Utah child support guidelines

How does Utah calculate child support?

Utah uses income shares: each parent pays a share of one combined support amount. This page uses Utah Code §81-6-204, with the edition effective September 1, 2024, confirmed against the official text on October 15, 2026. The base combined child support obligation table is in §81-6-304; the low income table is in §81-6-305.

Gross income can include wages, bonuses, rent, benefits, and other earned or unearned income (§81-6-203). Necessary business expenses are deducted from self-employment receipts, and annual gross income is divided by 12 when possible (§81-6-203). Adjustments include alimony previously ordered and paid, previously ordered child support, and applicable statutory credits (§81-6-204).

The base table covers up to six children; additional children may justify an added amount (§81-6-204). Above the table’s highest income level, the court sets an appropriate amount case by case, no lower than the highest table amount for that number of children (§81-6-204). For sole physical custody, each parent’s adjusted gross income divided by combined adjusted gross income gives their share of the base obligation; the minimum base award is $30 (§81-6-205). Worksheet income and support figures are rounded to the nearest dollar (§81-6-204).

How does parenting time affect support?

Utah State Courts describes joint physical custody as at least 111 overnights a year with each parent (§81-6-101). The joint-custody calculation starts with each parent’s income-based share. For the parent with fewer overnights, it subtracts the base combined obligation multiplied by (.0027) for each overnight over 110 and under 131, plus (.0084) for each overnight over 130 (§81-6-206).

Under an equal parent-time schedule, the lower-income parent is counted as having 183 overnights, even when the actual count is 182 (§81-6-206). Equal time therefore does not automatically mean no support. Outside the joint-custody calculation, extended parent-time can reduce the per-child base award by 50% for at least 25 of any 30 consecutive days, or 25% for at least 12 of any 30 consecutive days (§81-6-211). That separate reduction does not apply to joint-custody obligations (§81-6-211).

What else changes the Utah amount?

The base award is not the entire support calculation. Utah State Courts identifies base support, medical care, and child care expenses as separate guideline components.

• Child care: Parents generally share reasonable work-related expenses equally (§81-6-209). For orders entered or modified on or after January 1, 2027, the statute also provides for a minimal child care award, subject to exceptions (§81-6-209).
• Health insurance: Parents generally share equally the premium actually paid for the child’s portion of coverage (§81-6-208).
• Uninsured care: Reasonable and necessary uninsured or unreimbursed medical and dental expenses are generally shared equally, including deductibles and co-payments (§81-6-208).
• Other children: Previously ordered child support and applicable statutory credits can affect adjusted income (§81-6-204).
• Low income: Utah has a separate low income table (§81-6-305). A minimal child care award cannot be ordered when support is calculated using that table (§81-6-209).
• Departures: A deviation means an order differs from the guideline. It must be identified through a written finding or a checked worksheet deviation box with an explanation (§81-6-202).

When does support end or change?

Support generally continues until age 18 or high school graduation during the normal and expected graduation year, whichever occurs later (§81-6-213). Other emancipation events can end support earlier. Utah State Courts explains that support may continue for a disabled child who remains dependent (§81-6-104).

An existing amount generally continues unless there is a substantial change of circumstances or an adjustment allowed by statute (§81-6-212). A new calculator result alone does not replace the order.

For official calculations, Utah State Courts provides the Child Support Calculator and Child Support Worksheets. MyPaperwork calculates support and prepares worksheets for divorce, custody, or parentage papers. Utah State Courts self-help materials explain the process, and the Utah Office of Recovery Services (ORS) helps establish and enforce financial and medical support.