Arkansas Administrative Order 10: Child Support Guidelines

Arkansas child support guidelines are set by the state Supreme Court’s Administrative Order 10, which since July 1, 2020, has used an income shares model. Both parents’ gross monthly incomes are combined, matched to a basic support amount on the Family Support Chart, and then divided between the parents in proportion to each one’s share of that combined income. If you bring in 60% of the combined total, you owe 60% of the chart amount.

How the Calculation Works

The court starts by adding both parents’ gross monthly incomes into a single figure. That combined number is looked up on the Family Support Chart, which assigns a basic support obligation based on how many children are covered by the order.¹ Each parent is then responsible for a percentage of that obligation equal to their percentage of the combined income.

The 2020 overhaul switched Arkansas from the old model, which looked only at the paying parent’s net income, to a system that uses gross income from both parents. Tax withholdings, FICA, and similar deductions are built into the chart itself rather than subtracted from each parent’s income, which cuts down on arguments over what should and shouldn’t come off the top.²

What Counts as Gross Income

The definition is deliberately wide. The guidelines call for income to be read broadly “for the benefit of the child,” and the list of sources that count reaches well past a regular paycheck.² Wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, business profits, rental income, pensions, Social Security disability, unemployment, worker’s compensation, military pay and housing allowances, tips, royalties, dividends, interest, and recurring capital gains all count.

Noncash benefits can count too. If your employer gives you a car or housing that reduces what you’d otherwise spend out of pocket, the court can assign a value to it. Assets capable of producing income may also be considered.²

Some income is excluded. Means-tested public benefits like TANF, SSI, and food stamps don’t count. Neither does child support or foster care paid to you for children outside the case, nor the income of other adults in your household.² One deduction does apply before the calculation runs: court-ordered child support you already pay for children from a different case comes off your gross income first.

Self-Employment and Underemployment

If you’re self-employed, expect a closer look. The court reviews your last two years of federal and state tax returns plus quarterly estimates for the current year. Your reported self-employment income is then adjusted upward to add back retirement contributions, alimony paid, and self-employed health insurance premiums, since those lower your taxable income but still represent money you have.³

Depreciation only reduces your income if it reflects an actual drop in the value of a business asset. Accelerated depreciation that exists mostly for tax reasons won’t count. If the court doubts that your tax returns match your actual lifestyle, it can use a net-worth approach based on your property and spending patterns.³

Quitting a job or taking a pay cut won’t automatically shrink your obligation. If a judge decides you’re earning below your capacity by choice and without a good reason, the court can impute income based on what you’re able to earn. Every paying parent is treated as earning at least minimum wage.³ Incarceration is the exception. A sentence of at least 180 days is not treated as voluntary unemployment, and the court cannot impute earnings a parent clearly cannot access from prison.⁴

The Family Support Chart

The chart is the lookup table. It starts around $1,050 in combined monthly gross income and climbs to $30,000 and above. A few sample points give a feel for the scale:

$2,000 combined monthly income, one child: $323 total obligation
$5,000 combined monthly income, one child: $737 total obligation
$5,000 combined monthly income, two children: $1,081 total obligation
$10,000 combined monthly income, one child: $1,074 total obligation
$10,000 combined monthly income, three children: $1,802 total obligation

Those are totals for both parents combined. Your individual share depends on your percentage of the combined income.⁵

The chart also builds in a self-support reserve of $900 per month, which the paying parent is expected to keep for basic living expenses. At the very bottom of the income range, the minimum order is $125 per month regardless of how many children are involved.⁵

Add-Ons Beyond the Chart Amount

The chart figure covers routine costs like food, housing, and clothing. Several expenses are added on top. Health insurance premiums for the children and work-related childcare are mandatory add-ons, and extraordinary medical expenses not covered by insurance also get included. These are split between the parents using the same income percentages that produced the base obligation, so the higher earner carries the larger share.³

When Courts Deviate from the Chart

The chart amount is presumed correct. A parent who wants to pay less or receive more has to show that applying the standard figure would be unjust or inappropriate, and the judge has to put the reasoning in writing and tie it to the child’s best interests.⁶

Factors that can justify a deviation include:

Special education costs for a child with learning disabilities or other needs beyond standard schooling
Shared or joint custody arrangements where the noncustodial parent has significantly more time than standard visitation
Financial responsibility for other dependents, including children not covered by a court order
The cost of life, health, or dental insurance for the child, or uncovered expenses like braces or glasses
Other income or assets available to support the child
The standard of living the child had before the parents separated

The court can also go above the chart when actual childcare costs in the family’s area exceed what the standard figure would cover.³

Adjustments for Extended Parenting Time

The baseline calculation assumes standard visitation: every other weekend and several weeks in the summer. When a child spends more than 14 consecutive days with the noncustodial parent, the court can reduce the obligation during that stretch to account for the direct expenses the noncustodial parent is covering. The reduction can’t exceed 50% of the regular amount.³

Courts often spread the reduction across the whole year so the monthly payment stays level. If the noncustodial parent is granted the extended time but doesn’t actually take it, they owe the full unadjusted amount for that year.³

Changing an Existing Order

Support orders can be revisited. Either parent can ask for a modification when circumstances change, and Arkansas sets a clear threshold: a 20% change in either parent’s gross income counts as a material change of circumstances sufficient to request one.⁴ A change in a parent’s ability to provide health insurance can also qualify.

Even without an income change, either parent can request a review every 36 months through the Office of Child Support Enforcement. If the current order doesn’t match what today’s chart would produce, that gap alone can justify a modification.⁷ Two exceptions apply: if the inconsistency is only there because the chart was revised, or because the original order already included a court-approved deviation, the chart change by itself won’t force a new calculation.⁴

A modification takes effect the date the other parent is served with the filed motion, not the date the judge rules. Filing promptly protects you from losing ground to hearing delays.⁴

What Happens If You Don’t Pay

Arrears accrue interest at 10% per year unless the receiving parent specifically asks the court to waive it.⁸ Enforcement tools stack on top of that:

License suspension kicks in once you’re three months behind. Driver’s, professional, occupational, recreational, and business licenses can all be suspended; for law licenses, the threshold is six months. You get 60 days of notice and 30 days to request a hearing.
At $2,500 or more in past-due support, the federal Passport Denial Program blocks you from getting or renewing a passport until the debt reaches zero or the state removes the case.⁹
Federal tax refunds can be intercepted. The Treasury Department applies some or all of your refund to arrears after sending a pre-offset notice.¹⁰
A judge can hold you in contempt, order you to pay the other parent’s legal fees, place liens on your property, or garnish your bank accounts.
Owing $10,000 or more for over a year can bring misdemeanor charges carrying up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. Leaving the state to avoid paying is a felony punishable by up to six years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Income withholding is the default. Most orders include automatic wage withholding, so your employer deducts the payment before the money reaches your account.

Taxes

Child support is tax-neutral. The paying parent cannot deduct it, and the receiving parent does not report it as income.¹¹ This is different from alimony, which has its own tax rules depending on when the divorce was finalized.

1
Justia. Arkansas Code Administrative Order Number 10 – Child Support Guidelines
2
Justia. Arkansas Code Administrative Order Number 10 Section III – Gross Income
3
Arkansas Judiciary. Administrative Order Number 10 – Arkansas Child Support Guidelines
4
Justia. Arkansas Code 9-14-107 – Change in Income Warranting Modification
5
Arkansas Judiciary. Family Support Chart of Basic Child Support Obligations
6
Justia. Arkansas Code Administrative Order Number 10 – Section II – Use of the Guidelines
7
Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Review of Order Amounts
8
Justia. Arkansas Code 9-14-233 – Interest and Attorneys Fees
9
Administration for Children and Families. Passport Denial Program 101
10
Administration for Children and Families. How Does a Federal Tax Refund Offset Work
11
Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 452, Alimony and Separate Maintenance