Florida Child Support

Florida calculates child support using the Income Shares Model in Florida Statutes § 61.30. The premise is that the child should receive the same proportion of parental income that the child would have received if the parents lived together. The guideline amount is presumptive -- the court must order the guideline number unless it makes specific findings supporting a deviation.

How the Guideline Is Calculated

The calculation is mechanical but requires accurate income data. The steps are:

• Determine each parent's monthly gross income, including wages, self-employment income, bonuses, commissions, rental income, dividends, interest, and Social Security benefits
• Subtract allowable deductions (federal income tax, FICA, Medicare, mandatory retirement, mandatory union dues, health insurance for the parent, court-ordered support for other children actually being paid, and spousal support paid in the current case) to arrive at net monthly income
• Combine both parents' net monthly incomes
• Use the schedule in Florida Statutes § 61.30(6) to find the basic monthly obligation for the number of children at that combined income level
• Add health insurance premiums attributable to the children and work-related childcare
• Allocate the total support obligation between the parents in proportion to their respective shares of combined net income

Time-Sharing Adjustments and the Gross-Up Method

When each parent exercises at least 20% of the overnights with the child in a year, the court applies the gross-up method under Florida Statutes § 61.30(11)(b). The gross-up method increases the basic obligation by 1.5 to account for duplicate expenses in two households, then allocates the result based on each parent's percentage of overnights. Cases with equal or near-equal time-sharing produce a noticeably lower transfer payment under this method than under the basic guideline calculation.

Imputed Income

When a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court can impute income based on the parent's recent work history, occupational qualifications, and prevailing earnings in the community. The party seeking imputation typically presents evidence from a vocational evaluator, salary surveys, or the other parent's tax returns.

Deviations

The court may order an amount above or below the guideline by up to 5% without findings, and more than 5% with written findings. Florida Statutes § 61.30(11) lists factors that justify a larger deviation, including extraordinary medical or educational expenses, the seasonal variation of one parent's income, the age of the child, the assets of the child or parent, and any other adjustment necessary to achieve an equitable result.

Health Insurance and Uncovered Expenses

The court must address which parent is responsible for the child's health insurance and how uncovered medical, dental, and prescription expenses are split. The standard allocation tracks the same percentage as the child support obligation, though parties can agree to a different split.

Duration and Termination

Child support generally ends when the child turns 18, but it continues if the child is between 18 and 19, is still in high school, has a reasonable expectation of graduating before turning 19, and is performing in good faith with a reasonable expectation of graduation. Support also continues indefinitely for a child who is mentally or physically incapacitated, where the dependency began before the age of majority.

Modification

Florida child support orders may be modified when there is a substantial change in circumstances that is permanent, material, and involuntary. A new guideline calculation showing at least a 15% or $50 per month difference (whichever is greater) creates the required substantial change.

Enforcement

Florida enforces child support through income withholding, suspension of driver's licenses, professional and recreational license suspension, denial of passports, interception of tax refunds, and contempt proceedings. The Florida Department of Revenue handles many enforcement matters administratively. Private counsel handles court-based contempt and arrearage actions.

What Counts as Gross Income

The starting point for every guideline calculation is each parent's monthly gross income. Florida Statutes § 61.30(2) defines gross income broadly, and trial courts are not permitted to ignore categories simply because a parent reports them inconsistently. Gross income includes, without limitation:

• Salary, wages, hourly pay, and tips
• Bonuses, commissions, and overtime that are reasonably expected to continue
• Self-employment income, business income from operating a sole proprietorship, partnership, closely held corporation, or independent contracting arrangement -- reduced by ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce the income, but not by accelerated depreciation, investment tax credits, or other tax-driven write-offs that do not reflect actual out-of-pocket cost
• Disability benefits, workers' compensation, unemployment compensation, and reemployment assistance
• Pension, retirement, annuity, and Social Security benefits
• Spousal support received from a prior marriage
• Interest, dividends, rental income (net of allowable expenses), royalties, trust distributions, and recurring gifts

One-time, non-recurring payments are not always counted, but the court has discretion to average them or to include the portion likely to recur. Closely held business owners attract heightened scrutiny because personal expenses run through the business -- car leases, cell phones, meals, travel, and family member salaries -- can artificially depress declared income. A forensic accountant may be necessary to convert a Schedule C or K-1 into a meaningful gross income figure.

Allowable Deductions to Reach Net Income

Florida Statutes § 61.30(3) lists the deductions that reduce gross income to net income for guideline purposes. Only the listed deductions count -- consumer debt payments, voluntary 401(k) contributions, and discretionary expenses do not. The allowable deductions are:

• Federal, state, and local income taxes, adjusted for actual filing status and the number of allowable dependents -- not what is withheld, but what is actually owed
• FICA and Medicare taxes, or self-employment tax
• Mandatory union dues
• Mandatory retirement contributions -- voluntary contributions do not qualify
• Health insurance premiums, excluding any portion covering the minor child (which is added back as a separate line item)
• Court-ordered support for other children that is actually being paid
• Spousal support paid in this or a prior marriage pursuant to a court order

The difference between declared withholding on a pay stub and the actual federal tax liability often produces meaningful adjustments. A parent who claims one withholding allowance on a W-4 to inflate apparent tax liability will be recalculated based on the correct allowance for the parent's actual filing status.

Child Care, Health Insurance, and Uncovered Medical Add-Ons

Once the basic obligation is determined from the schedule in Florida Statutes § 61.30(6), three add-ons typically modify the figure:

• Work-related childcare: the actual cost of childcare necessary to allow either parent to maintain employment or to attend education reasonably calculated to result in employment. Summer camp costs and after-school programs qualify if work-related. The cost is added to the basic obligation and allocated between the parents in proportion to their net incomes.
• Health, dental, and vision insurance premiums for the child: the marginal cost of covering the child (not the entire family premium) is added to the basic obligation. If the parent providing coverage is the obligor, the obligor receives a credit; if the obligee provides it, the obligor's share is increased.
• Uninsured and uncovered medical, dental, and prescription expenses: the final judgment must allocate responsibility for expenses not covered by insurance, generally in proportion to the parents' shares of combined net income. Orthodontia, mental health counseling, and elective procedures should be addressed expressly.

The Substantial Time-Sharing Adjustment in Detail

The gross-up method under Florida Statutes § 61.30(11)(b) applies whenever each parent exercises at least 20% of the overnights with the child in a year -- that is, 73 or more overnights per year. The mathematical effect is to multiply the basic obligation by 1.5, allocate the increased total based on each parent's percentage of overnights, and then determine the transfer payment by netting the two parents' respective shares. The 20% threshold is calculated on overnights, not on day-time hours, and the parenting plan must reflect the threshold to support the calculation. The 1.5 multiplier accounts for the duplicative costs each parent bears when the child has a real home with each -- a bedroom, clothing, food, transportation, and entertainment in two locations rather than one. Cases that hover near the threshold often see contested testimony about exactly which overnights fall on which calendar week, because crossing 73 overnights can shift the transfer payment substantially.

Deviations From the Guideline and the Requirement of Written Findings

The presumptive guideline amount may be adjusted up or down by up to 5% without explanation. To deviate by more than 5%, the court must enter written findings explaining the basis for the deviation, the amount the guideline would have produced, and why the deviation is in the best interest of the child. Florida Statutes § 61.30(11)(a) enumerates the recognized deviation factors, including:

• Extraordinary medical, psychological, educational, or dental expenses
• The independent income of the child, not including moderate amounts of income from a part-time job
• The payment of support voluntarily provided for periods before the case was filed, to the extent the court determines such payment was reasonable
• Seasonal variations in one or both parents' income or expenses, including teachers and seasonal trades
• The age of the child, taking into account that older children require larger expenditures for clothing, activities, and transportation
• Special needs of the child, including documented disabilities
• Total available assets of the obligee, obligor, and the child
• The impact of the IRS dependency exemption and waiver of that exemption
• The application of the guideline schedule produces an unjust or inappropriate result

Findings must be specific enough to permit appellate review. Conclusory statements that "deviation is just" will not survive an appeal.

Retroactive Child Support

Florida Statutes § 61.30(17) requires the court to award retroactive child support to the date the parents separated, where they did not continue to live together as an intact family. Retroactivity is capped at 24 months preceding the filing of the petition, regardless of how long the separation has lasted. The court must consider the actual needs of the child during the retroactive period, the obligor's ability to pay during that period, and any actual support already paid -- whether in cash, by direct payment of expenses, or in-kind contributions. Retroactive support is generally entered as an arrearage and paid down over time through a separate payment scheduled in the income deduction order, often at a rate of 20% of the current ongoing support obligation.

Duration: Beyond Age 18

Florida Statutes § 743.07(2) is the legal hinge for support past age 18. Support generally terminates when the child reaches 18, the age of majority. There are two recognized exceptions:

• The high school graduate exception: support continues past 18 if the child is between 18 and 19, is dependent in fact, is still in high school, and is performing in good faith with a reasonable expectation of graduating before turning 19. Support terminates on graduation or on the 19th birthday, whichever comes first.
• The disability exception: support continues indefinitely for a child who is mentally or physically incapacitated and unable to support himself or herself, where the incapacity began before the age of majority. The parent seeking continued support must prove the incapacity by competent substantial evidence.

College tuition is not a statutory obligation in Florida. A parent may agree contractually to pay college expenses in a marital settlement agreement, and such agreements are enforceable as contracts, but no court can order a parent to pay for college absent agreement.

Arrears, Interest, and the State Disbursement Unit

Unpaid child support accrues statutory interest under Florida Statutes § 55.03 at the rate set by the Chief Financial Officer of Florida, adjusted quarterly. Interest is calculated on the principal arrearage and is itself reduced to judgment when the court enters a money judgment for arrearages. All ongoing support payments in cases involving an income deduction order flow through the State Disbursement Unit, which time-stamps each payment and provides an authoritative payment history. A parent who pays directly -- by cash, Venmo, or check to the other parent -- outside of the State Disbursement Unit creates a record-keeping nightmare and risks being treated as making gifts rather than support payments. Every payment should be routed through the State Disbursement Unit to preserve credit.

The Title IV-D Program and the Department of Revenue

The Florida Department of Revenue Child Support Program administers cases that have been opened under Title IV-D of the Social Security Act. Any parent receiving public assistance is automatically referred to Title IV-D, and any parent may open a Title IV-D case voluntarily by application. The Department of Revenue provides establishment of paternity, establishment of an initial support order, administrative enforcement, license suspension, tax refund interception, and federal Passport Denial. The Department represents the interest of the State in collection, not the individual parent, and its priorities sometimes diverge from those of the parent. Parents with complicated incomes -- self-employed, commission-based, or business-owning -- almost always benefit from private representation in addition to or instead of Title IV-D, because the administrative process is built for wage earners.

Modification Triggers and the 15% / $50 Rule

A child support order may be modified when a recalculation under the guidelines produces a difference of at least 15% or $50 per month, whichever is greater, between the current order and the new guideline figure. The party seeking modification must prove the underlying change in circumstances is substantial, material, involuntary, and permanent. Common triggers include a meaningful change in either parent's income, a change in the time-sharing schedule, a change in the cost of insurance or work-related childcare, or a child aging out. Modification is retroactive only to the date the petition for modification was filed, not to the date the underlying change occurred. A parent who waits months to file loses the benefit of the intervening period.

Call 786-522-1411 to discuss calculating, modifying, or enforcing Florida child support.