How to Calculate Child Support in Virginia: Sole, Shared, and Split

To calculate child support in Virginia, you combine both parents’ monthly gross incomes, look up the basic obligation on the statutory schedule for that income and number of children, add the child’s health insurance premium and any work-related childcare, and divide the total between the parents in proportion to their incomes. Which worksheet you use depends on the custody arrangement, and the number the formula produces is presumed correct unless a judge finds a reason to deviate.¹ The model is called “income shares” because it aims to give the child the same portion of parental income they would have received if the parents lived together.²

The Numbers You Need Before You Start

Every calculation begins with each parent’s monthly gross income. Virginia defines gross income broadly: salaries, wages, bonuses, commissions, pensions, severance pay, dividends, rental income, trust income, Social Security benefits, and most other sources count. Two things do not: public assistance benefits and child support received for other children.¹

If either parent pays or receives spousal support under a court order or written agreement, adjust for it before doing anything else. Spousal support is subtracted from the paying parent’s gross income and added to the receiving parent’s gross income, so the formula works with what each parent actually has available.³

You will also need two cost figures. The first is the monthly cost of health and dental insurance for the child. Only the child’s share of the premium counts, not the full family plan. The statute defines “reasonable cost” as coverage that does not exceed five percent of the gross income of the parent responsible for providing it.³ The second is any work-related childcare, meaning costs a parent incurs so they can hold a job or actively look for one.

Figure Out Which Custody Category Applies

Virginia uses three categories for support purposes, and the dividing line is how many days per year each parent has physical custody.

Sole custody applies when one parent has the child more than 275 days per year and the other has 90 or fewer. The parent with fewer days pays support.¹

Shared custody applies when each parent has the child more than 90 days per year. It uses a different, more complex formula that recognizes both parents carry day-to-day costs.¹

Split custody applies only when there are two or more children and each parent has physical custody of at least one of them.¹

How Virginia counts a “day” matters, especially near the 90-day threshold. A day is a 24-hour period. When the parent with fewer overnights has the child overnight but for less than 24 total hours, each parent is credited with half a day.⁴

The Sole Custody Calculation, Step by Step

Virginia’s official Form DC-637 walks through the sole custody math. The logic runs like this.³

Step 1. Adjust each parent’s gross income. Start with monthly gross income. Subtract spousal support paid, add spousal support received. That gives you each parent’s available income.

Step 2. Combine the two incomes. Add the parents’ available monthly incomes together. This combined figure drives the schedule lookup.

Step 3. Look up the basic obligation. Virginia publishes a schedule in the statute. Find the row for your combined income and the column for the number of children. At a combined monthly income of $2,000, the basic obligation is $385 for one child and $582 for two.⁴

Step 4. Add health care and childcare. Add the child’s monthly health and dental insurance premiums and any work-related childcare to the basic obligation. That sum is the total monthly child support obligation.

Step 5. Divide by income share. Each parent’s share equals their percentage of the combined gross income. If Parent A earns $6,000 and Parent B earns $4,000, the split is 60/40. Multiply the noncustodial parent’s percentage by the total obligation to get their dollar amount. Then reduce that amount by any health insurance the noncustodial parent is already paying directly for the child.¹

The Shared Custody Calculation

When both parents have the child more than 90 days per year, the formula reflects that both households carry direct costs. Form DC-639 is the official worksheet.

The signature difference is a 1.4 multiplier. Virginia takes the basic obligation from the schedule and multiplies it by 1.4 to produce the “shared support need.” That 40 percent bump accounts for the added cost of maintaining two child-ready homes.⁴

From there, two ratios drive the math for each parent: their income share (percentage of combined gross income) and their custody share (percentage of days with the child). Each parent’s obligation is calculated by multiplying the shared support need by the other parent’s custody share, adding the other parent’s health care and childcare costs, and then multiplying by that parent’s income share. The parent with the larger obligation pays the difference to the other parent.⁴

p>There is a safeguard worth knowing about. If the shared custody formula produces a higher number than the sole custody formula would, either parent can ask the court to apply the sole custody amount instead.⁴

The Split Custody Calculation

In split custody, Virginia runs two separate sole custody calculations. Each parent is treated as a noncustodial parent for the children who live with the other parent, and a support obligation is computed for each direction using the standard sole custody method. The parent who owes the larger amount pays the difference between the two obligations to the other parent, so only one net payment moves.⁵

If a Parent Isn’t Working or Is Working Below Capacity

A parent who quits a job or cuts their hours to shrink a child support number won’t necessarily benefit from that move. Virginia courts can “impute” income, meaning the judge assigns an earning figure based on what the parent could reasonably be making. The court weighs the parent’s work history, education, job skills, health, age, local job market, and any barriers to employment.⁶

Limits apply. A court cannot impute income to a custodial parent when the child is not in school, childcare isn’t available, and childcare costs aren’t included in the calculation.⁶ A parent who leaves work to attend an educational or vocational program that will maintain or increase their earning potential gets some protection; the court weighs the good faith and reasonableness of the decision. Incarceration for 180 or more consecutive days is not treated as voluntary unemployment.

Low-Income Parents and the Presumptive Minimum

The schedule starts at a combined monthly gross income of $0 to $350, where the basic obligation for one child is $68 per month. There is a presumptive minimum monthly obligation beneath the formula’s output. If the paying parent’s gross income is at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level, the court can set the obligation below that minimum after hearing evidence that the parent genuinely cannot pay it. Even then, the court cannot reduce support to an amount that seriously impairs the custodial parent’s ability to provide basic housing and necessities for the child.⁴

When a Judge Can Deviate from the Guideline Number

The guideline amount is presumed correct, but it can be rebutted. A judge may order a different amount when the evidence shows the standard formula would be unjust or inappropriate. To do that, the judge must make written findings explaining what the guidelines would have required and why the order departs from that number.⁶

The statute lists over a dozen factors a court can weigh. Among the ones that come up most often:

A child’s special physical, emotional, or medical needs that exceed what the guidelines contemplate.
Significant visitation travel costs when parents live far apart.
Existing support obligations to other children or former spouses.
Each parent’s earning capacity and financial resources, looking beyond current income.
Debts incurred during the marriage for the child’s benefit.
The child’s independent resources, such as trust funds.
The child’s pre-separation standard of living.
Tax consequences, including who claims exemptions and child-related credits.
A written agreement between the parents addressing support.

The complete list appears in Virginia Code 20-108.1(B).⁶ Judges have real latitude, but the written-findings requirement keeps deviations tied to specific facts.

Where to Get the Worksheets and Help Running the Numbers

The three official worksheets are published by the Virginia court system: DC-637 for sole custody, DC-638 for split custody, and DC-639 for shared custody. They mirror the statutory formula and are the same forms courts use.

Virginia’s Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) offers services to help establish and collect support. Parents can apply online through the MyChildSupport Customer Service Portal or by submitting a paper application; if there is already an order in place, a statement of payments showing the current account status is also required.⁷ Nonresidents of Virginia should generally apply for services in the state where they live.

1
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 20-108.2 – Guideline for Determination of Child Support
2
National Conference of State Legislatures. Child Support Guideline Models
3
Virginia Courts. Child Support Guidelines Worksheet – Sole Custody (DC-637)
4
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 20-108.2 – Guideline for Determination of Child Support
5
Virginia Courts. Child Support Guidelines Worksheet – Split Custody (DC-638)
6
Virginia Code Commission. Virginia Code 20-108.1 – Determination of Child or Spousal Support
7
Virginia Department of Social Services. Applying for Child Support Services