How much child support is in North Carolina depends on three things: both parents’ combined monthly income, the number of children, and how the overnights are split. The state runs the numbers through a schedule that produces a basic obligation, which is then divided between the parents in proportion to their incomes and adjusted for health insurance premiums, work-related childcare, and the custody arrangement. To give a sense of scale: at a combined adjusted gross income of $1,700 per month, the basic obligation is $309 for one child and $312 for two. Amounts climb from there, and the published schedule runs all the way to $40,000 in combined monthly income.
The Calculation in Plain Terms
North Carolina uses an income shares model, which starts from the idea that a child should receive the same share of parental income they would have received if the parents lived together. The Conference of Chief District Court Judges maintains the guidelines and reviews them at least every four years. The current version took effect January 1, 2023, with the next review scheduled for 2026.1North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Child Support Guidelines
The mechanics are straightforward. Each parent’s gross income is determined and adjusted. The two adjusted incomes are added together. That combined figure is matched against the state schedule, which returns a basic support obligation for the number of children involved. That obligation is then split between the parents in proportion to their individual incomes, and further adjustments are made for insurance, childcare, and the custody split. A parent earning 60% of the combined income pays 60% of the obligation.
What the State Counts as Income
Gross income means income before any deductions for taxes, Social Security, Medicare, health insurance, or retirement contributions. It includes wages and salary, commissions, bonuses, self-employment earnings, personal injury awards, Social Security benefits, veterans’ benefits, military pay, workers’ compensation, pensions, and annuities.2UNC School of Government. Defining Income for Child Support Non-cash benefits count too. Free housing or a company car that meaningfully reduces living expenses can be treated as income.
Underemployment does not automatically inflate the calculation. A court can base support on earning potential only when the evidence shows a parent is deliberately suppressing income in bad faith to dodge the obligation. Simply earning less than one could is not enough; the court must specifically find intentional depression of income.
The Self-Support Reserve
The guidelines build in a floor so that a low-earning parent keeps enough for basic needs. The reserve is currently $1,133 per month, drawn from the federal poverty level for one person.1North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Child Support Guidelines When a parent’s income is low enough that the standard obligation would push them below that floor, the guidelines reduce the amount, sometimes to as little as $50 per month.
High-Income Cases
The schedule covers combined adjusted gross income up to $40,000 per month, or $480,000 per year. Above that, the schedule stops applying. Instead, the court sets support based on the child’s reasonable needs and the parents’ financial circumstances, taking into account the standard of living the child would have enjoyed if the family had stayed intact.1North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Child Support Guidelines
Sample Amounts From the Schedule
The state publishes a detailed table of basic support obligations for combined adjusted gross income and number of children. A few examples from the lower end of the schedule show how the numbers behave:3North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Child Support Guidelines Table
- Combined income $1,300 per month, one child: $50 (the minimum, reflecting the self-support reserve)
- Combined income $1,500 per month, one child: $170
- Combined income $1,500 per month, two children: $171
- Combined income $1,750 per month, one child: $343
- Combined income $1,750 per month, three children: $351
These are basic obligations before adjustments for insurance, childcare, or extraordinary costs. The full schedule stretches from $1,300 to $40,000 in combined monthly income, with separate columns for one through six children. The complete table is on the NC Child Support Services website. Whatever the schedule returns gets split between the parents proportionally by income.
How Custody Changes the Number
The custody arrangement selects one of three worksheets, and the choice materially affects the result. North Carolina defines the categories by overnight counts.4North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Child Support Guidelines
- Worksheet A (primary custody) applies when one parent has the child for at least 243 overnights a year. The other parent pays their share of the basic obligation to the custodial parent.5North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Child Support Worksheet A
- Worksheet B (shared custody) applies when each parent has the child for at least 123 overnights a year. Because both parents bear direct costs during their parenting time, the support amount is usually lower than under Worksheet A.
- Worksheet C (split custody) applies when each parent has primary custody of at least one child from the same family. Each parent’s obligation for the child living primarily with the other is calculated, and the difference is paid to the parent with the larger obligation.
The overnight thresholds carry real weight. A parent with 122 overnights uses the primary-custody worksheet; a parent with 123 overnights uses the shared-custody worksheet, which typically produces a meaningfully different number.
Adjustments Added to the Basic Obligation
Health Insurance Premiums
The cost of health insurance premiums for the child, not the parent’s own coverage, is added to the basic obligation. The parent who carries the policy gets a credit, and the total is redistributed proportionally.4North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. North Carolina Child Support Guidelines
Uninsured Medical Expenses
The guidelines build in $250 per child per year for ordinary out-of-pocket medical and dental expenses, absorbed by the custodial parent. When uninsured costs exceed $250 in a year, for something like orthodontia, physical therapy, or counseling for a diagnosed condition, the court can order either or both parents to cover the excess, typically in proportion to their incomes.
Work-Related Childcare
Reasonable childcare expenses a parent incurs because of work or job training are added to the basic obligation and divided between the parents. The guidelines also allow adjustments for extraordinary expenses such as special educational needs or transportation costs for moving the child between homes.
When Judges Order a Different Amount
The guidelines produce a presumptive amount, not a fixed one. A judge can order more or less if the standard formula would either fall short of the child’s reasonable needs or exceed them, and any deviation requires written findings explaining why the guideline number doesn’t fit. Common reasons include:
- Unusual child expenses, such as major medical costs, private school tuition the family historically paid, or special needs the standard formula doesn’t capture
- Other support obligations, such as a parent supporting children from a different relationship
- The child’s own resources, such as trust income, a substantial inheritance, or other assets belonging to the child
- Unusual parental expenses, such as extraordinary debt or medical costs that severely limit a parent’s ability to pay
Deviations are not common in routine cases. Judges follow the guidelines in the large majority of situations, and the party asking for a deviation carries the burden of proving it’s warranted.
Taxes Don’t Change the Number
Child support is not tax-deductible for the parent who pays it and not taxable income for the parent who receives it.6Internal Revenue Service. Tax Information for Non-Custodial Parents The dollar amount on the order is the dollar amount that changes hands, on both sides.
When Support Ends
Support in North Carolina terminates when the child turns 18, with a few exceptions.7North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 50-13.4 – Action for Support of Minor Child If the child is still in high school at 18, support continues until the child graduates, stops attending regularly, fails to make satisfactory academic progress, or turns 20, whichever comes first. For a child in a cooperative innovative high school program, support continues until the child finishes the fourth year of the program or turns 18, whichever is later. If the child is emancipated before 18 through marriage or a court order, support ends at that point.
One point worth flagging, because it surprises many parents: North Carolina courts do not order support past those age thresholds for college tuition or for an adult child with a disability unless both parents voluntarily agreed to those obligations in a written contract. Without that agreement, the court has no authority to extend the obligation.