Virginia Child Support Calculator

At $6,000 per month in combined monthly gross income, Virginia's guidelines produce roughly $649/month for 1 child, $968/month for 2 children, $1,217/month for 3 children, $1,360/month for 4 children. These figures come from running Virginia's own guideline formula, but they hold several things constant -- assumes the higher earner has 65% of the combined income shown, neither self-employed, no spousal support or add-ons, and the calculator's default overnight split (73/292 -- sole-custody Worksheet A). Your actual number depends on both parents' incomes, your parenting-time schedule, and add-on costs like childcare and health insurance, so run the calculator for your own case.

Virginia uses the Income Shares model. Virginia looks up a basic support obligation from the § 20-108.2(B) statutory schedule by combined gross income, prorated by each parent's income share. Shared-custody cases -- where the parent with fewer overnights has more than 90 -- use a different worksheet with a 1.4× cross-calculation.

Virginia's guideline runs on gross income (both parents). That distinction matters: entering gross income into a formula built on net income (or the reverse) produces a materially wrong figure. Most states count income from essentially any regular source -- wages, self-employment, bonuses, commissions, rental and investment income, and many benefits -- not just salary.

Not necessarily. In Virginia: Worksheet B (shared custody) applies when the parent with fewer overnights has more than 90; otherwise Worksheet A. Because the guideline also weighs each parent's share of income, a significantly higher earner can still owe support at an even time split.

This calculator's core formula has been verified against the primary source, with any unimplemented rules listed openly rather than hidden. It implements the guideline in effect as of 2025-01-01, and a human last checked it against the primary source on 2026-08-12. Sources: Va. Code § 20-108.2 (guideline for determination of child support); Form DC-637 — Child Support Guidelines Worksheet; Form DC-640 — Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, Shared Custody. It is still an estimate, not a court order -- a judge can order a different amount, and this is not legal advice.

The Virginia guideline this calculator implements took legal effect on 2025-01-01. States revise their guidelines periodically -- federal rules require each state to review its guidelines at least once every four years -- so a figure from an older calculator or article may reflect a superseded rule.

The self-employment tax approximation treats the entered gross figure as net SE profit; there is no separate field for actual business expenses, so it will differ from a return-based calculation. The split-custody worksheet (§ 20-108.2(G)(2), each parent primary custodian of at least one shared child) is not implemented. The 150%-of-federal-poverty-level provision allowing a court to go below the $68 statutory minimum is surfaced only as informational text, not computed (poverty guidelines change annually and are not tracked here). If any of these apply to your case, treat the estimate as a starting point and confirm the figure with an attorney, a mediator, or Virginia's official worksheet.

Yes. The figure produced by Virginia's Income Shares guideline is presumptive, not mandatory: a court can order a different amount when applying the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate for the specific case, and generally must state its reason on the record. Common grounds include extraordinary medical or educational expenses, a child's special needs, or costs the formula does not capture. Virginia's guideline is set out in Va. Code § 20-108.2 (guideline for determination of child support).

You have to file for a modification -- a change in your circumstances does not change what you owe on its own. Virginia, like most states, requires a substantial change in circumstances: a significant involuntary income change, a change in the parenting schedule, or a material change in the child's needs. Until a court or the state child support agency issues a new order, the existing amount stays fully enforceable and arrears keep accruing, and a modification is generally not applied retroactively before the date you filed -- so filing promptly matters.