New York Child Support & Maintenance Calculator

New York uses the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) formula. The court determines each parent's adjusted net income, combines them, and applies a statutory percentage based on the number of children: 17% for one child, 25% for two, 29% for three, 31% for four, and 35% for five or more. The non-custodial parent's share is based on their proportion of the combined parental income.

The formula applies to combined parental income up to the statutory cap (currently $193,000). For income above the cap, the court may apply the same percentage or exercise discretion based on statutory factors.

Learn more: Child Support in New York | 2026 Income Cap Update

New York's maintenance formula uses two calculations, and the guideline amount is the lower of the two results. The first calculation takes 20% of the payor's income minus 25% of the payee's income (when the payor is not the custodial parent). The second calculation takes 40% of combined income minus the payee's income. If the payee is the custodial parent, the percentages in the first calculation change to 25% and 20%, respectively.

The formula applies to payor income up to the statutory cap (currently $241,000). The guideline amount cannot reduce the payor's income below the payee's income.

Learn more: Spousal Maintenance in New York | 2026 Income Cap Update

The court considers a broad range of income sources, including wages and salaries, bonuses, commissions, business income, investment income (interest, dividends, capital gains), rental income, retirement and pension income, Social Security benefits, disability payments, workers' compensation, and trust income. Both taxable and non-taxable income are included.

Each party must provide full financial disclosure through a sworn Statement of Net Worth, supported by tax returns, pay stubs, W-2s, 1099s, K-1s, and bank statements.

Learn more: Discovery in a New York Divorce | Child Support

Effective March 1, 2026, the combined parental income cap for child support is $193,000 and the payor income cap for spousal maintenance is $241,000. These caps are adjusted every two years based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

For income above the caps, the court has discretion to apply the guideline formula, award a different amount, or consider the statutory deviation factors.

Learn more: 2026 Income Cap Update | High Net Worth Divorce

The standard CSSA formula assumes a sole custodial arrangement, where one parent has primary physical custody. In split custody cases (where each parent has custody of one or more children), the formula is applied separately for each group of children. In true 50/50 shared custody arrangements, courts typically designate the higher-earning parent as the non-custodial parent for CSSA purposes, meaning the higher earner generally still pays child support.

Learn more: 50/50 Custody in New York | Child Custody

Beyond the basic CSSA obligation, the non-custodial parent may be required to contribute to additional expenses on a pro rata basis (proportional to each parent's share of combined income). These include childcare costs necessary for the custodial parent to work or attend school, health insurance premiums for the children, unreimbursed medical expenses, and educational expenses such as private school tuition when appropriate.

Learn more: Health Insurance and Divorce | Private School Expenses | Child Support

Yes. Both maintenance and child support guideline amounts are subject to judicial discretion. For child support, the court considers factors listed in DRL §240(1-b)(f), including the financial resources of the parents and the child, the child's health and special needs, the standard of living the child would have enjoyed absent the divorce, and tax consequences. For maintenance, DRL §236(B)(6)(e) lists 15 factors including the age and health of the parties, present and future earning capacity, the need for training or education, and the duration of the marriage.

Learn more: Spousal Maintenance | Child Support

New York provides advisory guidelines for the duration of post-divorce maintenance based on the length of the marriage. For marriages of up to 15 years, the advisory duration is 15% to 30% of the length of the marriage. For marriages of 15 to 20 years, it is 30% to 40%. For marriages over 20 years, it is 35% to 50%. These are guidelines, not mandatory rules, and the court retains discretion to set a different duration based on the circumstances of the case.

Learn more: Spousal Maintenance | Gray Divorce | Short-Term Marriage

Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, for divorce agreements executed after December 31, 2018, maintenance (alimony) is no longer deductible by the payor and is no longer taxable income to the recipient. Child support has always been tax-neutral: it is neither deductible by the payor nor taxable to the recipient. These rules can significantly affect the practical impact of support amounts on each party's finances.

Learn more: Tax Implications of Divorce | Strategic Divorce and Taxes

Yes. Child support may be modified upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances, after three years have passed since the order was entered, or upon a showing that either party's gross income has changed by 15% or more since the order was entered. Maintenance modifications generally require a substantial change in circumstances. However, modifying a stipulated (agreed-upon) maintenance amount requires a showing of extreme hardship, which is a higher standard than modifying a court-ordered amount.

Learn more: Post-Judgment Enforcement and Modification

Temporary support is awarded during the pendency of a divorce action and uses the same statutory formulas as post-divorce support. Temporary maintenance and child support orders are retroactive to the date the application is filed. These orders remain in effect until the divorce is finalized, at which point the court issues a final support determination that may differ from the temporary amounts.

Learn more: Temporary Orders During a New York Divorce

By default, the custodial parent (the parent with whom the child spends the majority of overnights) has the right to claim the child as a dependent for federal tax purposes. The custodial parent may release this right to the non-custodial parent by signing IRS Form 8332. In true 50/50 custody arrangements, the IRS tiebreaker rules apply, and the parent with the higher adjusted gross income has the right to claim the child.

Learn more: Who Claims the Child on Taxes | Tax Implications of Divorce