The amount of child support a parent will be ordered to pay is usually determined by the current Child Support Guidelines. There is a presumption that the formula set out in the Guidelines will be the amount of child support the court must order. Usually,  it will do precisely that. But parents seeking or resisting a child support order can attempt to persuade the judge to set the child support higher or lower, depending on the parties’ circumstances. But before those argument can be made, the Guidelines must be run to see the presumptive amount. If you know the gross incomes of both parties, what each spends on health and dental insurance, and what each spends on daycare, you have enough information to run the formula. You can do that and download the formula here.

The full 2023 Guidelines detail what counts as income and the factors that may lead a court to order support at a level different than indicated by the Guidelines formula. You can read the full Guidelines here.