Ohio child support calculator
Enter both parents' yearly gross income, the number of children and the overnights with you. See the monthly estimate under Ohio's guideline, line by line as on the state's worksheet.
- Ohio's own schedule, the Basic Child Support Schedule (JFS 07767, revised 6/2023) that courts and agencies must use.
- Shared by income, with a self-sufficiency reserve so a low earner keeps enough to live on.
- 10% less for the paying parent with a court-ordered 90 or more overnights a year.
How Ohio calculates child support
Ohio uses an "income shares" guideline. The Basic Child Support Schedule lists, for combined yearly incomes from $8,400 to $336,000 in $600 steps, what parents are presumed to spend on one to six children. Each parent owes a share in proportion to their income. The share of the parent the children live with is presumed spent on them directly; the other parent's share becomes the order (R.C. 3119.07).
The steps follow the state's Sole/Shared Child Support Computation Worksheet (JFS 07768), and the calculator shows its line numbers. Ohio works in yearly amounts and divides by 12 at the end. The schedule now in force is revision 6/2023, promulgated by Ohio Administrative Code rule 5101:12-1-17 (current version effective April 1, 2026).
| 1. Yearly income | Each parent's gross income from all sources, taxable or not (R.C. 3119.01). Minus credits for other children they support, court-ordered spousal support they pay, and health insurance premiums for a parent ordered to cover the children (Lines 1 to 13). |
|---|---|
| 2. Income shares | Add the two incomes. Each parent's share is their income divided by the total, to two decimals (Lines 16 and 17). |
| 3. Schedule amount | Look up the combined income and the number of children, and multiply by each parent's share. Also look up each parent's own income alone (Lines 18a to 18c). |
| 4. The lower one | Each parent's basic obligation is the lower of the two lookups, but not less than $960 a year, the $80-a-month minimum (Line 18d; R.C. 3119.05(G)(3) and 3119.06). |
| 5. Adjustments | 10% off with 90 or more court-ordered overnights; benefits the children get on a parent's record come off; that parent's share of work-related child care is added (Lines 19 to 22). |
| 6. Monthly order | The yearly amount ÷ 12, plus a separate cash medical amount shared by income (Lines 23 to 30). |
Example: $60,000 and $30,000 a year, two children
Ohio doesn't publish a worked example of a full calculation, so this one is ours, worked by hand from the worksheet and checked in our tests. These are the calculator's starting numbers: you earn $60,000 a year, the other parent $30,000, and the children live with the other parent.
| Combined income: $60,000 + $30,000 | $90,000 |
|---|---|
| Your share: $60,000 ÷ $90,000 | 66.67% |
| Schedule amount for $90,000, two children | $18,770.00 |
| Your share of it: 66.67% × $18,770 | $12,513.96 |
| Schedule amount for your income alone ($60,000) | $12,926.00 |
| The lower of the two, per year | $12,513.96 |
| Monthly child support: $12,513.96 ÷ 12 | $1,042.83 |
| Plus cash medical: $1,020.42 × 66.67% ÷ 12 (2024 manual figure, may since have changed) | $56.69 |
| Monthly total, before the 2% processing charge | $1,099.52 |
If a court order gave you 90 or more overnights a year, your yearly amount would drop by 10%: $12,513.96 − $1,251.40 = $11,262.56, or $938.55 a month ($995.24 with cash medical). With a lower income the reserve does more: a parent earning $20,400 with one child, when the other parent earns $60,000, pays $1,560 a year, the amount for their own income alone, instead of their $3,037.30 share of the combined amount. That's $130.00 a month.
Ohio's special rules
Incomes between rows. The schedule moves in $600 steps. For an income between two rows, the law lets the court or agency use the higher row, the lower row, or a proportional amount in between (R.C. 3119.05(G)(2)); the worksheet and manual don't choose. The calculator uses the proportional amount and shows the other two results. One printed cell is a dollar lower than the row above it (three children: $38,526 at $240,600, $38,525 at $241,200); the calculator uses the cells exactly as printed.
Parenting time. The 10% reduction for 90 or more overnights comes from R.C. 3119.051 (effective March 28, 2019). Above 90 overnights the court must also consider a deviation, and at 147 or more, if it doesn't deviate, it must state its reasons in the order (R.C. 3119.231). With shared parenting the court uses the same worksheet and may deviate (R.C. 3119.24). Ohio law doesn't say which parent pays when time is close to equal, so near 50/50 the calculator also shows the amount the other way round.
Child care and cash medical. Work-related child care for children 12 and under is capped per child and shared by income; a parent in the shaded area pays at most 50% (R.C. 3119.05(P)). Every order also includes cash medical support, $510.21 a child a year in the August 2024 guideline manual, shared by income (R.C. 3119.30). Rule 5101:12-1-99 now lists an April 2026 manual, which we haven't been able to check, so these two figures may have changed. Ohio also charges the paying parent a processing fee of 2% of the support collected (R.C. 3119.27); it is not part of the guideline amount.
| Combined under $8,400 | The minimum order: $80 a month for all the children (R.C. 3119.04 and 3119.06, effective April 3, 2024). The court or agency may go lower, or to zero, for example for a disability. |
|---|---|
| Shaded area | The gray cells of the schedule are the self-sufficiency reserve: up to $39,000 for one child, $74,400 for two, $91,200 for three, $108,000 for four, $121,800 for five and $133,200 for six. A parent there pays the lower of the amount for their own income and their share of the combined amount. |
| Combined over $336,000 | Set case by case, considering the children's needs and standard of living, and no less than the amount at $336,000 unless that would be unjust (R.C. 3119.04). The calculator shows that floor. |
| Seven or more children | The three-child amount × 1.440 for seven, up to × 2.182 for fifteen or more (R.C. 3119.05(C)(4)). |
Questions people ask
How is child support calculated in Ohio?
Add both parents' yearly gross income and find the amount for that combined income and the number of children in the Basic Child Support Schedule. Each parent's share follows their part of the combined income, but a parent in the low-income shaded area pays no more than the amount for their own income alone. The parent the children don't live with pays their share, less 10% with a court-ordered 90 or more overnights, plus their share of work-related child care, divided by 12. Cash medical support is added on top.
What is the minimum child support in Ohio?
$80 a month for all the children in the order (R.C. 3119.06). On the worksheet this is the $960-a-year floor. The court or agency may order less, or nothing, for example when the paying parent has a documented disability or is institutionalized, or in other circumstances it considers appropriate.
Does more parenting time lower child support in Ohio?
Yes, at 90 overnights a year. When a court-ordered parenting time order gives the paying parent 90 or more overnights, Ohio reduces that parent's yearly amount by 10% (R.C. 3119.051). Above 90 overnights the court must also consider a further deviation, and at 147 or more it must explain in the order if it doesn't grant one (R.C. 3119.231). There is no set formula for that second step.
What if our income is between two rows of the schedule?
The law lets the court or agency use the higher row, the lower row, or a proportional amount between them (R.C. 3119.05(G)(2)). This calculator uses the proportional amount and lists what the lower and higher rows would give, so you can see the range.
What if we earn more than $336,000 together?
Above the schedule, the court or agency sets support case by case, looking at the children's needs and standard of living and the parents'. The combined amount should be no less than the amount at $336,000 unless the court or agency finds that unjust or inappropriate (R.C. 3119.04). Ohio's official calculator does not cover these incomes; this one shows that minimum.
Does Ohio count a new spouse's income?
No. When it calculates a parent's income, the court or agency may not include income earned by that parent's spouse (R.C. 3119.05(E)). Child support received for other children isn't counted as income either.
Updated November 8, 2026. Sources: Ohio Revised Code chapter 3119 (sections 3119.021, 3119.04, 3119.051 and 3119.231 effective March 28, 2019; 3119.06 effective April 3, 2024; 3119.05 effective March 20, 2025); Ohio Adm.Code 5101:12-1-17 (effective April 1, 2026); JFS 07767 Basic Child Support Schedule (Rev. 6/2023); JFS 07768 Sole/Shared Child Support Computation Worksheet (Rev. 3/2019); JFS 07766 Child Support Guideline Manual (Rev. 8/2024; child care maximums and cash medical, which the April 2026 revision may change). An estimate, not legal advice: the court or the county child support enforcement agency sets the actual amount, and guidelines allow deviations. Not affiliated with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, any Ohio agency or court.