The court will use a program to calculate the order for child support. You may run a calculation to estimate the amount of child support ordered. Please keep in mind that your calculation may be different from what the court orders, as the court may consider factors that you have not included in your calculation.

California law provides guidelines to courts for setting child support payment amounts. The Calculator is a computer tool that uses those guidelines to calculate appropriate child support payment amounts. Child support guidelines are based on each parent’s net disposable monthly income and the amount of time the child is cared for by each parent. For the purpose of deciding child support payment amounts, the court considers income from all sources, whether or not it is reported or taxed under federal and state law.

The California Department of Child Support Services provides a free, online child support calculator program:

Support Calculator