Child Support in New York: Calculation, Enforcement, and Modification

Child support in New York is set by a statewide formula: the court combines both parents’ incomes, applies a fixed percentage based on how many children are involved, and divides the resulting obligation between the parents according to each one’s share of the total. Both parents owe this support until the child turns 21, whether or not they were ever married or lived together.¹ The percentages run from 17% for one child up to at least 35% for five or more, applied to combined parental income up to a cap of $193,000 as of March 1, 2026.

How the Amount Is Calculated

The Child Support Standards Act (CSSA), found in Family Court Act §413 and Domestic Relations Law §240, governs almost every case. The court adds both parents’ incomes, applies the statutory percentage, and splits the obligation in proportion to each parent’s share of the combined income.¹

The percentages are:

One child: 17% of combined parental income
Two children: 25%
Three children: 29%
Four children: 31%
Five or more children: no less than 35%

These apply to combined income up to $193,000, effective March 1, 2026.² The cap adjusts every two years. For income above the cap, the court has discretion to apply the same percentages to the excess, weigh statutory factors like the child’s needs and each parent’s resources, or do both.

A quick example. Parent A earns $90,000, Parent B earns $60,000. Combined income is $150,000. For one child, the basic obligation is 17% of $150,000, or $25,500 per year. Parent A earns 60% of the combined total, so Parent A’s share is $15,300. Parent B’s share is $10,200. The custodial parent’s share is assumed to be spent directly on the child in the household, so only the noncustodial parent’s portion is paid out.

What Counts as Income

The starting point is gross income from each parent’s most recent federal tax return.¹ If you filed jointly with a new spouse, you’ll need a sworn statement breaking out your individual income. The court also counts workers’ compensation, disability benefits, unemployment, Social Security, veterans’ benefits, pensions, and annuity payments.³

Investment income counts, reduced by the expenses tied to producing it. For self-employed parents, the court adds back deductions that reduce taxable income on paper but not actual cash — accelerated depreciation beyond straight-line, and personal expenses run through the business.

Before the percentages are applied, each parent subtracts a specific set of items from gross income:

FICA taxes actually paid
New York City or Yonkers income tax, if applicable
Child support already being paid under a prior order for other children
Unreimbursed business expenses your employer doesn’t cover

The figure that remains is what goes into the formula.³

When a Parent Earns Less Than They Could

Quitting a job or taking a lower-paying position to shrink support doesn’t work. The court can assign an income figure based on what you’re capable of earning rather than what you actually report.¹ This is called imputed income, and judges apply it often when the numbers don’t match the resume. The court looks at prior earnings, education, professional skills, and the job market. A specialized degree combined with sudden minimum-wage earnings is a signal the court watches for. Non-income assets and fringe benefits like a company car or employer-paid housing can also be counted.³

Incarceration is not treated as voluntary unemployment, unless the conviction was for failing to pay child support or for an offense against the custodial parent or child.¹

Add-Ons Beyond the Basic Amount

The percentage calculation produces the basic obligation. Three categories of expense are added on top by law and split in the same income proportions as the base figure:

Health insurance premiums for the child
Unreimbursed medical expenses, including co-pays and deductibles
Childcare costs incurred so the custodial parent can work or attend school⁴

The court can also order parents to share costs the law treats as discretionary — private school tuition, tutoring, extracurricular activities — if those expenses serve the child’s best interests. Factors include the child’s established lifestyle before the separation and each parent’s ability to pay.

College Costs

New York courts may order a parent to contribute to college or other post-secondary expenses when the circumstances justify it.⁵ There is no automatic requirement. The court weighs each parent’s financial resources, the child’s academic record, available aid and scholarships, and whether the parents had established expectations about higher education before separating. A noncustodial parent can be directed to pay these expenses directly to the school.

Floors for Low-Income Payers

A self-support reserve protects parents who earn very little. For 2026 the reserve is $21,546.² If your income falls below that figure but stays at or above the 2026 federal poverty guideline of $15,960, the order is set at $25 per month rather than running the standard formula. If your income is below the poverty guideline, the minimum order is $50 per month total.

When Child Support Ends

The default rule is age 21, which is older than most states and surprises many parents.⁴ Support can end sooner if the child is legally emancipated: marriage, becoming self-supporting, or joining the military all qualify. A child between 17 and 21 who leaves the parents’ home and refuses to follow reasonable parental rules can also be deemed emancipated.

For a child with a developmental disability, the obligation extends further. Parents must provide financial support from age 21 through 25 if the child depends on them, and health insurance coverage until the child turns 26.⁴

How to File

You start a case by filing a Support Petition (Form 4-3) in Family Court in the county where the child lives.⁶ There is no filing fee. You’ll need the other parent’s address, employer, and Social Security number, and you’ll file a Personal Information Form (Form 4-5/5-1-d) alongside the petition.⁷ Prepare a financial disclosure affidavit with pay stubs and recent tax returns. New York City Family Courts accept electronic filing through NYSCEF; outside the city, check with the county clerk’s office.⁸

One timing point to understand before you file: support can be ordered retroactively to the date the petition was filed, not just the hearing date.⁹ If months pass between filing and the hearing, the paying parent can owe back support for that whole stretch, payable as a lump sum or in installments.

How Payments Must Be Made

Child support in New York goes through the Support Collection Unit (SCU), not directly from one parent to the other. Direct payments to the custodial parent are not credited to your account, which means you can end up owing the same amount again.¹⁰ This is one of the most expensive mistakes a noncustodial parent can make.

In most cases the court issues an income withholding order, and your employer deducts the payment from each paycheck.⁴ If that isn’t possible, you can pay through the state’s online portal or mobile app using a credit card, debit card, PayPal, or Venmo with no fees.¹⁰

Enforcement for Nonpayment

New York’s enforcement tools escalate with the size of the arrears and the willfulness of the failure to pay:

Wage garnishment through the SCU, taken directly from the paycheck.⁴
Suspension of driver’s licenses and professional or business licenses once arrears reach four months of the current obligation.¹¹
Freezing and seizing funds from bank accounts.⁴
Interception of federal and state tax refunds.⁴
Denial or revocation of a U.S. passport once past-due support exceeds $2,500.¹²
Up to six months of incarceration for contempt where the failure to pay is willful.¹¹

Arrears don’t disappear on their own, and New York courts cannot retroactively erase child support debt that has already accrued. That is the single most important consequence to grasp before falling behind.

Modifying an Existing Order

Support orders can be changed when circumstances change. To qualify, you need to show one of two threshold conditions: three years have passed since the order was entered or last modified, or either parent’s gross income has changed by 15% or more since the order was set. You also need to show a substantial change in circumstances.

Common grounds include involuntary job loss paired with an active job search, a significant rise in either parent’s earnings, changes in the child’s needs, or a new disability. File the modification petition in Family Court. Any reduction only applies going forward from the filing date, so a parent who loses a job and waits six months to file still owes the original amount for those six months. File promptly when circumstances change.

A parent who is incarcerated can seek a modification based on changed circumstances, provided the incarceration wasn’t for failing to pay support or for an offense against the custodial parent or child.

1
New York State Senate. New York Family Court Act 413 – Parents Duty to Support Child
2
New York Child Support Services. Child Support Standards Chart
3
New York State Senate. New York Family Court Act FCT 413 – Parents Duty to Support Child
4
New York Courts. Child and/or Spousal Support
5
New York State Senate. New York Domestic Relations Law DOM 240 – Custody and Child Support; Orders of Protection
6
New York Courts. Family Forms
7
New York State Unified Court System. New York Family Court Form 4-3 – Support Petition (Individual)
8
New York Courts. New York City Family Court
9
New York State Senate. New York Family Court Act FCT 449
10
Human Resources Administration. OCSS Noncustodial Parents
11
New York City Human Resources Administration. Enforcement Actions
12
Administration for Children and Families. How Does the Passport Denial Program Work