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Virginia Child Support Calculator
Estimate Virginia child support with the 20-108.2 income shares guideline, including the shared custody formula for more than 90 days, child care and health coverage.
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How to Use the Virginia Child Support Calculator
Enter what you know and press Calculate Estimate. The calculator follows Va. Code § 20-108.2: it adds both parents' gross incomes, finds the basic obligation in the state schedule, adds health coverage and child care, and divides the total by income. If one parent has the children more than 90 days a year, it switches to the shared custody formula.
- 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 days per year the children spend with the other parent. Up to 90 days uses the sole custody formula. More than 90 days uses the shared custody formula.
- Add monthly child care and the child's health care coverage cost, 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. A Virginia court or the Division of Child Support Enforcement decides the actual amount. This page covers Virginia, not West Virginia.
New Virginia Child Support Laws and Changes for 2026
Looking for new child support laws in Virginia for 2026? The current guideline is Va. Code § 20-108.2. Its history shows the most recent amendment is Chapter 702 of the 2025 Acts of Assembly (Senate Bill 805), which updated the schedule of monthly basic child support obligations. This calculator uses the schedule as it appears in the statute today, with rows every $50 from $350 to $42,500 of combined gross income.
The Child Support Guidelines Review Panel reported to the General Assembly in November 2025. Its report did not recommend any further change to the schedule. It recommended changes to how income is imputed (§ 20-108.1) and to the wording of court orders (§ 20-60.3). We did not find that those recommendations had been enacted as of this review. Check the Code of Virginia for later changes.
A change in the guideline does not automatically change an existing order. To use the new schedule you generally have to ask the court to modify the order.
How Virginia Calculates Child Support (Income Shares)
Virginia uses the income shares model on gross income. Under § 20-108.2:
- Find each parent's monthly gross income, minus allowed deductions (half of self-employment tax, spousal support paid, support paid under another order, and an amount for other children in the home).
- Add the incomes together to get the combined monthly gross income.
- Look up the basic child support obligation for that income and number of children. If the income falls between two rows, the amount is extrapolated.
- Add the child's health, vision and dental coverage cost and work-related child care. This is the total monthly child support obligation.
- Divide the total between the parents in proportion to their gross incomes.
- The noncustodial parent pays their share to the custodial parent, reduced by any health coverage cost the noncustodial parent pays directly.
The result is a rebuttable presumption: a court can order a different amount if it makes written findings that the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate.
The Virginia Schedule of Monthly Basic Child Support Obligations
The schedule in § 20-108.2(B) covers 1 to 6 children. It has a row for combined monthly gross income up to $350 and then a row every $50 up to $42,500. A small sample:
| Combined monthly gross income | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children |
|---|
| $3,000 | $554 | $836 | $1,045 |
| $5,000 | $872 | $1,304 | $1,637 |
| $7,500 | $1,099 | $1,621 | $2,049 |
| $10,000 | $1,251 | $1,824 | $2,308 |
| $15,000 | $1,635 | $2,369 | $2,957 |
| $20,000 | $1,990 | $2,853 | $3,525 |
For combined income above $42,500, the statute says to take the amount for $42,500 and add a percentage of the income above it: 2.6% for one child, 3.4% for two, 3.8% for three, 4.2% for four, 4.6% for five and 5.0% for six. For example, with two children and $50,000 combined income, the basic obligation is $4,792 + 3.4% × $7,500 = $5,047.
Virginia Shared Custody: The 90-Day Rule
If a parent has the children more than 90 days a year, Virginia uses the shared custody formula in § 20-108.2(G)(3) instead of the sole custody formula. A "day" is 24 hours, and an overnight shorter than 24 hours counts as half a day for each parent.
- Multiply the basic obligation by 1.4 to get the shared support need.
- Work out each parent's custody share: their days a year divided by 365.
- For each parent, multiply the shared support need by the other parent's custody share, then add the other parent's health coverage and child care costs.
- Multiply each total by that parent's income share.
- Subtract the smaller amount from the larger. The parent with the larger amount pays the difference.
The shared custody amount is the presumptive support, unless a parent shows that the sole custody amount is lower, in which case the lower amount applies. The calculator shows the shared result and tells you what the sole custody amount would be.
Virginia Child Support Examples
In each example the children live with Parent A, and Parent B is the noncustodial parent. Amounts are rounded to the cent.
Example 1: One child, sole custody
A earns $4,000 and B earns $6,000 a month, so combined income is $10,000. The schedule gives $1,251 for one child, and B's income share is 60%: $750.60 a month.
Example 2: Two children with child care and health coverage
Same incomes. The basic obligation is $1,824. Add $500 of child care and $100 of health coverage paid by Parent A: the total is $2,424, and B pays 60%: $1,454.40 a month.
Example 3: Noncustodial parent pays the health coverage
Same as Example 2, but B pays the $100 health coverage directly. B's 60% share is still $1,454.40, reduced by $100: $1,354.40 a month.
Example 4: Shared custody, 120 days
Same incomes and two children, with B having the children 120 days a year (32.9%). The shared support need is $1,824 × 1.4 = $2,553.60. A owes B about $335.82, and B owes A about $1,028.44. The difference is $692.62 a month.
Example 5: Nearly equal time with child care
Same incomes and two children with B having 182 days, and $500 of child care paid by A. B pays about $558.86 a month after the offset.
Example 6: Income above the schedule
A earns $30,000 and B earns $20,000, with two children. Combined income is $50,000. The basic obligation is $5,047, and B's 40% share is $2,018.80 a month.
These are illustrations produced from the statute's formulas, not court rulings.
What Counts as Income in Virginia
Virginia uses gross income from all sources: wages, bonuses, commissions, dividends, pensions, interest, trust income, annuities, capital gains, workers' compensation, unemployment and disability insurance benefits, veterans' benefits, spousal support received, rental income (minus reasonable expenses) and gifts or prizes.
It does not include public assistance, federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or child support received. If you searched for a "VA disability child support calculator": veterans' benefits and disability insurance benefits count as income in § 20-108.2(C), while SSI does not. If a child receives derivative benefits because of the parent's disability, the parent gets a credit for them.
What This Virginia Estimate Does Not Include
- Deductions from gross income: half of self-employment tax, spousal support paid, support paid for children in other cases, and the presumed deduction for other children in the home. Your gross income is used as entered.
- Unreimbursed medical and dental costs, which § 20-108.2(D) divides by income share separately from the monthly amount.
- The presumptive minimum order and the low-income exceptions in subsection B.
- Deviations, imputed income, split custody and cases that mix sole and shared custody.
- Arrears, modification and enforcement.
Virginia Child Support Terms
- Basic child support obligation
- The schedule amount for the combined gross income and number of children.
- Income share
- A parent's gross income divided by the combined gross income.
- Sole custody
- The noncustodial parent has the children 90 days a year or fewer, so the standard formula applies.
- Shared custody
- A parent has the children more than 90 days a year; uses the 1.4 shared support need.
- Custody share
- A parent's days a year divided by 365.
- DCSE
- The Virginia Division of Child Support Enforcement.
Frequently Asked Questions About Virginia Child Support
Is this the official Virginia child support calculator?
No. ChildSupportCalculator.xyz is an independent tool and is not affiliated with the Commonwealth of Virginia. It applies the guideline in Va. Code 20-108.2. The Division of Child Support Enforcement and the courts decide actual amounts.
How is child support calculated in Virginia?
Virginia adds both parents' gross monthly incomes, looks up the basic child support obligation in a schedule for the number of children, adds health coverage and work-related child care, and divides the total between the parents by income share. The noncustodial parent pays their share, reduced by any health coverage they pay directly.
What changed in Virginia child support in 2025 and 2026?
Chapter 702 of the 2025 Acts (Senate Bill 805) updated the schedule of monthly basic child support obligations in 20-108.2. A 2025 review panel did not recommend further schedule changes. Existing orders do not change automatically.
Does Virginia use gross or net income?
Gross income. Virginia counts income from all sources and then deducts items such as half of self-employment tax, spousal support paid and support paid under other orders.
How does shared custody work in Virginia?
If a parent has the children more than 90 days a year, Virginia uses the shared custody formula. The basic obligation is multiplied by 1.4, each parent's share is based on the other parent's days, and the smaller amount is subtracted from the larger. If the sole custody amount is lower, a parent can ask for it.
Is there a Virginia child support calculator for 50/50 custody?
Yes. Enter up to 182 days for the other parent and the calculator applies the shared custody formula. At equal time the result depends on the difference in the parents' incomes.
What is the maximum income in the Virginia child support schedule?
The schedule runs to $42,500 of combined monthly gross income. Above that, the statute adds 2.6% (one child) to 5.0% (six children) of the income over $42,500 to the schedule amount for $42,500.
Does VA disability count as income for child support in Virginia?
Veterans' benefits and disability insurance benefits are included in gross income under 20-108.2(C). Federal SSI is not. If a child receives derivative benefits, the parent gets a credit for them against the basic obligation.
Does this calculator include medical expenses, arrears or modification?
No. Unreimbursed medical and dental costs are divided by income share separately, and arrears and modification depend on your case. Check with the court, DCSE or an attorney.
Is this the calculator for West Virginia?
No. This page is for Virginia only. West Virginia has its own guidelines.
Official Virginia Child Support Resources
Published: October 12, 2026
Last reviewed: October 12, 2026
Researched and reviewed by Eric John, founder and editor, using official state statutes and guidance. How we build and check our calculators · Corrections
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