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Updated for 2026 guidelines

North Carolina Child Support Calculator 2026

North Carolina figures support from both parents’ gross incomes on one of three worksheets, chosen by overnights. This page runs the AOC-A-162 math and explains every step it takes.

Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log

Estimate North Carolina child support

Custody arrangement

North Carolina picks the worksheet by overnights. Worksheet A applies when one parent has the children at least 243 nights a year; Worksheet B applies when each parent has them at least 123 nights and covers expenses during that time (AOC-A-162). Split custody (one child living with each parent) uses Worksheet C, which this form does not cover.

The Schedule of Basic Support Obligations covers 1 to 6 children.

Both parents' gross monthly income

North Carolina runs on GROSS income before taxes, from any source: wages, self-employment, rental, retirement, Social Security, and more (AOC-A-162). Do not subtract taxes or FICA.

The same before-tax figure for the other parent.

Income adjustments (optional)

Support actually paid each month for children of other cases comes off the paying parent gross income before the worksheet math (AOC-A-162).

Natural or adopted children of the paying parent who live in that home but are not part of this case. The guidelines deduct the basic obligation for them, figured on that parent income alone.

Monthly add-ons (optional)

Reasonable child care needed for a job or job search, added to the basic obligation and shared by income (AOC-A-162).

The premium share for the children of this case only, added to the basic obligation. If the children portion is unknown, divide the total premium by the people covered and multiply by these children.

Estimated monthly child support: $614.86

The paying parent pays this amount to the receiving parent each month.

How this estimate was computed
Line itemAmount
Combined monthly adjusted gross incomeNorth Carolina Child Support Guidelines, AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/23 (incl. Schedule of Basic Support Obligations) (NC Conference of Chief District Judges / AOC (hosted by NCDHHS))$7,000.00
Basic support obligation from the schedule (interpolated between rows where required)North Carolina Child Support Guidelines, AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/23 (incl. Schedule of Basic Support Obligations) (NC Conference of Chief District Judges / AOC (hosted by NCDHHS))$1,076.00
Payer income share of the total obligation (57.14 percent)North Carolina Child Support Guidelines, AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/23 (incl. Schedule of Basic Support Obligations) (NC Conference of Chief District Judges / AOC (hosted by NCDHHS))$614.86
Monthly guideline child supportNorth Carolina Child Support Guidelines, AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/23 (incl. Schedule of Basic Support Obligations) (NC Conference of Chief District Judges / AOC (hosted by NCDHHS))$614.86

Assumptions

  • Gross incomes are taken as given; guideline income inclusions and exclusions are not recomputed.
  • The schedule rows transcribed in the pack are a subset of the official 50 dollar increment rows; interpolation across untranscribed spans approximates the official values between them.

Continue with this income in the PayDecode take-home calculator

PayDecode is a separate site. The link may not carry your numbers over; if its form opens blank, enter the income there again.

Estimate only. The court or state agency calculation controls.

North Carolina guidelines, effective 2023-01-01.

North Carolina guideline facts

Guideline model
Income shares, built on both parents’ gross monthly incomessource
Authority
G.S. 50-13.4(c1); N.C. Child Support Guidelines, AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/23source
Schedule range
Combined gross income $0 to $40,000 a month in $50 rows, 1 to 6 childrensource
Worksheet thresholds
A at 243+ nights with one parent; B at 123+ nights with each parentsource
Minimum order
$50 a month when the payer’s adjusted gross income is under $1,150source
Official calculator
Yes: the NC DHHS eCoA online Worksheets A, B, and Csource
Guideline effective date
January 1, 2023 (AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/23)source
Data last reviewed
August 6, 2026source

How North Carolina calculates child support

North Carolina follows the income shares idea: children should get the slice of parental income they would have enjoyed in a single household. The math starts with each parent’s gross monthly income, meaning income before taxes, from wages, self-employment, rental property, retirement, and most other sources.

A few things come off that gross figure first. Child support a parent actually pays under an order for other children is deducted, and so is a responsibility amount for other natural or adopted children living in that parent’s home, set at the basic obligation for those children on that parent’s income alone.

The adjusted incomes are combined and looked up in the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations, a long table running from $0 to $40,000 a month in $50 steps for 1 to 6 children. When the combined income lands between two rows, the guidelines direct you to interpolate rather than round to the nearest row.

Which worksheet applies depends on overnights. Worksheet A covers primary custody, where one parent has the children at least 243 nights a year. Worksheet B covers shared custody, where each parent has them at least 123 nights and pays their expenses during that time; it multiplies the basic obligation by 1.5 and offsets the two sides by income and nights. Worksheet C covers split custody, with at least one child living primarily with each parent.

Work-related child care, the children’s share of a health insurance premium, and approved extraordinary expenses are added on top and divided by income shares, with a credit to the parent who pays the bill directly. The first $250 per child per year of uninsured medical and dental costs is already inside the schedule amounts.

For low earners there is a floor instead of a formula. A paying parent whose adjusted gross income is under $1,150 a month gets a minimum order of $50, absent deviation; the threshold rests on the 2022 federal poverty level of $1,133 a month for one person.

Worked example: $5,500 and $2,500 gross, 2 children, two add-ons

  1. Take a Worksheet A case with 2 children. The paying parent grosses $5,500 a month, the receiving parent $2,500. The receiving parent pays $800 a month for work-related child care, and the paying parent carries the children’s health insurance at $200 a month.
  2. Combine the incomes: $5,500 plus $2,500 is $8,000. The paying parent’s share of that is $5,500 divided by $8,000, which is 68.75 percent.
  3. Read the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations at $8,000 for 2 children. The basic obligation there is $1,727.
  4. Add the two bills on top: $1,727 plus $800 child care plus $200 insurance makes a total obligation of $2,727.
  5. Multiply by the paying parent’s share: 68.75 percent of $2,727 is $1,874.81.
  6. Credit what that parent already pays directly. The $200 premium comes off, leaving $1,674.81 a month.
  7. The calculator above returns the same $1,674.81 for these inputs, and the scenario is pinned as a golden fixture in our tests so the prose and the tool cannot drift apart.

The steps above follow the calculation method described on our methodology page.

North Carolina guideline history

  1. Revised guidelines took effect as AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/15.source
  2. Revised guidelines and schedule took effect as AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/19.source
  3. Current guidelines took effect: self-support reserve rebased on the 2022 poverty level of $1,133 a month, minimum order $50, schedule top row $40,000 a month.source
  4. Quadrennial review in progress: the Conference of Chief District Court Judges took written comments through May 25, 2026 and held a public hearing, with a revised schedule expected to take effect no earlier than January 2027.source

North Carolina child support FAQs

Does North Carolina have an official child support calculator?

Yes. NC Child Support Services hosts free online versions of Worksheets A, B, and C, called eCoA, that compute a guideline amount. They match the court forms AOC-CV-627, 628, and 629. This page adds what those worksheets leave out: the sources, the thresholds, and a plain explanation of each step.

Is North Carolina child support based on gross or net income?

Gross. The guidelines define income as gross monthly income from almost any source, before taxes and FICA. The only standard subtractions are child support actually paid under other orders and the responsibility amount for other children living in the parent’s home. Alimony a parent pays is not deducted, though it can support a deviation request.

What decides whether Worksheet A or Worksheet B applies?

Overnights. Worksheet A applies when one parent has the children at least 243 nights a year. Worksheet B applies when each parent has them at least 123 nights a year and covers their expenses during that time. The AOC-CV-628 instructions phrase the shared custody test as more than 122 overnights.

How does shared custody change the number?

Worksheet B multiplies the schedule amount by 1.5, splits the result by income shares, and then charges each parent for the time the children spend with the other parent. The two figures offset, and the parent with the larger one pays the difference. Crossing the 123-night line can move the payment a lot, which is why overnight counts get litigated.

What if the paying parent earns very little?

When the paying parent’s adjusted gross income is below $1,150 a month, the guidelines set a minimum order of $50 unless the court deviates. The cushion is called the self-support reserve, and the 2023 revision pegged it to the 2022 federal poverty level of $1,133 a month for one person.

What happens above $40,000 a month in combined income?

The schedule stops. For combined adjusted gross income over $40,000 a month, which is $480,000 a year, the court sets support based on the child’s reasonable needs under G.S. 50-13.4 rather than a table lookup. The top schedule row can inform a floor, but no worksheet produces the answer.

Will the North Carolina schedule change in 2027?

Probably. G.S. 50-13.4(c1) requires a review at least every four years, and the 2026 review is underway: public comments closed May 25, 2026 and a hearing was held June 4, 2026. Per the UNC School of Government, a revised schedule is expected to take effect no earlier than January 2027. Orders already entered do not change automatically; this page will be updated when the new schedule is final.

Why does the calculator interpolate between income rows?

Because the guidelines say to. The schedule moves in $50 steps, and for a combined income between two rows the instructions direct interpolation between them. A combined income of $7,250 with one child, for example, sits halfway between the $7,000 row at $1,076 and the $7,500 row at $1,109, so the basic obligation is $1,092.50.

Good to know in North Carolina

  • The schedule already includes the first $250 per child per year of uninsured medical and dental costs. Bills beyond that are split in whatever proportion the court orders.
  • Incarceration does not count as voluntary unemployment, so income cannot be imputed to a parent for time in custody (45 C.F.R. 302.56(c)(3), applied by the guidelines).
  • Health insurance for the children counts as reasonable in cost when it runs at or below 5 percent of the parent’s gross income (G.S. 50-13.11(a1)).

How to use this estimate

Pick the worksheet that matches your overnight schedule, then enter both parents’ gross monthly incomes. For Worksheet B, add the paying parent’s overnights across all children; the tool assigns the remaining nights of the 365-per-child total to the other parent, the way the court form balances line 7.

Enter income before taxes. That feels wrong to many people, but the North Carolina schedule was built on gross figures, so deducting taxes first would understate the obligation. Pay stubs show gross pay per period; multiply to a monthly figure.

Our copy of the schedule transcribes the official rows our test fixtures use, and the tool interpolates between them exactly as the guidelines instruct. Because the official table moves in $50 steps, interpolating across a wider transcribed gap can sit a few dollars off the printed row; the official eCoA worksheet is the number the agency will use.

Deviation is always available to the judge. Either parent can ask the court to move away from the worksheet number with evidence of the child’s reasonable needs and the parents’ ability to pay (G.S. 50-13.4).

What this estimate includes

  • Worksheet A primary custody math and Worksheet B shared custody math
  • Deductions for support paid under other orders and other children in the home
  • The 1.5 multiplier and overnight offset for Worksheet B
  • Child care and health insurance add-ons with direct-payment credits
  • The $50 minimum order below $1,150 of adjusted gross income
  • Interpolation between transcribed schedule rows, as the guidelines require

What it leaves out

  • Worksheet C split custody, where children live primarily with different parents
  • The shaded-area self-support adjustment above $1,150, which needs a visual read of the official schedule
  • Imputed income for bad-faith unemployment, which takes a court finding
  • Cases with combined income over $40,000 a month, which leave the schedule entirely
  • Extraordinary expenses such as private school or travel between homes

Official sources

Official sources last verified: .

Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log

Changelog: page first published with the AOC-A-162 Rev. 1/23 schedule and the 2026 quadrennial review note. Material changes are dated in the update log.