How to Fill Out the Indiana Child Support Worksheet

To fill out the Indiana Child Support Obligation Worksheet, enter each parent’s weekly gross income on Line 1, subtract the allowed deductions on Lines 1A through 1D to reach adjusted income, calculate each parent’s percentage share of the combined total, look up the basic obligation on the Guideline Schedules, add work-related childcare and the children’s health insurance premiums, then credit each parent for what they pay directly and apply the parenting time credit. The result is a rebuttable presumption of the correct weekly support amount under Indiana’s Income Shares Model.¹

Pick a Tool: Online Calculator or Blank PDF

The Indiana Judicial Branch runs a free online child support calculator that asks a series of questions about income, parenting time, healthcare costs, and other expenses, then produces the court-ready forms at the end.² The calculator handles the math and pulls values from the Guideline Schedules automatically, which is where most manual errors happen.

If you’d rather work from paper, the blank Child Support Obligation Worksheet is available as a PDF from the Indiana courts website or at your county clerk’s office.³ Either way you need the same information in front of you before you start.

Gather the Income Numbers First

Indiana defines weekly gross income broadly. It includes wages, salaries, overtime, commissions, bonuses, partnership distributions, dividends, pensions, interest, trust income, Social Security benefits, workers’ compensation, unemployment benefits, disability payments, gifts, inheritance, prizes, and alimony received.⁴ If money reaches you from any source, it almost certainly counts.

Some receipts are excluded. Means-tested public assistance benefits like TANF, Supplemental Security Income, and food stamps do not count. Survivor benefits received for other children living in either parent’s home are also excluded.⁴

If You’re Self-Employed

Weekly gross income for a self-employed parent is gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary business expenses. Expense reimbursements or in-kind payments through the business count as income if they meaningfully reduce your personal living expenses.⁵ Because self-employment FICA is roughly double what an employee pays, you can deduct the extra half from your weekly gross income.¹

If a Parent Is Unemployed or Underemployed

If a court finds a parent voluntarily unemployed or underemployed without good cause, it calculates support on what that parent could earn, not what they actually earn. The court weighs employment history, occupational qualifications, education, literacy, age, health, criminal record, and local job opportunities. A parent with professional credentials will not persuade the court to accept minimum-wage potential. Where a parent has never worked and has no higher education, potential income is typically set at the federal minimum wage, but only if the resulting support amount still leaves the parent able to support themselves at a basic level.⁴

Line 1 Through 1E: Income and Adjustments

Enter each parent’s weekly gross income on Line 1. The next four lines reduce that gross income for specific obligations:¹

Line 1A, subsequent-born children. An adjustment for a parent with a legal duty or court order to support children born after the child in this case, provided the parent is actually meeting that obligation.
Line 1B, court-ordered support for prior-born children. Enter any existing court-ordered child support for children born before the child in this case.
Line 1C, prior-born children with no court order. Where a legal duty exists but no order does, the amount actually being spent on that support can be deducted. Stepchildren do not qualify.
Line 1D, alimony or maintenance. Subtract any ordered spousal maintenance you pay.

Line 1E is each parent’s weekly adjusted gross income after those deductions. The two adjusted incomes are combined on Line 3 to give the total household income available for support.

Lines 2 and 4: Percentage Share and Basic Obligation

Line 2 calculates each parent’s percentage share of the combined adjusted income. If one parent earns $800 per week and the other earns $400, the first parent’s share is roughly 67% and the second’s is 33%.

Line 4 is the Basic Child Support Obligation, taken from the Guideline Schedules for Weekly Support Payments. Look up the combined weekly adjusted income and the number of children to find a single dollar amount.³ Each parent’s share of that figure matches their Line 2 percentage.

Lines 4A, 4B, and 5: Add-On Expenses

Two categories get added on top of the basic obligation:

Line 4A, work-related childcare. Childcare each parent incurs because of employment or an active job search, calculated annually and divided by 52. The parent who contracts with the provider pays the provider directly.
Line 4B, children’s health insurance premiums. The weekly cost of premiums for the children only. If coverage is through an employer plan, use only the portion attributable to the children, not the parent’s own coverage. If the premium qualifies for a federal tax credit, subtract that credit from the amount entered.

Line 5 adds Lines 4, 4A, and 4B together to produce the Total Child Support Obligation.⁶

Lines 6 Through 8: Credits and the Final Amount

Each parent receives credit on the worksheet for expenses they pay directly. The parent carrying the health insurance gets credit for those premiums. The parent paying for childcare gets credit for that cost. The final lines subtract these credits and any applicable parenting time credit to reach the recommended weekly support order.

The Parenting Time Credit

The paying parent gets a credit reflecting out-of-pocket costs while the child is in their care. This credit uses a separate Parenting Time Credit Worksheet and a Parenting Time Table in the guidelines.⁷

The table starts at 52 overnights per year, roughly alternating weekends. Below 52 overnights there is no credit at all. Parents following Indiana’s standard Parenting Time Guidelines without extending weeknight visits into overnights typically exercise about 96 to 100 overnights annually. The table runs up to 183 overnights for an essentially equal split.⁷

Each tier lists two percentages: a Total figure representing overall anticipated expenses and a Duplicated figure for costs both parents pay simultaneously. At 96 to 100 overnights, for example, the Total factor is 0.253 and the Duplicated factor is 0.158. These percentages are applied to the Basic Child Support Obligation on the Parenting Time Credit Worksheet to produce the dollar amount of the credit.⁸ Count overnights carefully. The credit tiers jump significantly between brackets, and this line moves the final number more than most.

Asking the Court to Deviate

The guideline figure is a rebuttable presumption. If either parent believes the calculated amount would be unjust, they can ask the court to deviate. The judge must put the reasons in writing and identify the specific facts that justify departing from the standard amount.¹

The guidelines list examples of situations that might support a deviation:

A parent pays union dues required as a condition of employment
A parent provides financial support for an elderly parent
The noncustodial parent purchases school clothes
A parent has extraordinary personal medical expenses
A parent receives military housing that reduces living costs
The paying parent still owes periodic payments to a former spouse from a prior divorce
Either parent incurs significant travel expense for employment or to exercise parenting time

The list is illustrative rather than exhaustive. The test is whether the standard amount would be unreasonable on the facts of the case, and any deviation must still leave the paying parent able to support themselves at a basic level.¹

Filing the Completed Worksheet

Indiana courts use the Odyssey e-filing system for electronic submissions. The worksheet typically accompanies a petition for dissolution, a petition to establish support, or a settlement agreement. If e-filing is not an option, you can file paper documents at your county clerk’s office.⁹

The judge reviews the worksheet to confirm the calculations follow the guidelines and reflect each parent’s actual financial situation. If either parent contests the figures, bring pay stubs, tax returns, and any other documentation supporting your numbers. The court issues a final order based on the verified worksheet, or on the adjusted amount if a deviation is granted.

1
Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Rules of Court Child Support Rules and Guidelines
2
Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Judicial Branch Child Support Calculator
3
Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Child Support Obligation Worksheet
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Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Child Support Guidelines – Guideline 3A Definition of Weekly Gross Income
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Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines Section 03
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Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Child Support Guidelines – Guideline 3E Additions to the Basic Child Support Obligation
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Indiana Supreme Court. Indiana Child Support Guidelines – Guideline 6 Parenting Time Credit
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Indiana Judicial Branch. Parenting Time Credit Worksheet
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Indiana Judicial Branch. Indiana Judicial Branch E-filing