Virginia Child Support Estimate — For discussion purposes only. Not legal advice.
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Based on Virginia Code § 20-108.2 — For estimation purposes only
Virginia doesn't publish an official online child support calculator. The state gives you the statute and three worksheets and leaves the math to you. So we built one. It runs the same worksheets the courts use, on the schedule that took effect July 1, 2025, and it shows you every line of the calculation instead of just the answer.
Virginia uses an "income shares" model under Va. Code § 20-108.2. The idea: figure out what the two of you would spend on the kids if you were still under one roof, then split that number in proportion to what each of you earns. Four steps.
Gross means before taxes, from every source. Wages, overtime, commissions, bonuses, self-employment, rental income, pensions, Social Security, spousal support you receive. A few things come off the top: spousal support you pay under an order or written agreement, child support you actually pay for other children, reasonable business expenses if you're self-employed, and half of your self-employment tax. Public assistance and SSI don't count.
The statute has a table. Find the row for your combined monthly income, read across to the number of children, and that's the basic obligation. The table runs from $0 to $42,500 a month. Above $42,500 the court starts with the top-of-table amount and adds a percentage of the excess (2.6% for one child, more for larger families).
The children's portion of health, dental and vision premiums gets added, and so does childcare you pay so you can work or go to school. Unreimbursed medical and dental bills work differently: they're split by income share as they come up and aren't part of the monthly number.
If you earn 60% of the combined income, you're responsible for 60% of the total obligation. The parent without primary custody pays their share to the one who has it, less anything they already pay directly (the insurance premium, for example).
Shared custody applies when each parent has the children for more than 90 days a year. A day is 24 hours, with a twist: when the parent with fewer overnights has the child overnight but for less than a full 24 hours, the law presumes each parent gets half a day for it. On the shared worksheet (DC-640) the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.4, each parent's share of that bigger number is figured from the other parent's custody time, the two figures are netted, and the higher earner usually ends up paying. If the shared result comes out higher than the sole custody result, the lesser amount is what gets paid. And if either parent earns 150% of the federal poverty level or less, the shared number isn't presumed correct and the judge picks whichever worksheet is more just.
Split custody (DC-638) is for families where at least one child lives primarily with each parent. Each parent's obligation is calculated as if they were the noncustodial parent for the children living with the other, and the parent who owes more pays the difference.
The official forms, if you want to follow along: DC-637 (sole), DC-640 (shared), DC-638 (split).
Both use the same family so you can see how custody changes the answer. Jane earns $1,000 a month, John earns $5,000, one child.
Jane pays $500 a month for childcare and $500 for the child's health insurance.
| Combined monthly income | $6,000.00 |
| Jane's share / John's share of income | 16.67% / 83.33% |
| Basic obligation from the schedule (1 child at $6,000) | $999.00 |
| Plus work-related childcare | $500.00 |
| Plus health insurance | $500.00 |
| Total monthly obligation | $1,999.00 |
| John pays Jane (83.33% of the total) | $1,665.83 |
Jane pays $300 for childcare and $500 for insurance. John pays $200 for childcare on his days.
| Basic obligation (1 child at $6,000) | $999.00 |
| Shared support need (× 1.4) | $1,398.60 |
| Custody time: Jane 54.79%, John 45.21% | |
| Jane owes John: ($1,398.60 × 45.21% + $200 childcare) × 16.67% | $138.71 |
| John owes Jane: ($1,398.60 × 54.79% + $500 insurance + $300 childcare) × 83.33% | $1,305.30 |
| Net: John pays Jane | $1,166.59 |
| Sole custody comparison (same expenses, John's $200 credited) | $1,465.83 |
Two things the calculator flags on its own here. The shared amount is lower than the sole amount, so the lesser-amount rule doesn't kick in. And because Jane earns under 150% of the poverty level, the shared number isn't presumptive; a judge could pick the sole figure instead. You'd want to know that before you walk into a hearing, not after.
Senate Bill 805 gave Virginia its first new schedule since 2014. The cap on the table went from $35,000 to $42,500 in combined monthly income, and the amounts went up across the board to catch up with more than a decade of inflation. An order entered before July 2025 doesn't change on its own. To get the new numbers you file to modify, and the court applies the current schedule when it rules. If you're paying or receiving under an older order, run your numbers here and compare.
Add both parents' gross monthly incomes, find the basic obligation on the schedule in Va. Code § 20-108.2 for that combined income and number of children, add the children's health insurance premium and work-related childcare, then split the total by each parent's share of the combined income. When each parent has the children more than 90 days a year, the shared custody worksheet applies instead: the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.4 and split by custody time before the two parents' figures are netted.
No. The Virginia court system publishes the worksheets (DC-637 for sole custody, DC-640 for shared, DC-638 for split) and the statute publishes the schedule, but there is no state-run online calculator. The link on the Virginia State Bar website goes to a third-party tool behind a disclaimer. This calculator runs all three worksheets on the schedule that took effect July 1, 2025.
Usually, yes. Equal time puts you on the shared custody worksheet, but it doesn't cancel support. The basic obligation is multiplied by 1.4, each parent owes a share of that number based on the other parent's custody time and their own income share, and the two figures are netted. With a true 50/50 schedule the parent who earns more pays the difference. It only nets to zero when both incomes and both expense contributions are essentially the same.
The schedule tops out at $42,500 in combined monthly gross income (it was $35,000 before July 1, 2025). Above that, the court starts with the amount at $42,500 and adds a percentage of the income over it: 2.6% for one child, and higher percentages for more children. Judges also have more discretion at those income levels.
It depends on both incomes. Two examples from this calculator, sole custody, with no childcare or insurance added: if each parent earns $3,000 a month, the basic obligation at $6,000 combined is $999 and the noncustodial parent pays $499.50. If the custodial parent earns $3,000 and the other parent earns $4,333.33, the noncustodial parent pays $645.47. Childcare and health insurance get added on top of those figures.
$1,000 a week is $4,333.33 a month. What you'd pay depends on what the other parent earns and who has the children. If the other parent earns $3,000 a month, has primary custody of one child, and there's no childcare or insurance to add, your share is 59.09% of a $1,092.33 basic obligation, which is $645.47 a month. Run your actual numbers in the calculator above.
Nearly everything: wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, overtime, self-employment and business income, rental income, pensions, Social Security, disability benefits, workers' compensation, unemployment, spousal support you receive, gifts, prizes and awards. Not counted: TANF, SSI, food stamps, and child support you receive for other children. If you're self-employed, reasonable business expenses and half of your self-employment tax come off first.
The court can impute income. That means assigning a parent the income they could earn based on work history, education and the local job market, then running the guideline on that number instead of what they report. The calculator has an imputed income field under Income Adjustments so you can model it. Proving hidden income is a separate fight, and it's one we handle often.
At 18, with one common exception. If the child is still a full-time high school student, not self-supporting, and living with the parent who receives support, it continues until age 19 or high school graduation, whichever comes first. Support for an adult child who is severely and permanently disabled can continue longer. The payment projection on this page uses the graduation date you enter.
Yes. The guideline number is a rebuttable presumption. The judge has to start there but can go up or down for the reasons listed in Va. Code § 20-108.1(B), including a parent's other support obligations, special needs of the child, the standard of living during the marriage, independent financial resources of the child, and written agreements between the parents. If the judge deviates, the order has to state the guideline amount and explain why.
Yes, on a material change in circumstances: a job loss, a large raise, a change in the custody schedule, a new child. The change isn't retroactive past the date you file, so the filing date matters more than people expect.
A guideline estimate is where the conversation starts, not where it ends. Which income counts, whether the other side is underreporting, whether a deviation argument is worth making: those are the questions that move the number, and they're the ones we spend our days on. Schedule a discovery call and bring your share link.
Related: Virginia's child support guidelines for shared custody, explained · Working with a Roanoke child support lawyer · Virginia spousal support calculator
