How to Complete the Child Support Calculator 

After you log in to your account, click on the "Create Folder-Worksheet" link at the top left-hand corner to start a new Child Support Worksheet. On the first tab ("Basic Information Worksheet") you will complete basic information concerning you, the other parent, your case, and your children. The bottom of this page requires you to answer questions concerning any Social Security retirement/disability ("RSDI" or "SSD") payments or Veterans Affairs disability payments received for the benefit of your children. Additionally, this section asks what percentage of uninsured health expenses should be paid by each parent.

Once you have completed the Basic Information Worksheet, you will enter in your and the other parent's before-tax income information by clicking the "Next Step" tab button at the bottom right-hand corner of the page, which will take you to the second tab ("Gross Income Schedule A").

This section concerns the gross (before-tax) income of both parents. The income of each parent, including any salary and wages, commissions, tips, and bonuses, must be included in this section. Georgia's child support calculation is based upon the gross income of both parents. Thus, it is important to complete this section as accurately and completely as possible.

Notice row #41 at the end of the section. This row involves the imputed income of either parent, if any is applicable. If income should be imputed to either parent, the reasoning for why income should be imputed to either parent must be included in the text boxes labeled 41(a) and 41(b). If you are unsure whether any income should be imputed in your case, see our section concerning imputed income. The next section of Georgia's Child Support Worksheet ("Adjusted Income Schedule B") concerns any adjustments to the parents' gross monthly income that must be made for the purposes of the child support calculation. The adjustments that may be made include income adjustments for self-employment taxes paid, preexisting child support obligations, and the presence of other qualified children in the parent's home. For more information concerning these income adjustments see our section entitled Gross Income.

The next tab, "Parenting Time Schedule C", is a recent addition to the Georgia Child Support Calculator. This tab is used to reflect the recent enactment of the statutory law regarding the "parenting time adjustment." The purpose of the parenting time adjustment is to reduce the non-custodial parent's child support obligations to account for the expenses incurred by that parent during that parent's parenting time.

An essential step in incorporating the parenting time adjustment to the Child Support Worksheet is to calculate the amount of each parent's parenting time. To simplify the calculation of each parent's parenting time, you could click on the "Click Here to View Sample Parenting Plan Day Counts" at the bottom of the page. Each parent's parenting plan is unique, so your parenting plan may not exactly match the Sample Parenting Plan Day Counts. However, the Sample Parenting Plan Day Counts is a good starting point.

After you figure out the parenting days for the non-custodial parent, you will put that information in the box under "Parenting Days" in the "Noncustodial Parent" box. Then, the parenting days for the custodial parent will auto-populate in the appropriate box, and the Parenting Time Adjustment for the Noncustodial Parent will be automatically calculated and show up. The parenting time adjustment can be found in row 6 of the Child Support Worksheet. The Low-income Adjustment, if applicable, will be automatically incorporated into the Child Support Worksheet. If the low-income adjustment was applied by the Worksheet, then you will see the adjusted amount in row 11 on the Worksheet.

The next section of the Child Support Worksheet that must be completed, "Heath Insurance/ Child Care Schedule D", concerns the amount of health insurance premiums paid by the parent for the benefit of the children and any work-related childcare costs incurred by either parent. If either parent incurs work-related childcare costs, the yearly amount incurred for each child must be listed on the worksheet.

The next tab ("Deviations Schedule E") concerns any deviations that either parent wishes for the court or the jury to take into account when determining the final child support amount. The available deviations change the Presumptive Amount of Child Support shown on line 10 of the Child Support Worksheet, and may include, but are not limited to, high income, other health related insurance, life insurance, child and dependent care tax credit, travel expenses, alimony, mortgage, and , extraordinary expense deviation. The judge or the jury determines whether certain deviations may be applicable considering the best interests of the children.

For any deviations you want the judge or the jury to consider, you must complete the Findings of Fact section at the bottom of the Deviations Schedule E Tab. If you do not fill in all three sections of information, the Worksheet will not generate. Be sure you answer the questions stated and give factual information to support your answer.

After you finish filling out the applicable information on all tabs, you could click on the "Display Worksheet Results" button to view the completed Worksheet. As a new function of the Child Support Worksheet, the Worksheet displayed will expressly state the amount of child support the paying parent is required to pay. Once you have displayed the Worksheet results, there is a button at the bottom to print or download your completed Child Support Worksheet. If you need to share your worksheet with anyone, go back to the search Screen by clicking the Worksheet pull down in the bar at the top of the page, then clicking Search Folders - Worksheets. From there, you will be able to make your worksheet available to the Court, share the worksheet with the other parent, or print your worksheet.