Virginia child support guidelines

How does Virginia calculate child support?

Virginia uses income shares: each parent pays a share of one combined support amount. The calculation starts with gross income, not take-home pay, under Code §20-108.2. Income includes wages, bonuses, pensions, unemployment, disability benefits, veterans' benefits, rental income, and spousal support received.

Allowed deductions include reasonable business expenses, qualifying rental expenses, half of self-employment tax paid, and spousal support paid under an order or written agreement. Rental deductions exclude acquisition costs, depreciation, and mortgage principal. These rules come from Code §20-108.2.

The schedule uses combined monthly gross income and the number of children; amounts between listed income levels are extrapolated. Above $42,500 a month, the scheduled amount at $42,500 is increased using the statutory percentages for excess income under Code §20-108.2. The income shares calculation allocates responsibility between parents, with adjustments described below. The statute also provides a presumptive minimum monthly obligation, subject to exemptions.

How does parenting time change support?

When a parent has custody or parenting time for more than 90 days a year, Virginia calculates shared custody support under Code §20-108.2. The shared support need is the basic scheduled amount multiplied by 1.4, followed by cross-crediting the parents' obligations. The calculation accounts for the ratio in which the parents share custody.

The shared custody result is presumptive unless the sole custody calculation is lower, under Code §20-108.2. Equal parenting time therefore does not automatically eliminate support. The statutory threshold is expressed in days; an overnight count should not be treated as interchangeable without checking the applicable counting rules.

What else changes the Virginia amount?

Child-related expenses and support responsibilities can change the calculation. Code §20-108.2 provides the following additions, deductions, and low-income protections.

• Child care: Employment-related child care for the parent with custody is added, limited to the amount needed for quality care from a licensed source. The court may consider the other parent's availability to provide care.
• Health insurance: The child's health, vision, and dental coverage costs paid by a parent or that parent's spouse are added.
• Uninsured expenses: Unreimbursed medical and dental expenses are divided in proportion to the parents' gross incomes as incurred.
• Other children: Support actually paid under an existing order or written agreement is presumptively deducted. A schedule-based deduction is also presumed for a parent's other natural or adopted children living in that parent's household.
• Low income: At or below 150% of the federal poverty level, the court may order less than the presumptive minimum after considering inability to pay and the receiving household's basic needs, under Code §20-108.2. Separate exemptions cover specified circumstances involving insufficient assets and inability to earn.
• Disability benefits: When a parent's income includes disability insurance benefits, qualifying benefits paid to or for the child through that parent's entitlement are included too. The parent receives a credit against ongoing basic support for those derivative benefits.

When does support end or change?

Support continues beyond age 18 for a full-time high school student who is not self-supporting and lives with the parent seeking or receiving support. It continues until age 19 or high school graduation, whichever occurs first, under Code §20-124.2. Support may also continue for a severely and permanently disabled adult child who meets the statute's conditions.

A specific modification rule applies when a shared custody order no longer matches consistently exercised parenting time. If a parent consistently fails to exercise the custody share used in the calculation, Code §20-108.2 creates a rebuttable presumption favoring modification. That means the presumption can be challenged; the order does not change automatically.

For an official calculation, the court or Department of Social Services uses a guidelines worksheet. Code §20-108.2 requires that worksheet to be kept in the case file and a copy provided to each party. A guideline estimate is not an official support order.