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Updated for 2026 guidelines

Pennsylvania Child Support Calculator 2026

Pennsylvania rewrote its support numbers effective January 1, 2026. This page runs the new schedule on both parents’ monthly net incomes, including the shared custody reduction that starts at 40 percent of overnights.

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

Estimate Pennsylvania child support

Both parents' monthly net income

Pennsylvania computes support on monthly NET income (Rule 1910.16-2): gross income minus income taxes, FICA or self-employment tax, mandatory union dues, mandatory retirement contributions, and alimony paid to the other party. Enter the after-deduction figure.

Figured the same way: that parent gross income minus the Rule 1910.16-2 deductions.

Children and custody time

The Rule 1910.16-3 schedule covers 1 to 6 children.

Overnights with the paying parent divided by 365, times 100. Below 40 percent this does not change the number. At 40 percent or more, Rule 1910.16-4(c) reduces the paying parent's share point for point above 30 percent. Leave blank for 0.

Spousal support in the same case
Also include spousal support or alimony pendente lite between the parents?

Yes follows the official worksheet order: the spousal amount (25 percent of payer net minus 30 percent of recipient net) is computed first, then child support runs on the adjusted incomes. The total shown is both together.

Monthly add-ons (optional)

Reasonable child care needed for work, split by income share (Rule 1910.16-6).

The children's share of the premium, also allocated by income share.

Estimated monthly support: $1,039.00

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

How this estimate was computed
Line itemAmount
Combined monthly net incomePa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-2 (net income; SSR $1,255; low-income) (PA Supreme Court / Pennsylvania Code)$7,300.00
Basic obligation (Rule 1910.16-3 schedule)Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-3, Basic Child Support Schedule (231 Pa. Code) (PA Supreme Court / Pennsylvania Code)$1,960.00
Obligor share of combined net income (whole percent)Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-4 (formulas: child support, spousal support/APL, shared custody Part D) (PA Supreme Court / Pennsylvania Code)$68.00
Part D shared custody: share reduced from 68 to 53 percent (custody 45 percent)Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-4 (formulas: child support, spousal support/APL, shared custody Part D) (PA Supreme Court / Pennsylvania Code)$1,039.00
Total monthly supportPa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-4 (formulas: child support, spousal support/APL, shared custody Part D) (PA Supreme Court / Pennsylvania Code)$1,039.00

Assumptions

  • Income share rounded to the nearest whole percent and dollar amounts to the nearest dollar, per the official worksheet convention.

Estimate only. The court or state agency calculation controls.

Pennsylvania guidelines, effective 2026-01-01.

Pennsylvania guideline facts

Guideline model
Income shares on both parents’ monthly net incomessource
Rules
23 Pa.C.S. § 4322; Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-1 through 1910.16-7source
Current version
Amended August 11, 2025, effective January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 5978)source
Self-Support Reserve
$1,255 per month, up from $1,063 under the 2022 rulessource
Schedule range
$0 to $30,000 combined monthly net income, in $50 steps, 1 to 6 childrensource
Shared custody line
40 percent of annual overnights triggers the Rule 1910.16-4(c) reductionsource
Official estimator
The PA child support program runs its own online estimatorsource
Parameter set effective
January 1, 2026 (55 Pa.B. 5978)source
Next scheduled data review
February 6, 2027source

How the Pennsylvania guidelines work

Pennsylvania child support runs on court rules, not a statute full of percentages. The General Assembly ordered guidelines in 23 Pa.C.S. section 4322, and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania writes the actual math into Rules of Civil Procedure 1910.16-1 through 1910.16-7. The current version was adopted August 11, 2025 and took effect January 1, 2026.

Everything starts from monthly net income, not gross. Rule 1910.16-2 takes each parent’s gross income from all sources and subtracts income taxes, FICA or self-employment tax, mandatory union dues, mandatory retirement contributions, and alimony paid to the other party. What is left is the number the formula uses.

The two net incomes are added together and looked up on the Rule 1910.16-3 schedule, a table that runs in $50 steps up to $30,000 of combined monthly net income and covers 1 to 6 children. The schedule amount is the basic obligation. Each parent is responsible for a share of it in proportion to income, and the worksheet rounds that share to a whole percent.

Custody time matters only past a line. If the paying parent has the children for less than 40 percent of the overnights in a year, the schedule amount is not adjusted. At 40 percent or more, Rule 1910.16-4(c) subtracts 30 from the custody percentage and takes that many points off the paying parent’s income share. With truly equal time, support can only run from the parent with the higher net income, and it is capped at the amount that makes the two net incomes equal.

Low earners get two protections. The rules reserve a Self-Support Reserve of $1,255 a month to the paying parent; at or below that net income there is no presumptive order at all. Just above it, the paying parent owes the lesser of the combined-income calculation and the schedule amount looked up on their income alone.

Above $30,000 of combined monthly net income the schedule ends and Rule 1910.16-3.1 takes over: a fixed base amount for the number of children plus a small percentage of the income above $30,000, never less than the $30,000-row figure.

Worked example: $5,000 and $2,300 net, 2 children, 45 percent of overnights

  1. Take a paying parent with $5,000 in monthly net income and a receiving parent with $2,300, with 2 children. The paying parent has the children for 45 percent of the overnights in the year, about 164 nights. These are the numbers in the example printed with Rule 1910.16-4 itself.
  2. Combined monthly net income is $5,000 plus $2,300, which is $7,300. On the Rule 1910.16-3 schedule, the basic obligation for 2 children at that income is $1,960.
  3. The paying parent earns $5,000 of the $7,300, and the worksheet rounds that share to 68 percent. Without any custody adjustment, the obligation would be 68 percent of $1,960, which is $1,333.
  4. At 45 percent of overnights the shared custody rule applies. Subtract 30 from 45 to get 15, then take 15 points off the 68 percent share. The adjusted share is 53 percent.
  5. Support is 53 percent of $1,960, which is $1,038.80, rounded to $1,039 a month. The official example under the rule reaches the same $1,039.

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

Pennsylvania guideline history

  1. Pennsylvania adopted statewide support guidelines as the Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16 series.source
  2. Schedule update extended the table to $30,000 of combined monthly net income, with a Self-Support Reserve of $867.source
  3. The spousal support formulas were restructured to 33/40 and 25/30 after the federal tax law stopped treating support as deductible.source
  4. A new schedule removed the built-in 30 percent custody assumption and set the Self-Support Reserve at $1,063 (51 Pa.B. 5539).source
  5. The current amendments took effect: a new schedule, a $1,255 Self-Support Reserve, and updated high-income base amounts (55 Pa.B. 5978).source

Pennsylvania child support FAQs

What changed in Pennsylvania child support in 2026?

The Supreme Court amended the guidelines on August 11, 2025, effective January 1, 2026. The basic support schedule was updated, the Self-Support Reserve rose from $1,063 to $1,255 a month, and the high-income base amounts in Rule 1910.16-3.1 were reset. Orders entered under the old numbers do not change by themselves; a party has to seek modification.

Does Pennsylvania use gross or net income?

Net. Rule 1910.16-2 defines monthly net income as gross income from all sources minus income taxes, FICA or self-employment tax, mandatory union dues, mandatory retirement contributions, and alimony paid to the other party. That makes Pennsylvania different from gross-income states, and it is why this calculator asks for the after-deduction figure.

At what point does shared custody lower support in Pennsylvania?

At 40 percent of annual overnights. Below that line the schedule amount stands as is. From 40 percent up, Rule 1910.16-4(c) subtracts 30 from the custody percentage and removes that many points from the paying parent’s income share, so 45 percent custody trims 15 points off the share. It is a points reduction, not a night-by-night proration.

Who pays child support with a 50/50 schedule in Pennsylvania?

Only the parent with the higher net income can owe support when time is equal, and the amount is capped at the figure that equalizes the two net incomes. In the example published with the rule, parents earning $3,000 and $2,500 with 2 children end up with a $250 order, because anything more would push the lower earner above the higher one.

What is the Self-Support Reserve?

A floor of $1,255 a month, as of January 1, 2026, that the rules reserve to the paying parent for basic needs. A parent at or below that net income has no presumptive support order, and just above it the rules compare two calculations and charge the lesser: the combined-income result, or the schedule amount at the paying parent’s income alone.

How does the formula work above $30,000 a month in combined income?

The schedule stops at $30,000 of combined monthly net income, and Rule 1910.16-3.1 continues from there. For 2 children the presumptive obligation is $4,981 plus 4 percent of the combined net above $30,000; each child count has its own base and percentage, up to $7,750 plus 6.3 percent for 6 children. The result is then split by income share like any other case.

Is there an official Pennsylvania child support calculator?

Yes. The Pennsylvania child support program publishes an online estimator through the state child support website, and it is linked in the sources below. It is an estimate tool, like this one; the enforceable number comes from the county domestic relations section and the court. This page adds the step-by-step math and the rule citations so you can see where the figure comes from.

Which is calculated first, spousal support or child support?

Spousal support or alimony pendente lite comes first on the official worksheet. The spousal amount is computed with the 25/30 formula, then it is subtracted from the payer’s net income and added to the recipient’s before the child support math runs. This tool follows the same order when you turn the spousal toggle on.

Good to know in Pennsylvania

  • Before guidelines existed, Melzer v. Witsberger, 505 Pa. 462 (1984), made Pennsylvania courts compute both parents’ contributions case by case. The 1989 guidelines replaced that with the schedule approach used today.
  • Ball v. Minnick, 538 Pa. 441 (1995), settled that the guideline figure is presumptive: a judge who departs from it has to put the reasons on the record.
  • Hanrahan v. Bakker, 186 A.3d 958 (Pa. 2018), addressed very high incomes and required a reasonable-needs analysis alongside the high-income formula, so wealthy-family cases are not pure arithmetic.
  • The 2022 schedule removed a 30 percent custody assumption that had been built into the older tables. Since then, parenting time affects the number only through the express 40 percent rule.
  • Pennsylvania reviews its guidelines on the federal four-year cycle (45 C.F.R. 302.56). Recent cycles landed in 2010, 2013, 2017, 2022, and 2026, so expect the next look around 2029 or 2030.

How to use this estimate

Enter monthly net income for both parents, because that is what Rule 1910.16-2 computes on. If you only know gross pay, subtract income taxes, FICA, mandatory union dues, mandatory retirement, and any alimony you pay to the other parent first, then enter what is left.

The custody field wants a percentage of the year’s overnights, the same figure as line 25a of the official worksheet: overnights with the paying parent divided by 365, times 100. Below 40 percent it changes nothing, so a rough number is fine there.

If spousal support or alimony pendente lite runs between the same two people, switch the toggle to combine them. The tool then follows the worksheet order: the spousal amount first, then child support on the adjusted incomes, and it shows the two together.

Treat the result as the presumptive guideline number. A Pennsylvania court can deviate from it, but only with stated reasons, and the county domestic relations section runs the official conference process where the real order gets set.

What this estimate includes

  • The 2026 Rule 1910.16-3 schedule for 1 to 6 children
  • Pro rata split by each parent’s share of combined net income, rounded to whole percents
  • The Rule 1910.16-4(c) reduction at 40 percent or more of overnights, with the equal-time income cap
  • The $1,255 Self-Support Reserve and the low-income lesser-of comparison
  • The Rule 1910.16-3.1 formula above $30,000 combined monthly net
  • Child care and children’s health insurance add-ons split by income share
  • An optional spousal support / APL amount computed first, worksheet style

What it leaves out

  • The net-income arithmetic itself; you enter income after the Rule 1910.16-2 deductions
  • Unreimbursed medical expenses over $250 per child per year and other Rule 1910.16-6 extras
  • Multi-family allocation when a parent owes support in more than one case (Rule 1910.16-7)
  • Divided custody offsets when each parent has primary custody of at least one child
  • Deviations, earning capacity findings, and everything else a judge decides

Official sources

Official sources last verified: .

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

Changelog: page first published with the 2026 schedule, the $1,255 Self-Support Reserve, and the Rule 1910.16-4(c) shared custody math. Material changes are dated in the update log.