RCW 26.19: Washington State Child Support Schedule

The Washington State child support schedule, set out in RCW Chapter 26.19, calculates a support order by combining both parents’ monthly net incomes, looking up a basic support amount on the state’s economic table for the number of children involved, dividing that amount between the parents in proportion to their incomes, and then adding each parent’s share of health insurance, daycare, and other qualifying expenses. The same schedule applies in divorces, legal separations, parentage cases, and administrative actions through the Division of Child Support.¹

Figuring Each Parent’s Net Income

Both parents must disclose every source of income and resources they have. Wages, salary, overtime, commissions, bonuses, investment income, royalties, Social Security benefits, pensions, prizes, and gambling winnings all count as gross income.² Self-employment income counts too, with legitimate business expenses and self-employment taxes subtracted before the number goes on the worksheet.

From gross income, the court subtracts a defined list of deductions to reach monthly net income:

Federal and state income taxes
FICA (Social Security and Medicare)
Mandatory pension plan payments
Mandatory union or professional dues
Other mandatory state deductions, including premiums for the paid family and medical leave program and the long-term services and supports trust program
State industrial insurance premiums
Court-ordered spousal maintenance actually being paid
Voluntary retirement contributions up to $5,000 per year, if the parent can show a pattern of contributions during the year before the case was filed

Only the items in RCW 26.19.071(5) come off the top.² Rent, car payments, credit card debt, and similar living costs do not.

When Income Gets Imputed

A parent who is voluntarily unemployed or working well below their earning capacity can have income imputed to them based on work history, education, health, and age. Quitting a job or taking a pay cut does not automatically lower the obligation. Imputation is off the table for a parent who works full-time, who is genuinely incapacitated, or who is the primary caregiver of a child under six or a child under eighteen with special needs when the circumstances make employment impractical.²

Documenting the Numbers

Nothing on the worksheet is taken at face value. Both parents provide tax returns for the preceding two years and current paystubs. For income that does not show up on tax returns or paystubs, the court requires other sufficient verification, such as business profit-and-loss statements or investment account records.³

Using the Economic Table

The economic table in RCW 26.19.020 turns combined monthly net income and number of children into a single dollar figure: the basic support obligation. The table runs from one child through five and, in the 2026 schedule, does not distinguish by the child’s age. A three-year-old and a fifteen-year-old generate the same per-child amount at the same income level.⁴

Once you have the basic obligation, each parent’s share is their percentage of the combined net income. A parent earning 65% of the combined total owes 65% of the basic obligation.⁵

The table is presumptive up to $50,000 in combined monthly net income, meaning the table amount is treated as correct unless a party proves otherwise. Above $50,000, the court may set support higher than the top of the table, but only after entering written findings explaining why.⁴

Expenses Added on Top of the Basic Obligation

The economic table covers baseline costs like food, clothing, and shelter. Several other categories sit outside the table and get added to the calculation under RCW 26.19.080:

The child’s share of health insurance premiums
Extraordinary medical expenses, meaning uninsured costs like copays, dental work, and therapy
Work-related daycare
Special child-rearing expenses, including private school tuition and long-distance transportation to move the child between the parents’ homes for residential time

Parents divide these in the same proportion as the basic obligation. If your income share is 60%, your share of daycare and the child’s health insurance premium is 60%.⁵ Those amounts are calculated on the worksheets after the basic obligation line.

Floors and Ceilings

The schedule builds in limits at both ends. The self-support reserve is 180% of the federal poverty guideline for a one-person household, which is $2,394 per month in 2026.⁶ If the paying parent’s net income is below that level, the obligation generally should not push it lower. When combined monthly net income is very low, support is set at a presumptive minimum of $50 per month per child.⁷

At the top of the range, a parent’s total child support obligation generally cannot exceed 45% of net income unless the court finds good cause to go higher.⁸ The 45% cap matters most in cases with multiple children or a large income gap between the parents.

When the Court Will Deviate

The standard calculation is presumed correct, but RCW 26.19.075 lists grounds on which a court can move up or down:⁹

The residential schedule, when the child spends a significant amount of time with the paying parent. A downward deviation on this basis is not allowed if it would leave the receiving household without enough to cover the child’s basic needs, or if the child receives public assistance.
Other biological or legal children the parent supports.
Income sources that fall outside the statutory definition, nonrecurring income, or income from a new spouse or partner in either household.
Significant debt or high expenses, including court-ordered legal fees or extraordinary tax liabilities.
Substantial assets that do not produce regular income, which can justify an upward deviation to reflect a parent’s actual financial capacity.

Every deviation, in either direction, requires written findings of fact explaining why the standard amount is inappropriate and stating what the standard calculation would have been.⁹

Post-Secondary Support

Washington courts can order parents to contribute to a child’s college or vocational training. RCW 26.19.090 makes the schedule advisory rather than mandatory for post-secondary support, and whether to order it, and for how long, rests with the court’s discretion based on factors like the child’s age and academic ability, the parents’ education levels, and what the family likely would have provided had the parents stayed together.¹⁰ The child must actually be dependent and relying on the parents for basic necessities. Courts vary widely in how they apply this.

Filling Out and Filing the Worksheets

Every support determination in Washington runs through the official worksheets developed by the Administrative Office of the Courts. Two-parent families use WSCSS Worksheets 2. The court will not accept incomplete worksheets or worksheets that deviate from the standard format.³ Current 2026 versions are available through the Washington Courts website.¹¹

Each parent enters income, deductions, and their share of additional expenses, and signs the worksheets under penalty of perjury. Before sitting down to fill them out, gather tax returns for the past two years, recent paystubs, and documentation of any add-on expenses like health insurance premiums or daycare invoices.³

Completed worksheets are filed with the Superior Court clerk in the county where the case is pending. Many counties allow electronic filing; in-person filing at the clerk’s office is still an option. After filing, the other parent has to be served. A judge or court commissioner reviews the worksheets at a hearing, checks the math, evaluates any requested deviation, and enters the child support order. The signed worksheets are attached to that order or filed alongside it.

Modifying an Existing Order

Support orders are not permanent. Either parent can petition for modification at any time by showing a substantial change in circumstances, such as a major income increase, job loss, or a change in the child’s needs.¹² Voluntarily quitting a job or reducing hours, by itself, does not qualify.

After 24 months from entry or last modification, either parent can request an adjustment without proving a substantial change, based solely on changes in income or updates to the economic table. If the resulting adjustment would change the obligation by more than 30% and cause significant hardship, the court can phase it in over two six-month increments.¹²

Even without meeting the 24-month or substantial-change thresholds, a court can modify support after one year if the current order causes severe economic hardship to either parent or the child. An order can also be extended past a child’s eighteenth birthday if the child is still in high school and needs continued support to finish. Modifications only affect payments going forward from the filing date; past-due amounts cannot be retroactively reduced.¹²

What Happens If Payments Stop

The default for every Washington child support order is immediate income withholding: the support amount comes directly out of the paying parent’s paycheck. A court can waive immediate withholding only if it makes a specific finding of good cause, or if both parties agree to an alternative arrangement.¹³

When a parent falls behind, the Division of Child Support has additional tools:

Suspension or renewal blocks on driver’s, hunting and fishing, and professional and business licenses
Attachment of bank account funds
Liens on real estate, vehicles, and other property, which can then be seized and sold
Interception of federal and state tax refunds
Referral to the federal government to revoke or block a U.S. passport
Reporting of unpaid support to credit agencies
Contempt proceedings, or referral to a U.S. Attorney for federal criminal nonsupport

These enforcement measures are administered by the Division of Child Support under Washington’s support enforcement statutes.¹⁴

Unpaid child support also accrues interest at 12% per year on the outstanding balance.¹⁵ At that rate, even modest arrearages grow quickly. If a genuine change in circumstances is making payments impossible, filing for a modification before falling behind is far more effective than waiting for the balance to build.

1
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.19 – Child Support Schedule
2
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.19.071 – Standards for Determination of Income
3
Washington Courts. Washington State Child Support Schedule
4
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.19.020 – Child Support Economic Table
5
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.19.080 – Allocation of Child Support Obligation Between Parents
6
Washington State Courts. Court Forms – Washington State Self-Support Reserve
7
Washington Department of Social and Health Services. What Are the Limits to the Amount of Support That Can Be Set?
8
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.19.065 – Standards for Establishing Lower and Upper Limits on Child Support Amounts
9
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.19.075 – Standards for Deviation from the Standard Calculation
10
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.19.090 – Post-Secondary Educational Support
11
Washington State Courts. Court Forms – WSCSS Schedule and Worksheets
12
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.09.170 – Modification of Decree for Maintenance or Support
13
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.23.050 – Income Withholding
14
Washington Department of Social and Health Services. What Actions Can DCS Take to Enforce a Child Support Order?
15
Washington State Legislature. Washington Code 26.23.030 – Interest on Unpaid Child Support