in the shaded area and Worksheet A is used, support comes from that parent's income alone, and child care and insurance are not added (paying them can be a reason to deviate). In the 2023 schedule, the shaded area runs up to $1,750 of the paying parent's income for one child, $2,150 for two, $2,500 for three, $2,800 for four, $3,100 for five and $3,450 for six. The guidelines say not to apply it with Worksheets B and C. For example, a paying parent with $1,900 a month and two children owes $453 under the 2023 schedule and $304 under the 2027 one.
Minimum order. For a paying parent with adjusted gross income under $1,150 a month, the 2023 guidelines require a minimum order of $50, absent a deviation; the 2027 guidelines raise this to $100 under $1,600. This rule sits in the guidelines' self-support reserve section, and the guidelines say not to apply the self-support reserve with Worksheets B and C, so the calculator applies the minimum order only with Worksheet A and shows the Worksheet B or C amount as it comes out.
High income. The schedule stops at $40,000 a month of combined adjusted gross income ($480,000 a year) in the 2023 edition and $50,000 ($600,000 a year) in the 2027 edition. Above that, the court sets support for the children's reasonable needs, and the schedule "may be of assistance" in finding a minimum level. The calculator then shows the top-row result as a reference only.
Other children. Current support a parent actually pays for other children comes off their income, but payments on arrears don't. For a parent's own or adopted children living with them, the guidelines deduct "the basic child support obligation for these children, based on the parent's income" without saying which income; the calculator uses the schedule amount at the parent's gross income. Alimony paid is not deducted, though the court may consider it.
Not covered here. A child living with a third party (both parents then owe support to the custodian), more than six children (the schedule stops at six), Social Security or VA benefits paid to a child on a parent's record (they count as that parent's income and can be credited against that parent's support), and deviations. The court can order uninsured medical costs above $250 a child a year, which the schedule already includes, to be shared separately.
Changing an order. If an order is at least three years old, a difference of 15% or more between it and the guidelines amount under current incomes is presumed to be a substantial change of circumstances.
| Self-support reserve | 2023: $1,133 a month (the 2022 federal poverty level for one person). 2027: $1,330 (the 2026 level). |
|---|---|
| Minimum order | 2023: $50, under $1,150 of adjusted gross income. 2027: $100, under $1,600. |
| Shaded area, one child | 2023: up to $1,750. 2027: up to $2,000 (two children: $2,500; six: $3,900). |
| Top of the schedule | 2023: $40,000 a month combined. 2027: $50,000. |
| Health insurance | Only the children's part of the premium. It is reasonable at up to 5% of the parent's gross income (G.S. 50-13.11(a1)). |
Questions people ask
How is child support calculated in North Carolina?
Add both parents' monthly adjusted gross income and look up the combined amount and the number of children in the guidelines' schedule, interpolating between rows. Add work-related child care, the children's health insurance and any extraordinary expenses, and split the total by income. With primary custody, the other parent pays their share minus the costs they pay directly. With shared or split custody, both parents' amounts are worked out and the higher one pays the difference.
Which guidelines apply, 2023 or 2027?
It depends on the hearing date. The 2023 guidelines apply to child support actions heard before January 1, 2027, and the 2027 guidelines to those heard on or after that date. The 2027 edition has a new schedule, a $100 minimum order for paying parents under $1,600 a month, a higher self-support reserve and a schedule that goes up to $50,000 a month. The calculator lets you compare both.
How many overnights count as shared custody in North Carolina?
At least 123 nights a year with each parent, with each parent paying the child's expenses during their time. Then Worksheet B applies: the basic amount is multiplied by 1.5 and each parent's share is weighted by the other parent's time. With fewer than 123 nights, the amount doesn't change for visitation time.
What if the paying parent has a low income?
If the paying parent's adjusted gross income is in the shaded area of the schedule and Worksheet A applies, support is based on that parent's income alone, without child care or insurance, to protect a self-support reserve. Below $1,150 a month (2023 edition) the guidelines call for a minimum order of $50; under the 2027 edition it is $100 below $1,600. With shared or split custody (Worksheets B and C), the guidelines say not to apply the self-support reserve, so the calculator shows the worksheet amount. The court can deviate.
Is there a maximum child support amount in North Carolina?
There is no fixed cap on the order. The schedule stops at $40,000 a month of combined adjusted gross income in the 2023 edition and $50,000 in the 2027 edition. Above that, the court sets support for the children's reasonable needs case by case, and the schedule may help it find a minimum level.
Do my other children lower the amount?
They can. Child support you actually pay for other children under an order, a separation agreement or a voluntary arrangement comes off your income (payments on arrears don't). For your own or adopted children who live with you and aren't part of this case, the schedule amount for them is deducted too. Paying for two or more families can also be a reason for the court to deviate.
Updated November 9, 2026. Sources: North Carolina Child Support Guidelines, AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/23 (effective January 1, 2023, in force) and AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/27 (effective January 1, 2027, for actions heard on or after that date; adopted October 7, 2026; October 22, 2026 file); Worksheets A, B and C, AOC-CV-627, AOC-CV-628 and AOC-CV-629 (Rev. 1/23); G.S. 50-13.4 and G.S. 50-13.11. An estimate, not legal advice: the court sets the actual amount, and the guidelines allow deviations. Not affiliated with any North Carolina agency or court.