OCGA 19-6-15: Georgia Child Support Calculation and Deviations

Georgia’s child support statute, O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15, uses an income shares model: the court combines both parents’ gross incomes, looks up the total monthly cost of raising the child on a statutory table, and makes each parent responsible for a share of that cost proportional to what they contribute to the combined income. The noncustodial parent pays their share to the custodial parent, and the custodial parent is presumed to spend their share directly on the child. Effective January 1, 2026, the statute adds a built-in parenting time adjustment and a built-in low-income adjustment that used to be handled as discretionary deviations.

How the Calculation Works

The statutory table runs from $800 to $40,000 in combined adjusted gross monthly income. Once the parents’ incomes are added together, the table produces the “basic child support obligation” — the estimated monthly cost of supporting the child at that income level.¹

Each parent’s share of that basic obligation matches their share of the combined income. If one parent earns 60% of the combined total, they are responsible for 60% of the basic obligation. The noncustodial parent’s share becomes the amount they pay. The custodial parent’s share is assumed to be spent directly on the child.²

What Counts as Gross Income

Gross income means income from any source before taxes or deductions, and the statute defines it broadly. Salaries, commissions, tips, bonuses, overtime, and severance all count. So do pensions, IRA and other retirement distributions, interest, dividends, capital gains, trust income, workers’ compensation, unemployment, Social Security disability or retirement, VA disability, personal injury awards, lottery winnings, prizes, and cash gifts. Alimony received from anyone other than the other parent in the current case is included as well.²

When income fluctuates because of seasonal work or irregular pay, the court averages earnings over a representative period to produce a monthly figure.²

Self-Employment Income

For a business owner, independent contractor, landlord, or partner in a closely held company, gross income is gross receipts minus ordinary and reasonable expenses required to operate the business. The tax definition of a deductible business expense is not the same as the child support definition. The statute specifically disallows deductions for excessive promotional costs, travel, vehicles, personal living expenses, depreciation on equipment, and home office expenses. Accelerated depreciation and investment tax credits that the IRS may permit can be added back for support purposes. A parent who writes off aggressively at tax time should expect some of that money to reappear as income in a support calculation.³

Imputed Income

A parent cannot lower their obligation by choosing not to work or by taking a lower-paying job without a good reason. If the court finds a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, it can impute income based on earning capacity. The analysis looks at work history, current and past employment, education, training, health, and whether further education is reasonable given the duty to support a child. The statute makes clear that this determination is not limited to situations where the parent is deliberately trying to avoid support; any intentional choice that lowers income can trigger imputation. Incarceration is the one situation the statute excludes from being treated as voluntary unemployment.³

A gap between a parent’s lifestyle and reported earnings — expensive assets alongside modest income, for instance — can itself be evidence that earning capacity is being understated.³

Health Insurance and Work-Related Childcare

The table amount does not include the child’s health insurance premiums or work-related childcare. Those are added on top of the basic obligation and split between the parents in the same proportional shares.³

Work-related childcare means care that lets a parent work, attend school, or complete vocational training. Costs are averaged into a monthly figure. If a parent gets a childcare subsidy, only the out-of-pocket amount counts. Free care from a family member has zero value in the calculation, and proof of actual cost is required before the court will include childcare at all.³

The child’s monthly health insurance premium is credited to whichever parent pays it. The basic obligation plus these additional expenses produces the “presumptive amount of child support,” which is the starting figure before any deviations.³

The Parenting Time Adjustment (Effective January 1, 2026)

The 2026 version of the statute builds a parenting time adjustment into the calculation on Schedule C. It reduces the noncustodial parent’s basic obligation to reflect the costs of caring for the child during their time. Parenting time is measured in overnights per year, averaged over two years. When a parent has regular daytime visits without overnights, total hours are divided by 24 to convert to equivalent days.³

Before this change, substantial parenting time could support a discretionary downward deviation, but nothing was automatic. Under the 2026 statute, the official calculator applies the adjustment automatically once parenting time data is entered.³

The Low-Income Adjustment (Effective January 1, 2026)

Starting January 1, 2026, the discretionary low-income deviation is replaced by a low-income adjustment calculated from a separate statutory table. The calculator performs the step automatically. Under the prior version, a noncustodial parent had to persuade the judge that the presumptive amount would cause extreme economic hardship. The new adjustment makes low-income relief a structured part of the calculation rather than a case-by-case argument.³

Deviations from the Presumptive Amount

The presumptive amount is a presumption, not a ceiling or a floor. A judge or jury can deviate up or down, but only within the categories the statute lists and only with evidence supporting the change.²

The permitted deviation categories include:

High income above the $40,000 monthly cap on the table, allowing an upward deviation to reflect the family’s actual standard of living.
Travel expenses when court-ordered parenting time requires substantial travel because the parents live far apart.
Life insurance premiums paid on either parent’s life for the child’s benefit.
Alimony actually paid, which is not deducted from gross income but can support a deviation.
Mortgage payments or free housing provided by the noncustodial parent for the child’s home.
Vision and dental coverage for the child beyond basic medical insurance.
The child and dependent care tax credit claimed by one parent.

Extraordinary Educational and Medical Expenses

The court can deviate for extraordinary educational costs, including private school tuition, room and board, lab fees, books, and expenses tied to special needs education, when appropriate to the family’s finances. Scholarships and grants reduce the deviation amount.³

Extraordinary uninsured medical expenses can also justify a deviation, but only in cases of extreme economic hardship. The court must weigh other resources available for those medical needs, including public assistance. A medical deviation cannot leave the child without adequate support and may be limited to a specific number of months.³

Written Findings Are Required

Any deviation must be supported by written findings in the final order that state the reason for the deviation, the amount that would have applied without it, why the presumptive amount would be unjust or inappropriate, and how the deviation serves the child’s best interest. A deviation without these findings can be reversed on appeal.³

Credits for Social Security and VA Disability

If a noncustodial parent’s Social Security or VA disability benefits result in payments to the child received through the custodial parent, those payments count as child support. The noncustodial parent gets a credit for the child’s benefit. When the benefit matches or exceeds the calculated obligation, nothing more is owed for that period. When the obligation is larger, the parent pays the difference.³

One detail catches parents off guard. If the benefit paid to the child is larger than the calculated support amount, the custodial parent keeps the excess for the child. The overage does not reduce future support or offset arrears.³

The Official Calculator and Worksheet Schedules

The Georgia Child Support Commission provides an online calculator that applies the statutory formulas and produces the worksheet and schedules used by courts, attorneys, and the Division of Child Support Services.⁴ After creating an account, parents enter each side’s gross income, insurance premiums, childcare costs, and parenting time data. The tool generates the presumptive support amount and completed PDF forms.⁵

The schedules break the calculation into discrete steps:

Schedule A captures each parent’s gross income, including imputed income.
Schedule B adjusts income for self-employment taxes and preexisting child support orders for other children.
Schedule C applies the parenting time adjustment based on the noncustodial parent’s court-ordered time.
Schedule D adds health insurance premiums and work-related childcare, split proportionally.
Schedule E records any deviations for special circumstances, along with the required written findings.

To fill out the worksheet, gather recent pay stubs, tax returns with W-2 or 1099 forms, documentation of the child’s health insurance premium, and childcare invoices or statements. The completed worksheet is filed with the court. The support amount has no legal effect until the judge signs the final order.

Enforcement and Income Withholding

An income withholding order is entered at the same time as the support order. For orders entered since January 1, 1994, withholding is immediate unless the court finds good cause to delay it or both parties agree in writing to something else. The employer deducts the support amount from each paycheck before the parent is paid.⁶

When a parent falls behind, the court can hold them in contempt under O.C.G.A. § 19-6-28. A contempt motion must be served with a hearing date no later than 30 days from service, and first-class mail with acknowledgment of service can be used.⁷

Georgia can also suspend the driver’s license and vehicle registration of a parent who is more than 60 days behind. The suspension is indefinite and lasts until the parent shows compliance and pays a $35 reinstatement fee ($25 by mail). A hearing can be requested before the suspension takes effect.⁸

Federal tools apply as well. Arrears of $2,500 or more can trigger passport denial or revocation. Tax refund intercepts, bank account seizures, and credit bureau reporting are also available. Losing a job does not end the obligation. The order stays in force until a court modifies it, and arrears keep building during any gap in payment.

Modifying an Existing Order

To change an existing order, a parent has to show a substantial change in either parent’s income or financial status, or in the child’s needs. The petition follows the same rules as a divorce case, and either side can ask a jury to decide gross income and deviations.³

A two-year waiting period generally applies before the same parent can file another modification. Three exceptions bypass the wait: the noncustodial parent failed to exercise court-ordered parenting time, the noncustodial parent has been exercising more parenting time than the order provides, or the petition is based on an involuntary loss of income. The court can issue a temporary modification while the case is pending.³

When Support Ends

Support ends when the child turns 18, marries, or is otherwise emancipated. If the child turns 18 before finishing high school, an action to extend support through graduation does not have to be filed before the birthday. A court-ordered obligation for educational expenses also terminates when the child reaches majority or marries.³

Georgia courts cannot require a parent to pay college support. Parents who want to keep contributing after age 18 can do so by agreement, but the court cannot impose it.

Tax Treatment

Child support payments are not tax-deductible for the paying parent and are not taxable income to the receiving parent.⁹ Alimony has its own separate tax rules; the two obligations are sometimes confused when they appear in the same case. Child support stays tax-neutral on both sides.

1
Georgia Child Support Commission. Child Support Guidelines Statute
2
Justia. Georgia Code 19-6-15 – Child Support Guidelines for Determining Amount of Award
3
Georgia Child Support Commission. O.C.G.A. 19-6-15 Through January 1, 2026
4
Judicial Council of Georgia. Child Support Calculator
5
Georgia Child Support Commission. Georgia Child Support Calculator
6
Justia. Georgia Code 19-6-32 – Entering Income Withholding Order
7
Justia. Georgia Code 19-6-28 – Enforcement of Orders; Contempt
8
Justia. Georgia Code 40-5-54.1 – Denial or Suspension of License
9
Internal Revenue Service. Tax Information for Non-Custodial Parents