North Carolina Child Support Calculator 2026

North Carolina uses the income shares model. The basic child support obligation is read from the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations (form AOC-A-162, effective January 1, 2023) using the parents' combined monthly adjusted gross income and the number of children, and each parent is responsible for a share equal to that parent's share of the combined income. This calculator contains the full schedule, 775 rows from $1,300 to $40,000, and follows Worksheet A for primary custody and Worksheet B for shared custody.

How North Carolina Child Support Is Calculated

Income is gross income before taxes. Payments under earlier child support orders and an allowance for a parent's other children are subtracted to give adjusted gross income; this page does not work those out, so subtract them before you enter a figure. Add the two incomes, read the schedule, add work-related childcare and the children's share of the health insurance premium, and multiply by the paying parent's share of the combined income. Costs the paying parent already pays directly are then taken off.

The guidelines say that income between two rows is interpolated: at $8,025 of combined income and two children the basic obligation is $1,730.50, halfway between the $8,000 and $8,050 rows. Above $40,000 of combined income the schedule cannot be used and the court sets support case by case, so this page gives no figure there.

Worked Example Checked Against the State Worksheet

A paying parent earns $5,000 a month and the other parent $3,000, with two children living mainly with the other parent. Combined income is $8,000, the schedule gives $1,727, the paying parent's share is 62.5% and the recommended order is $1,079 a month. The state's online Worksheet A returns the same figure for these inputs. Add $400 of childcare paid by the other parent, $100 paid by the paying parent and a $150 premium paid by the paying parent, and the order becomes $1,235.

Low Income and Shared Custody

The schedule has a shaded low-income area built on a self-support reserve of $1,133 a month. If the paying parent's own income falls in it, the amount is read from that parent's income alone and childcare and insurance are left out: with $1,500 for the paying parent and two children the order is $171 whatever the other parent earns. The lowest order is $50 a month.

When each parent has the children for at least 123 nights a year, Worksheet B applies. The basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5, each parent's share is multiplied by the fraction of nights the children spend with the other parent, and the parent with the higher figure pays the difference. With 150 nights in the example above, and the same childcare and insurance, the result is $710.72 a month.

What This Page Does Not Do

• It does not subtract earlier child support orders or the allowance for a parent's other children. Enter income after those deductions.
• It does not handle split custody (Worksheet C), extraordinary expenses, more than six children, or different schedules for different children.
• It gives no figure above $40,000 of combined monthly income, where the guidelines leave the amount to the court.
• It cannot apply a deviation, which a court may order when the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate.

Estimate Only: Who Sets the North Carolina Order

This page gives an estimate only — the court or the state child support agency sets the order, and either can depart from the guideline where the law allows. Before relying on any figure, check the amount against the North Carolina child support guidelines and schedule. The governing text is the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations, form AOC-A-162, effective January 1, 2023.

If your income, the parenting schedule or the children's needs change, ask the court or the agency to review the order, and keep paying the ordered amount until it is changed. Last updated: October 2026.