Section 61.30 of the Florida Statutes, titled “Child support guidelines; retroactive child support,” includes the child support guidelines schedule in subsection (6).¹ This article covers what that statute, the Supreme Court approved Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, and the Sixth Judicial Circuit’s Pinellas County checklist say about income, the guidelines schedule, time-sharing adjustments, and the related forms. The numbered notes at the end link to each original.
Related articles in this series include Uncontested Divorce in Florida, With or Without Children: What the Official Sources Say and Parenting Plans and Time-Sharing in Florida: What the Official Sources Say.
The information that follows is taken directly from Florida statutes, Supreme Court approved family law forms, circuit court checklists, and Florida Bar publications. It is provided for educational purposes only and does not represent legal advice or the legal opinions of the author.
What the Florida Child Support Guidelines Are
Section 61.30(1)(a) provides that “[t]he child support guideline amount as determined by this section presumptively establishes the amount the trier of fact must order as child support.”¹ The same paragraph allows an amount that “varies, plus or minus 5 percent, from the guideline amount, after considering all relevant factors,” and an amount varying more than 5 percent “only upon a written finding explaining why ordering payment of such guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate.”
Section 61.30(16) states that “[t]he Legislature shall review the guidelines schedule established in this section at least every 4 years beginning in 1997.” On how long support lasts, section 61.13(1)(a)1.a. provides that child support orders entered on or after October 1, 2010, must provide “[f]or child support to terminate on a child’s 18th birthday unless the court finds or previously found” that the child is still in high school with “a reasonable expectation of graduation before he or she reaches the age of 19,” or the parties agree otherwise.²
How Florida Child Support Is Calculated
Section 61.30(2) provides that “[i]ncome shall be determined on a monthly basis for each parent.” Its list of gross income has fourteen items, including:¹
- “Salary or wages.”
- “Bonuses, commissions, allowances, overtime, tips, and other similar payments.”
- “Business income from sources such as self-employment, partnership, close corporations, and independent contracts.”
- “Social security benefits.”
- “Spousal support received from a previous marriage or court ordered in the marriage before the court.”
Under section 61.30(3), “[n]et income is obtained by subtracting allowable deductions from gross income,” and the allowable deductions include federal, state, and local income taxes, federal insurance contributions or self-employment tax, mandatory union dues, mandatory retirement payments, and health insurance payments “excluding payments for coverage of the minor child.”¹ Section 61.30(5) provides that “[n]et income for each parent shall be added together for a combined net income,” and section 61.30(6) applies the guidelines schedule “to the combined net income to determine the minimum child support need.” At a combined monthly net income of $5,000, for example, the schedule lists $1,000 for one child and $1,551 for two children. Section 61.30(9) then states that “[e]ach parent’s percentage share of the child support need shall be determined by dividing each parent’s net monthly income by the combined net monthly income.”
How Time-Sharing Affects Child Support in Florida
Section 61.30(11)(b) provides that “[w]henever a particular parenting plan, a court-ordered time-sharing schedule, or a time-sharing arrangement exercised by agreement of the parties provides that each child spend a substantial amount of time with each parent, the court shall adjust any award of child support.”¹ Subparagraph 8 provides that, “[f]or purposes of adjusting any award of child support under this paragraph, ‘substantial amount of time’ means that a parent exercises time-sharing at least 20 percent of the overnights of the year.”
The listed steps start with multiplying each parent’s share of the support obligation, calculated without day care and health insurance costs, by 1.5. The statute then directs calculating “the percentage of overnight stays the child spends with each parent” and multiplying each parent’s obligation by the other parent’s percentage of overnights. Under subparagraph 4, “[t]he difference between the amounts calculated in subparagraph 3. shall be the monetary transfer necessary between the parents for the care of the child, subject to an adjustment for day care and health insurance expenses.” Section 61.30(11)(c) adds that a parent’s failure to regularly exercise the time-sharing schedule, when that schedule was the basis for the adjustment, “shall be deemed a substantial change of circumstances for purposes of modifying the child support award.”
Health Insurance, Child Care, and Deviations
Section 61.30(7) provides that child care costs “incurred due to employment, job search, or education calculated to result in employment or to enhance income of current employment of either parent shall be added to the basic obligation.”¹ Section 61.30(8) adds health insurance costs and “any noncovered medical, dental, and prescription medication expenses of the child” to the basic obligation “unless these expenses have been ordered to be separately paid on a percentage basis.” Section 61.13(1)(b) states that “[e]ach order for support shall contain a provision for health insurance for the minor child when health insurance is reasonable in cost and accessible to the child,” and that coverage “is presumed to be reasonable in cost if the incremental cost of adding health insurance for the child or children does not exceed 5 percent of the gross income” of the parent providing it.²
Section 61.30(11)(a) allows the court to adjust the guideline amount based on eleven listed deviation factors, including:¹
- “Extraordinary medical, psychological, educational, or dental expenses.”
- “Seasonal variations in one or both parents’ incomes or expenses.”
- “The age of the child, taking into account the greater needs of older children.”
- “Total available assets of the obligee, obligor, and the child.”
The Eighteenth Judicial Circuit’s Brevard County checklist lists a Motion to Deviate from Child Support Guidelines, Form 12.943, with the note “(Only if parties are requesting to deviate from support guidelines.)”³ Under section 61.30(1)(a), an amount more than 5 percent from the guideline figure is permitted “only upon a written finding explaining why ordering payment of such guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate.”¹
The Child Support Guidelines Worksheet and Related Forms
The current instructions for Form 12.902(e), Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, dated 06/25, state that the worksheet is completed “if child support is being requested in your case.”⁴ They add that “[i]f you know the income of the other party, this worksheet should accompany your financial affidavit,” and that if the other party’s income is not known, “this form must be completed after the other party files his or her financial affidavit, and serves a copy on you.” Lines on the worksheet call for each parent’s gross and net monthly income as stated in the Family Law Financial Affidavit, Form 12.902(b) or (c), and its substantial time-sharing section applies “[i]f each parent exercises time-sharing at least 20 percent of the overnights in the year (73 overnights in the year).”
The instructions also explain how to convert pay to monthly figures, such as multiplying a payment received every two weeks by 26 and dividing by 12. The Sixth Judicial Circuit’s Pinellas County checklist for a dissolution with minor children lists the worksheet among the required filings and notes that “if you do not know your spouse’s income, you may file this after his or her financial affidavit has been served to you.”⁵ The same checklist lists a financial affidavit or, where both parents waive it, “both Notice of Joint Verified Waiver of filing Financial Affidavit – Form 12.902(k) and Affidavit of Income for Child Support – Form 12.902(l).”
Changing Child Support Later and Legal Questions
Section 61.30(1)(b) provides that the guidelines “may provide the basis for proving a substantial change in circumstances upon which a modification of an existing order may be granted,” but that “the difference between the existing monthly obligation and the amount provided for under the guidelines shall be at least 15 percent or $50, whichever amount is greater.”¹ Section 61.30(17) gives the court discretion in an initial determination to award support retroactive “to the date when the parents did not reside together in the same household with the child,” not to exceed “a period of 24 months preceding the filing of the petition.”
The Pinellas checklist states that it is “not intended, and should not be substituted for, proper legal advice from an attorney.”⁵ The Florida Bar describes its Lawyer Referral Service as a way for consumers to connect with verified attorneys, and the service can be reached at 800-342-8011 or floridabar.org/public/lrs.⁶
Need help completing the forms?
Form America LLC, the publisher of this site, offers flat-rate form completion and filing instructions for uncontested Florida divorce forms, including the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, Form 12.902(e), and the financial affidavits filed with it, in all 67 Florida counties. To request help, use the contact form at noncontested.com. Because these are Florida family law forms approved by the Supreme Court of Florida, Rule 10-2.2 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar allows a nonlawyer to ask you the factual questions needed to fill in the blanks and to tell you how to file the form.⁷ Every engagement begins with the signed Disclosure from Nonlawyer that the rule requires. Form America cannot answer legal questions or tell you what amount of child support is correct, whether to ask for a deviation, how to count overnights under your schedule, or whether to waive financial affidavits. Those decisions are yours. If you have a legal question, if the other parent does not agree, or if you would like an attorney, The Florida Bar Lawyer Referral Service can be reached at 800-342-8011.
Notes
- The Florida Senate, Florida Statutes, Section 61.30, Child support guidelines; retroactive child support (2025).
- The Florida Senate, 2026 Florida Statutes, Chapter 61, Dissolution of Marriage; Support; Time-Sharing.
- Eighteenth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Case Checklist, Petition for Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Child(ren), Brevard County.
- Pasco County Clerk and Comptroller, Instructions and Form 12.902(e), Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (06/25).
- Sixth Judicial Circuit of Florida, Case Progression Checklist, Dissolution of Marriage with Dependent or Minor Child(ren), Pinellas County (6/2024).
- The Florida Bar, Lawyer Referral Service.
- The Florida Bar, Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, Chapter 10, Rule 10-2.2, Form Completion by a Nonlawyer (June 30, 2026 edition).
Leave a comment