How Much Is Child Support in GA: Table, Income, and Deviations

Child support in Georgia runs from a floor of $170 per month for one child at the lowest income level on the state’s table to $3,222 per month for one child when the parents’ combined income hits the $40,000 monthly cap, with most families landing somewhere in between based on their combined income and the number of children.¹ That table amount is only the starting point. Health insurance premiums for the children, work-related childcare, each parent’s share of the combined income, and court-ordered deviations all shift the final monthly payment before a judge signs the order.

What Georgia’s Support Table Actually Shows

Georgia publishes a Basic Child Support Obligation (BCSO) table inside O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15. The table lists combined monthly parental incomes from $800 up to $40,000 in $50 increments and pairs each income level with a baseline support amount for one through six children.¹

A few points along the table give you a sense of the scale:

Combined income of $800 per month: $170 for one child, $259 for two.
Combined income of $5,000 per month: roughly $830 for one child.
Combined income of $10,000 per month: about $1,259 for one child.
Combined income of $40,000 per month: $3,222 for one child, $4,736 for two, $7,375 for six.

The BCSO is meant to reflect what a family at that income level would typically spend raising the children if the household were intact. Neither parent pays that full number. It is the total obligation the parents share.

How the Table Amount Gets Split

Georgia uses an Income Shares Model. Both parents’ incomes are added together, matched to the BCSO, and then the obligation is divided between them in proportion to what each earns.² If one parent earns $6,000 a month and the other earns $4,000, the higher earner is responsible for 60% of the obligation and the lower earner for 40%.

The custodial parent is presumed to spend their share directly on the child through day-to-day expenses. The noncustodial parent pays their share as monthly child support. That figure, once two add-ons are layered in, is called the presumptive amount of child support, and it is what the court will order unless a specific reason to deviate is proven.²

Health Insurance and Childcare Add to the Base

Two costs are added on top of the BCSO before the split. First, the portion of a health insurance premium that covers the children. If a family plan costs $400 a month but insuring only the children accounts for $150, the worksheet uses $150. Second, work-related childcare, including daycare, after-school programs, and summer camps that let a parent hold a job.

Both amounts are added to the BCSO, and the combined total is what gets divided by each parent’s income share. Whichever parent actually pays each expense receives credit for it in the final calculation.

What Counts as Income in the Calculation

Georgia’s definition of gross income is deliberately wide. It includes wages, commissions, self-employment earnings, bonuses, overtime, severance, retirement and pension income, interest, dividends, trust income, capital gains, Social Security disability, VA disability, workers’ compensation, unemployment, alimony received from someone outside the current case, cash gifts, lottery winnings, and prizes.³ If money is coming in, expect the court to count it.

For self-employed parents, gross income equals business receipts minus ordinary and reasonable operating expenses. Courts are skeptical of aggressive write-offs. Excessive travel, personal living costs run through the business, home office expenses, and the accelerated portion of depreciation are not treated as legitimate deductions for child support purposes. A parent who nets little on paper but shows a lifestyle that suggests otherwise will often see the court add expenses back in.

When Courts Impute Income

A parent cannot quit a job or take a pay cut to shrink the support number. If a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, Georgia courts can impute income, meaning they assign an earning capacity based on the parent’s work history, education, skills, health, and any assets that appear inconsistent with the income being claimed. Imputation does not require proof that the parent intended to dodge support. Any voluntary choice that reduces income can trigger it.

There are limited exceptions. A parent who left work to care for a child under four, a seriously ill child, or a disabled family member gets more room. A parent pursuing education that could increase future earnings can also avoid imputation if the training is reasonable given the support obligation.

Deductions Applied Before the Table

Before incomes are combined and matched to the BCSO, three deductions can move gross income down to “adjusted income”:

Half of any self-employment tax obligation, which mirrors the employer-side FICA that W-2 workers never see on their check stubs.²
Preexisting child support paid for a child from another relationship, provided the parent can document at least 12 months of consistent payments through court records, payment databases, or canceled checks. Payments on arrears do not count.
Theoretical support for other biological or adopted children living in the parent’s home who are not part of the current case. The court runs a hypothetical support calculation for those children, takes 75% of it, and subtracts that from gross income. This adjustment is discretionary, and the parent must show that ignoring those children would cause substantial hardship.⁴

Every deduction has to be backed by paperwork. Pay stubs, W-2s, tax returns, and proof of existing support payments are the minimum. Walking into court without documentation is the fastest way to lose these credits.

Deviations That Raise or Lower the Number

The presumptive amount is not a ceiling or a floor. Judges can adjust it if applying the standard number would be unjust or inappropriate, but any deviation has to be written into the order along with a finding that the change is in the child’s best interest. No deviation can leave the custodial parent unable to provide basic housing, food, and clothing for the child.²

The statute names several common grounds:

Parenting time. The worksheet builds in a parenting time adjustment, and additional deviation is available when the noncustodial parent’s time with the child is substantial.
Extraordinary child-rearing expenses. Private school tuition, competitive athletics, music lessons, and similar costs can support an upward deviation. When these special expenses exceed 7% of the BCSO, the amount over that threshold is treated as a deviation.³
Travel expenses for parenting time when the parents live far apart.
Mortgage or housing paid by the noncustodial parent for the home where the child lives.
Alimony between the parties.
Vision or dental insurance for the child, when available at reasonable cost.
Life insurance premiums that protect the support stream.

A nonspecific deviation category exists for situations that don’t fit any listed ground but still justify an adjustment.

Low Income Deviation

If the presumptive amount would leave a low-earning noncustodial parent unable to meet basic needs, the court can grant a low income deviation. There is no fixed income cutoff. The judge weighs the parent’s actual financial situation. A statutory floor applies either way: a noncustodial parent must pay at least $100 per month for one child, with an added $50 per month for each additional child in the same case.⁵

High Income Deviation

When combined adjusted income runs past $40,000 per month, the table stops. In those cases the court starts at the table’s maximum and considers an upward deviation appropriate to the family’s actual standard of living.³ The idea is that children of high earners should benefit from the parents’ income rather than being frozen at a middle-income figure.

Social Security Benefits as a Credit

Social Security disability payments received by a parent count as income in the calculation.³ But if the child receives auxiliary Social Security benefits drawn from the noncustodial parent’s account, those payments count against the support obligation. If the auxiliary benefit matches or exceeds the ordered amount, the parent owes nothing more. If it is less, the parent pays the difference. If it is more, the custodial parent keeps the surplus for the child and support is not reduced.

How Long the Payments Run

Child support in Georgia ends when the child turns 18, dies, marries, or becomes emancipated, whichever comes first. Emancipation can happen through marriage, active-duty military service, or a court finding that the minor is financially self-supporting. One extension applies: if the child is still enrolled in and attending high school after turning 18, the court can order support to continue until graduation or age 20, whichever comes first.³ Georgia does not require parents to fund college.

1
Georgia Courts. Basic Child Support Obligation Table (July 2024)
2
Justia. Georgia Code 19-6-15 – Child Support Guidelines for Determining Amount of Award
3
Justia. Georgia Code 19-6-15 – Child Support Guidelines for Determining Amount of Award (Effective 1/1/2026)
4
Georgia Courts. O.C.G.A. 19-6-15 – Child Support Guidelines
5
Georgia Courts. Low-Income Deviation Study