What’s Changed With Ohio’s New Child Support Law?

Ohio’s new child support law took shape in two steps: House Bill 366, effective March 28, 2019, overhauled the calculation formula for the first time in years, and Senate Bill 196, effective March 20, 2025, refined how income is verified and how credits are figured when a parent supports children from other relationships.¹ Together they raised the income cap on the support schedule, created a low-income protection, tied support to overnight parenting time, and restructured how health insurance, medical costs, and childcare get built into the order. If your order predates these changes, it stays on the old numbers until someone asks for a recalculation.

The Headline Changes

Before HB 366, the child support schedule capped combined parental income at $150,000, treated health insurance in a simpler way, and gave no formal weight to how much time each parent actually spent with the child. The new framework addresses all three.

The combined income cap on the standard schedule rose to $300,000, with Ohio’s official calculator applying an upper limit of $336,000 before courts move to discretion.² A self-sufficiency reserve now protects parents at the bottom of the income scale from orders they cannot possibly pay. Any parent with 90 or more court-ordered overnights per year gets an automatic 10% reduction in their annual obligation.³ The treatment of health insurance premiums, uninsured medical costs, and work-related childcare was pulled apart into separate line items. And under SB 196’s amendments to Section 3119.05, courts now verify income through a broader set of records and apply a specific formula for credits tied to other children.⁴

How the Calculation Works Now

Ohio uses an income-shares model. The court estimates what the parents would have spent on the child if they still lived together, then splits that cost in proportion to each parent’s income. The basic schedule begins at a combined guideline income of $8,400 per year and rises in $600 increments up to $300,000.²

Each parent’s income is verified through pay stubs, employer statements, tax returns, and electronic records. Court-ordered spousal support that the paying parent actually documents is subtracted before the child support figure is run. Parents who support children from other relationships receive a credit that reduces their income for the current calculation; the formula divides the parent’s total support obligation across all their children and subtracts the portion attributable to the children outside the current order.⁴

The Self-Sufficiency Reserve

This is one of HB 366’s most consequential additions. The reserve is pegged to 116% of the federal poverty level for a single person as established in 2016. When a parent’s income is at or below that threshold, the schedule switches from the standard calculation to a sliding-scale formula that phases the obligation in gradually, so the parent keeps enough to cover basic living costs.²

For parents earning $8,400 or less per year, the court issues the minimum order: $80 per month for all children covered by that order. That replaced the previous $50 minimum.⁴

The 10% Parenting Time Credit

HB 366 tied the support calculation to overnight parenting time for the first time. If a court-ordered schedule gives a parent 90 or more overnights per year, that parent’s annual support obligation is reduced by 10%. The reduction can stack on top of other deviations the court grants.³

There is a safeguard for the receiving parent. If the obligor collects the 10% reduction but then fails to actually exercise the court-ordered parenting time without good cause, the custodial parent can ask the court to eliminate it. Extended parenting time well beyond 90 overnights is also recognized as a deviation factor under Section 3119.23, so courts can make additional adjustments when a parent’s time with the child is substantially greater than a standard schedule.³

Health Insurance, Medical, and Childcare

The parent who provides health insurance for the child gets a credit against their income before the support calculation runs. The credit equals the actual out-of-pocket premium cost, minus any premium tax credits or cost-sharing reductions the parent receives. The idea is to avoid double-counting what the parent already spends on coverage.⁴

Every Ohio order must also include a cash medical support amount. This is a separate line item covering ordinary uninsured medical expenses during the year, including co-pays and deductibles. The amount is based on the number of children on the order and split between the parents according to their income shares.⁴

Work-related childcare costs are shared using the same income-share ratio. The obligor pays a proportional share of the annual out-of-pocket cost, but only when the care is necessary for a parent to work or attend employment training, the costs are backed by verifiable evidence, and the amount does not exceed the maximum statewide average cost estimate set under federal regulations.⁴

Does the New Law Apply to My Existing Order?

Not automatically. HB 366 did not retroactively update orders already in place on March 28, 2019, and SB 196 did not reopen existing orders either. If your order was calculated under the old formula, it stays on those numbers until someone formally requests a change. There are two paths.

The 36-Month Review

Every 36 months from when the order was issued or last reviewed, either parent can request an administrative review through the local Child Support Enforcement Agency. No change in circumstances is required. A caseworker examines both parents’ current income and determines whether the amount should be adjusted under the current guidelines, which means the HB 366 and SB 196 rules will apply to the recalculated figure.⁵

To start, submit Ohio form JFS 01849 (“Request for an Administrative Review of the Child Support Order”) with your supporting documents to the local CSEA. The agency then decides whether to approve the review.

Modification Before 36 Months

If less than 36 months have passed, you can still request a review, but you need to show a specific change in circumstances: a significant income increase or decrease, job loss, a new disability, or a change in the child’s needs. You can also file a motion to modify directly with the court instead of going through the CSEA. Either way, the new guidelines govern the recalculated amount.⁵

One point catches people off guard. Modifications generally take effect from the date the motion is filed or the review is requested, not retroactively to when your circumstances actually changed. If your income dropped six months ago but you only filed last week, those six months of higher payments are not wiped away. File promptly.

Unemployed or Underemployed Parents

A parent who quits a job or takes a lower-paying one without good reason does not escape support. Ohio’s CSEAs can impute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, calculating support based on what the parent could be earning rather than what they actually earn.⁶

When imputing income, the agency weighs the parent’s work history, education, physical and mental health, available jobs in the area, prevailing local wages, and any special skills or training. It also considers whether earning capacity has increased through experience or decreased due to a felony conviction.

Income will not be imputed in several protected situations:

Parents receiving means-tested benefits such as Ohio Works First, SSI, general assistance, or means-tested veterans’ benefits
Parents approved for Social Security disability, or those a court determines are unable to work based on medical documentation
Parents who can prove continuous, diligent efforts to find work, including willingness to accept temporary, part-time, or lower-paying positions
Parents following court-ordered family reunification plans in abuse or neglect cases, to the extent those plans limit earning ability
Parents who are currently incarcerated
Parents institutionalized for 12 months or more with no other income or assets

The reasoning is practical: imputing income to someone who genuinely cannot work produces unpayable arrears that help no one.⁶

When a Parent Lives Out of State

The new Ohio rules govern how an order is calculated and modified in Ohio, but they do not displace the interstate framework. Under the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act, which every state has adopted, any state can enforce a valid Ohio order regardless of where the obligor now lives, and the Ohio CSEA can send an income withholding notice directly to an out-of-state employer.

Modification is where jurisdiction matters. Ohio keeps continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify the order as long as either parent or the child still lives in Ohio. If everyone has left, Ohio loses jurisdiction and the order can be modified in the state where the other parent resides. A modified order applies the new state’s calculation rules for the support amount, though the original issuing state’s law continues to govern how long support lasts. If your case crosses state lines, contact your local CSEA to work out which state has jurisdiction before filing anything.

1
Ohio Legislature. House Bill 366 Summary
2
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 3119021 – Child Support Schedules
3
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Revised Code 3119051 – Parenting Time Adjustment
4
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Chapter 3119 – Calculation of Child Support Obligation – Health Insurance Coverage
5
Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Change a Support Order
6
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Rule 5101 12-45-10 – Calculation of the Support Obligations