Pennsylvania Child Support Calculator 2026
Estimate Pennsylvania child support from the official basic child support schedule in force since January 1, 2026. Enter both parents' monthly net incomes, the number of children and the overnights; add childcare and insurance if they apply. Calculated privately in your browser.
Estimate only — the court or the child support agency sets the order. Official source: Pennsylvania Child Support Program estimator.
Pennsylvania uses the income shares model. The basic child support obligation is read from the schedule in Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-3 using the parents' combined monthly net income and the number of children, and the paying parent owes a share of it equal to that parent's share of the combined income. This calculator contains the full schedule that took effect on January 1, 2026 (575 rows from $1,300 to $30,000) and applies the steps in the support rules around it.
How Pennsylvania Child Support Is Calculated
Monthly net income is gross income less federal, state and local income taxes, Social Security and Medicare (or the self-employment equivalent), mandatory retirement payments and union dues, and alimony paid to the other party (Rule 1910.16-2(c)). Add the two net incomes, read the schedule for the number of children, and multiply by the paying parent's percentage of the combined income (Rule 1910.16-4, Part C).
| Combined monthly net income | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children | 4 children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | $461 | $678 | $685 | $693 |
| $3,000 | $691 | $1,053 | $1,272 | $1,421 |
| $4,000 | $916 | $1,377 | $1,653 | $1,847 |
| $5,500 | $1,130 | $1,694 | $2,014 | $2,250 |
| $7,300 | $1,322 | $1,960 | $2,304 | $2,574 |
| $10,000 | $1,661 | $2,452 | $2,871 | $3,207 |
| $15,000 | $2,240 | $3,247 | $3,729 | $4,165 |
| $30,000 | $3,749 | $4,981 | $5,803 | $6,482 |
Above $30,000 of combined income the rule uses a formula instead: the $30,000 amount plus 4.0% of the excess for one or two children, 4.7% for three, 5.3% for four, 5.8% for five and 6.3% for six (Rule 1910.16-3.1). With $24,000 and $12,000 of net income and two children that comes to $3,498.00 a month before the court's review of the children's reasonable needs.
Worked Example from the Rule
The rule's own example has a paying parent with $5,000 of monthly net income, the other parent with $2,300, and two children. Combined income is $7,300, the schedule gives $1,960, the paying parent's share is 68%, and the basic obligation is $1,333 a month. This calculator returns the same figure.
Shared Custody, Low Income and Added Costs
When the children spend 40% or more of the year's overnights with the paying parent, the percentage share is reduced by the time above 30%. In the same example, 40% of overnights cuts the share from 68% to 58% and the amount to $1,137; equal time cuts it to $941. With equal time the order also cannot leave the other parent with more of the combined income than the paying parent, and the lower earner is not ordered to pay basic support (Rule 1910.16-4(c)).
The self-support reserve is $1,255 a month. If the paying parent's income falls in the shaded low-income part of the schedule, the amount is the lesser of the schedule figure on that parent's income alone and the normal share: with $1,500 for the paying parent, $2,500 for the other parent and two children the answer is $223, not $523 (Rule 1910.16-2(e)).
Childcare needed for work and the health insurance premium are divided by the same percentage (Rule 1910.16-6). In the rule's example, a paying parent with a 64% share of $500 of childcare, who already pays $100 of it, owes $1,304 in total.
What This Page Does Not Do
- It does not work out net income from gross pay. Enter the monthly net figure as the rule defines it.
- It does not calculate spousal support or alimony pendente lite, which change both incomes before child support is worked out.
- It does not reduce childcare for the federal child care tax credit, split unreimbursed medical costs above $250 a year, or handle more than six children, split custody or different schedules for different children.
- The rule does not say how to treat income between two $50 rows. The estimate reads the row at or below the income and shows the next row up as well.
- Each parent's share is rounded to a whole percent, as in the rule's examples. A support office may carry more decimals, so its figure can differ by a few dollars.
Estimate Only: Who Sets the Pennsylvania 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, run the same figures through the Pennsylvania Child Support Program estimator. The governing text is Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-3, the basic child support schedule effective January 1, 2026.
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.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is child support calculated in Pennsylvania?
Pennsylvania adds both parents' monthly net incomes and reads a basic obligation from the schedule in Rule 1910.16-3 for that income and the number of children. The paying parent owes the same percentage of it as that parent's share of the combined income. In the rule's example, incomes of $5,000 and $2,300 with two children give $1,960, and the paying parent's 68% share is $1,333 a month.
Which Pennsylvania child support schedule does this calculator use?
It uses the basic child support schedule in Pa.R.Civ.P. 1910.16-3 as amended on August 11, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026. The schedule covers combined monthly net income from $1,300 to $30,000 in $50 steps for one to six children. Above $30,000 the formula in Rule 1910.16-3.1 applies.
How does shared custody change child support in Pennsylvania?
If the children spend 40% or more of the year's overnights with the paying parent, that parent's percentage share is reduced by the time above 30%. At 40% the share drops by 10 points and at 50% by 20 points. With equal time the order cannot leave the other parent with more of the combined income, and the lower earner is not ordered to pay basic support.
What is the self-support reserve in Pennsylvania?
The self-support reserve is $1,255 of monthly net income. When the paying parent's income falls in the shaded low-income part of the schedule, support is the lesser of the schedule amount on that parent's income alone and the normal income share. At or below $1,255 the court looks at both parties' actual resources and living expenses before awarding any support.
Are childcare and health insurance added to Pennsylvania child support?
Yes. Reasonable childcare needed for work or education and the health insurance premium are divided between the parents in proportion to their net incomes under Rule 1910.16-6. The paying parent's share of what the other parent pays is added, and the other parent's share of a premium the paying parent pays is subtracted.