How Much Is Child Support in Florida Per Month?

Child support in Florida per month is set by a statutory formula built around both parents’ combined monthly net income, the number of children, and how overnights are split. For one child, the base obligation on the state’s guidelines schedule starts at $190 per month when combined net income is $800 and reaches $1,000 per month at $5,000 combined, with higher amounts above that. That base is then divided between the parents in proportion to what each earns, and adjusted for time-sharing, childcare, and health insurance before anyone writes a check.¹

The Guidelines Schedule

Florida uses an Income Shares Model under Section 61.30 of the Florida Statutes. The premise is that a child should receive the same share of parental income they would have received if the household had stayed intact, and both parents contribute based on what they earn.¹

The schedule lists a base monthly obligation for combined net incomes from $800 up to $10,000. Selected amounts:¹

$1,500 combined: $340 for one child, $529 for two
$2,000 combined: $442 for one child, $686 for two
$2,500 combined: $547 for one child, $847 for two
$3,000 combined: $644 for one child, $1,001 for two
$5,000 combined: $1,000 for one child

These are totals for both parents together, not what one parent pays. The actual payment depends on income share and the other variables below.

Working Out Each Parent’s Share

Once you have the base obligation from the schedule, each parent owes a percentage of it equal to their percentage of the combined income. Say Parent A nets $3,000 per month and Parent B nets $2,000. Combined net income is $5,000, so the base for one child is $1,000. Parent A earns 60% of the combined income and is responsible for $600; Parent B earns 40% and is responsible for $400. If the child lives primarily with Parent B, Parent A pays $600 per month before any adjustments for overnights, childcare, or health insurance.

If Combined Net Income Is Above $10,000

The schedule stops at $10,000. For parents who earn more, the obligation is the maximum figure from the schedule plus a percentage of the income above $10,000: 5% for one child, 7.5% for two children, rising to 12.5% for six children.¹

What Counts as Income

The number you plug into the schedule is monthly net income, not gross pay and not take-home pay. You start with gross income from all sources: wages, salary, bonuses, commissions, tips, overtime, and self-employment earnings.¹

Then you subtract a specific, limited list of deductions:¹

Federal, state, and local income taxes based on actual filing status
Social Security and Medicare taxes, or self-employment tax
Mandatory union dues
Mandatory retirement contributions
Health insurance premiums for the parent’s own coverage (the child’s insurance is handled separately)
Court-ordered support for other children that is actually being paid
Spousal support paid under a court order

That list is exclusive. Voluntary 401(k) contributions, car payments, and credit card bills don’t reduce your income for support purposes, even though they reduce what hits your bank account.

Self-Employed Parents

Self-employment income is gross receipts minus legitimate business expenses, but judges can add back expenses that look more personal than business, such as blended vehicle use, entertainment, or depreciation deductions that lower taxable income without lowering real cash flow. The number a court uses often diverges from what a Schedule C shows.

If a Parent Isn’t Working

A parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed can have income imputed to them. Florida law presumes a voluntarily unemployed parent earns the median income for full-time workers from U.S. Census data. That presumption can be rebutted by evidence of a physical or mental limitation or other circumstances beyond the parent’s control, but a parent cannot simply choose not to work to avoid support.¹

How Overnights Change the Number

Time-sharing moves the dial significantly once both parents cross a threshold. Florida defines substantial time-sharing as at least 20% of the overnights in a year, which equals 73 or more nights.¹

When both parents hit that number, the court applies the adjusted formula. Each parent’s share of the base obligation (excluding childcare and health insurance) is multiplied by 1.5, then multiplied by the other parent’s percentage of overnights. The difference between the two resulting amounts is the support payment, before childcare and insurance credits are layered on.²

The practical effect is simple to state: the more overnights you have, the smaller your monthly payment to the other parent. Below 73 nights, the standard formula applies without the time-sharing adjustment.

Add-Ons: Childcare, Insurance, Uncovered Medical

The schedule’s base amount does not cover everything the child costs. Three categories are added on top before each parent’s final share is calculated:

Childcare costs: daycare, after-school care, and similar expenses needed for a parent to work or go to school
Health and dental insurance premiums for the child
Uncovered medical, dental, and prescription expenses

These are split between the parents in the same proportion as their income shares. A parent earning 65% of combined income pays 65% of these costs.³

When a Judge Can Order a Different Amount

The guidelines produce a presumptive amount, meaning the court treats it as correct unless there’s a reason to depart. A judge can move the number up or down by up to 5% based on the child’s needs and the parents’ circumstances without extensive written explanation.¹

A deviation beyond 5% requires written findings that the guideline amount would be unjust. Situations that come up include:¹

A child with extraordinary medical or educational needs
A child who has independent income
Significant travel costs tied to the time-sharing arrangement
A guideline amount that would require a parent to pay more than 55% of their gross income on a single support order

That last point works as a soft ceiling. The 55% figure doesn’t automatically cap support, but it gives the paying parent grounds to argue for a reduction when the formula runs past it.

The Worksheet That Puts It All Together

Every Florida child support case uses Form 12.902(e), the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet. It must be filed whenever support is being set or changed, and it walks through the whole calculation: each parent’s net income, the base obligation from the schedule, the income-share percentages, and the add-ons for childcare and insurance.⁴

Each parent also files a Financial Affidavit (Form 12.902(b) or (c)) documenting income, expenses, assets, and liabilities. The worksheet pulls its income figures from that affidavit, so the numbers you put there drive the monthly amount.

How Long the Monthly Obligation Lasts

Monthly support in Florida generally ends when the child turns 18. If the child is still in high school at 18, performing in good faith, and reasonably expected to graduate before turning 19, support continues until graduation.⁵ Support may also continue past 18 if the child has a disability or if the parents’ agreement provides for it.⁶ Florida does not require parents to pay college expenses as child support.

If your financial situation changes substantially after an order is in place, either parent can ask the court to recalculate. The threshold for modification is a difference of at least 15% or $50 (whichever is greater) between the current order and what the guidelines would now produce.¹ Until a judge signs a new order, the original monthly amount remains in force, no matter what the parents have informally agreed.

1
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 61.30 – Child Support Guidelines; Retroactive Child Support
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code 61.30 – Child Support Guidelines; Retroactive Child Support
3
Florida State Courts System. Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(e) – Child Support Guidelines Worksheet
4
Florida Courts. Child Support Guidelines Worksheet
5
Online Sunshine. Florida Code 61.13 – Support of Children; Parenting and Time-Sharing
6
Florida Department of Revenue. Florida Child Support Program – Case Closure