How to Use the Ohio Child Support Calculator
Enter what you know and press Calculate Estimate. The calculator follows the Ohio child support worksheet (JFS 07768) and the basic child support schedule in Ohio Revised Code § 3119.021. Ohio works from annual income, so the calculator multiplies your monthly figures by 12 and shows the result per month.
- Enter each parent's gross monthly income as Parent A and Parent B.
- Choose the number of children (1 to 6) and the parent the children live with most of the time.
- Enter the overnights per year the children spend with the other parent. At 90 or more overnights under a court order, Ohio gives that parent a 10% reduction.
- Add monthly child care and the child's health insurance premium, and say which parent pays them.
Your numbers are sent with the form, not placed in the page address, and this site does not store them. This is a planning estimate. An Ohio court or child support enforcement agency decides the actual amount.
New Ohio Child Support Laws and Changes for 2026
Looking for new child support laws in Ohio for 2026? Ohio's basic child support schedule is set by R.C. § 3119.021, which requires the Department of Job and Family Services to update it every four years for inflation (CPI-U) and the federal poverty level. The most recent update took effect in June 2023 (JFS 07767, rev. 6/2023): the income figures were adjusted for the change in the CPI-U since March 2016, and the self-sufficiency reserve was reset to 116% of the 2023 federal poverty guideline for one person. This calculator uses that schedule.
In March 2026 ODJFS announced amendments to the Ohio Child Support Guideline rule (OAC 5101:12-1-17) and the guideline manual (JFS 07766), effective April 1, 2026, after a five-year rule review. The announcement does not say that the schedule amounts or the self-sufficiency reserve changed. The next four-year schedule update is due around 2027. Check ODJFS for later changes.
A change in the schedule does not automatically change an existing order. To use a new schedule you generally have to ask for a review or modification.
How Ohio Calculates Child Support
Ohio uses the income shares model, but its worksheet has a few features that most states do not:
- Find each parent's annual gross income, then subtract allowed adjustments: the cost of supporting other minor children, health insurance premiums the parent pays, and spousal support paid.
- Add the adjusted incomes to get the combined adjusted annual income, and find each parent's percentage share.
- Look up two amounts on the schedule: the obligation based on each parent's own income alone, and the obligation based on the combined income multiplied by that parent's share.
- Each parent's basic obligation is the lower of those two amounts, with a minimum of $960 a year.
- Subtract the 10% parenting time credit if the parent has a court order for 90 or more overnights a year.
- Add the parent's share of work-related child care, minus what that parent already pays.
- Divide by 12 for the monthly child support, and add the parent's share of cash medical support.
The parent who does not have the children most of the time pays their own total to the other parent. The result is a presumption: a court can deviate, with findings, under R.C. 3119.22 to 3119.24.
The Ohio Basic Child Support Schedule
The schedule covers 1 to 6 children, with rows every $600 of annual income from $8,400 to $336,000. If income is below $8,400, the obligation is $960 a year. A small sample:
| Combined annual income | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children |
|---|
| $24,000 | $2,126 | $2,520 | $2,832 |
| $48,000 | $8,154 | $9,326 | $9,326 |
| $72,000 | $11,348 | $16,526 | $16,526 |
| $96,000 | $12,925 | $19,283 | $22,773 |
| $120,000 | $14,594 | $21,736 | $25,629 |
| $180,000 | $18,276 | $27,118 | $31,858 |
Notice that at $48,000, two or more children show the same amount. That is the schedule's self-sufficiency reserve (shaded in the official schedule). At lower incomes, the schedule limits how fast the obligation can rise so a paying parent keeps enough income to live on. If income falls between two rows, Ohio's manual lets the court use the higher row, the lower row, or an amount in between, and this calculator uses the proportional amount in between. For combined incomes above $336,000, the court sets support case by case, and the calculator stops there.
Parenting Time Credit and Shared Parenting in Ohio
Ohio reduces a parent's annual obligation by 10% when a court has issued, or is issuing, an order for parenting time of 90 or more overnights a year (R.C. 3119.051). Enter the other parent's overnights and the calculator applies the credit automatically. If the parents want a different adjustment for extended parenting time, they must ask the court for a deviation (R.C. 3119.231).
Ohio does not have a separate shared-custody formula like many states. For shared parenting plans, the court starts from the same worksheet and may deviate under R.C. 3119.24. This calculator shows the worksheet amount and does not predict a deviation.
Ohio Child Support Examples
In each example the children live with Parent A, and Parent B is the other parent. The calculator shows child support plus cash medical per month.
Example 1: Two children, no parenting time order
A earns $4,000 and B earns $6,000 a month: $48,000 and $72,000 a year, combined $120,000. The schedule gives $21,736 for two children, and B's 60% share is $13,041.60. That is lower than the $16,526 the schedule gives for B's income alone, so B's annual obligation is $13,041.60, or $1,086.80 a month. Adding $51.02 of cash medical gives $1,137.82 a month.
Example 2: 100 overnights
Same incomes. With a parenting time order of 100 overnights, B's obligation falls by 10% ($1,304.16): $1,029.14 a month.
Example 3: Child care
Same as Example 1, with $500 a month of child care paid by A. B's 60% share of $6,000 a year is $3,600, but the schedule's self-sufficiency rules do not reduce it here, so B pays the whole share on top of the basic amount: $1,387.82 a month.
Example 4: Health insurance paid by B
Same as Example 1, with B paying $200 a month for the children's health insurance. The $2,400 a year comes off B's income before the shares are worked out, so B's share and the combined schedule amount both fall: $1,116.13 a month.
Example 5: Lower income
A earns $1,000 and B earns $1,500 a month, with one child. B's own-income schedule amount is $1,440 a year, which is lower than B's share of the combined amount ($2,355.60), so B owes $120 a month plus $25.51 of cash medical: $145.51 a month.
Example 6: Income below the schedule
B earns $300 a month ($3,600 a year), below $8,400. The minimum obligation of $960 a year applies, or $80 a month, plus $15.94 of cash medical: $95.94 a month.
These are illustrations produced from the worksheet's steps, not court rulings.
What Counts as Income in Ohio
For wage earners, Ohio uses gross income: salary, wages, overtime, bonuses and commissions. It also counts self-employment income (after ordinary and necessary business expenses), dividends, interest, rent, royalties, unemployment, workers' compensation, pensions and other income. It does not count means-tested public assistance. The worksheet lets you subtract a parent's health insurance premiums, spousal support paid under a court order and a credit for other minor children the parent supports. Benefits received by a child because of a parent (derivative benefits) are subtracted from that parent's obligation after the other adjustments.
Frequently Asked Questions About Ohio Child Support
Is this the official Ohio child support calculator?
No. ChildSupportCalculator.xyz is an independent tool and is not affiliated with the State of Ohio. It follows the schedule in R.C. 3119.021 and the JFS 07768 worksheet. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services runs the official Ohio Child Support Calculator, and a court or agency decides actual amounts.
How is child support calculated in Ohio?
Ohio converts each parent's income to an annual figure, looks up the schedule amount for each parent's own income and for the combined income, and uses the lower of the parent's own-income amount and the parent's share of the combined amount. It then applies a parenting time credit, adds child care and cash medical, and divides by 12.
Are there new child support laws in Ohio in 2026?
The schedule was last updated in June 2023, and R.C. 3119.021 calls for an update every four years. ODJFS amended the guideline rule and manual effective April 1, 2026, but its announcement did not say the schedule changed. Existing orders do not change automatically.
Does Ohio use gross or net income?
Gross income. Ohio uses annual gross income minus allowed adjustments such as health insurance premiums, spousal support paid and a credit for other minor children.
How does parenting time affect child support in Ohio?
If a court orders parenting time of 90 or more overnights a year, that parent's obligation is reduced by 10%. A different adjustment needs a court deviation. Ohio has no separate shared-custody formula.
What is cash medical support in Ohio?
It is a fixed amount of $510.21 per child a year for ordinary medical expenses, divided by the parents' income shares. Costs above that are extraordinary medical expenses.
What is the minimum child support in Ohio?
If a parent's income is below $8,400 a year, the obligation is $960 a year, or $80 a month, plus cash medical support. A court can deviate.
What is the maximum income in the Ohio child support schedule?
The schedule goes up to $336,000 of combined annual income. Above that, the court determines support case by case.
Does this calculator include medical expenses, arrears or modification?
It includes cash medical but not extraordinary medical costs, arrears or modification. Check with your county child support enforcement agency, the court or an attorney.
Does the Ohio calculator need my personal details or a login?
No. This site needs no login and does not store your numbers.
