How to Calculate Child Support in California 2025
California Senate Bill 343 was signed into law on September 22, 2023. The law goes into effect on September 1, 2025. The new law significantly changes how child support is calculated in California. It also changes other aspects of child support.
In this blog, our Los Angeles family law attorneys explain how to calculate child support in California in 2025. We also address other changes set to take place later this year in child support cases.
How Is Child Support Calculated in California in the New 2025 Child Support Guidelines?
California law requires parents to use a standard formula to calculate child support obligations. The child support formula is CS = K[HN – (H%)(TN)]. The initials represent:
- CS – Child Support
- K – Total of the parents’ incomes
- HN – The higher-earning parent’s disposable income
- H% – The higher-earning parent’s time as the primary caregiver
- TN – The parents’ combined net monthly disposable income
SB343 changed the formula the child support guidelines require parents to use as of September 1, 2025, to calculate support payments. The revised formula changes the “K” factors from gross income to net income. The intention is to make child support fair for both parents by adjusting the contributions of high-income parents while adjusting the percentage of net income for lower-income parents.
Using net income instead of gross income focuses the calculation on the money parents have available to pay child support payments each month. Gross income does not consider that parents have substantially less income after mandatory deductions from their pay.
Child Support Add-On Expenses Are Changing in 2025
The new child support law changes how add-on expenses are allocated between parents. Add-on expenses include medical expenses and childcare costs.
Under the current standards, these expenses are divided equally between the parents. The new law creates a more balanced system for allocating add-on expenses. The parent’s portion of these expenses is based on their relative net income.
Therefore, the higher-earning parent will pay a larger portion of the add-on expenses than the lower-earning parent. The new method for dividing expenses reflects a higher-earning parent’s access to more resources to pay these expenses.
In addition to medical expenses and childcare costs, the new law includes other additional child expenses. Expenses that can be added to child support and divided using the new formula include additional childcare costs, medical expenses not covered by health insurance, and extracurricular activities.
Help for Low-Income Parents in California
Child support obligations can result in financial hardship for some low-income parents. The new child support law recognizes this problem and includes provisions to help low-income parents. Parents earning below a specific income receive a reduction in their child support obligations.
A parent earning below $2,773.33 per month may qualify for the reduction. In addition, the new law allows judges to deviate from the standard child support obligations if the payments result in an excessive burden for low-income parents.
Child Support Obligations Suspended for Incarcerated Parents
The law changes how child support obligations are treated if a parent becomes incarcerated. The new child support standards suspended child support payments until the tenth full month after the parent’s release from incarceration. Suspending the parents helps prevent unmanageable debt and allows a parent sufficient time to find gainful employment to resume child support payments.
Periodic Review of Child Support Obligations Required in California
The new guidelines require periodic reviews of child support orders. The reviews are intended to ensure child support obligations remain fair. The court can modify child support payments to reflect the children’s and parents’ current circumstances and needs.
Penalties for Hiding Income to Avoid Child Support Payments
Parents may conceal the amount of income they earn or the types of income they earn to decrease their child support payments. Because the new child support laws use net income instead of gross income, a parents may try to increase withholding to lower their payments and receive a higher tax refund each year.
Trying to manipulate child support calculations to avoid paying a fair share of support can have severe consequences. The court may order wage garnishment, seizure of assets, property liens, and driver’s license suspension. A person could also face contempt of court and back child support plus interest.
Get Help With California’s New Child Support Guidelines for 2025
Do you need help with a child support case in California? Call Berenji & Associates Divorce Lawyers to schedule a case evaluation with an experienced Los Angeles child support attorney. We assist parents in all matters related to child support, including calculating child support obligations, enforcing support orders, and modifying child support.
Contact a Los Angeles Divorce Lawyer Today
Call Berenji & Associates Divorce Lawyers today to learn how we can assist you.
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