How does a court arrive at the parents net taxable income to calculate a child support award?
To arrive at a parent’s net taxable income, the parent’s withholding tax, prior child support orders, mandatory union dues and other dependent deductions are subtracted from the adjusted gross income. If there is non-taxable income, it is then added to the net taxable income to arrive at the parent’s net income. Each parent’s net income is then divided by the combined net income to determine their percentage share of income. The parents are then required to pay their percentage share of the weekly child support obligation.
To arrive at a parent’s net taxable income, the parent’s withholding tax, prior child support orders, mandatory union dues and other dependent deductions are subtracted from the adjusted gross income. If there is non-taxable income, it is then added to the net taxable income to arrive at the parent’s net income. Each parent’s net income is then divided by the combined net income to determine their percentage share of income. The parents are then required to pay their percentage share of the weekly child support obligation. Can the court also award additional expenses with respect to the parties’ basic child support obligations? In addition to calculating a straight child support award, the court may also award additional expenses with regard to the parties’ basic child support obligations. The most common expenses that are awarded are day care and health insurance expenses. The expenses for day care and health insurance can easily inflate a child support award to approach the size of a
