How Is Florida Child Support Calculated?
The state of Florida has defined standard guidelines in order to ensure that child support payments are fair to both parents. There are a number of online tools available to help calculate child support in the state of Florida. Calculating child support in the state of Florida is a very easy process and even you can follow the following step by step guide in order to calculate your own support.
Step # 1 – Identify your net income
The first step in determining child support is to identify your net income and the net income of the other parent. Net income is your gross income minus any allowable deductions, such as state and federal taxes, income tax deductions, union dues, health insurance payments, and federal insurance contributions.
You and your spouse should be able to fund your net income on the second page of your completed financial affidavits. In case your income is over $50,000 per year, then your net income should be on the third page of your long form.
In case you are self-employed and don’t have a pay stub, then you can calculate your net income from the previous year’s tax return by dividing that amount by 12.
Step # 2 – Calculate the cost of childcare and healthcare
The second step in determining child support is to calculate the cost of childcare and healthcare. For this, you need to know your healthcare and childcare costs for each month. This is irrespective of what your spouse pays. Childcare costs also include the cost of daycare in the state of Florida.
Step # 3 – Compute the percentage of timeshare
The third step in determining child support is to compute the percentage of timeshare. The guidelines for computing child support change significantly when a parent has more than 73 overnights in a calendar year. If this occurs, the amount of child support paid to the custodial parent by the non-custodial parent decreases drastically.
In child custody cases, both parents need to discuss the timeshare. They should be able to identify whether or not the percentage of overnights will be more than 20% or not.
Step # 4 – Calculate the amount of Florida child support
The fourth and the last step is to actually calculate the amount of Florida child support based on the figures already determined in the previous steps.
To do that, you can download form 12.902(e) for free by visiting www.flcourts.org. Once you input the calculated figures in the desired input fields on the form, and follow the given instructions, you’ll find your Florida child support amount. The form uses a standard mathematical formula for all parents to calculate child support.
In case you are facing difficulties determining child support in Florida, or if you wish to request an amount that is different from the defined guideline amount, you can get in touch with a qualified and experienced child support attorney in Florida.
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