New York Child Support & Maintenance Calculator

New York uses the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) formula. The court determines each parent's income as the statute defines it, combines the two incomes, and applies a percentage based on the number of children: 17% for one child, 25% for two, 29% for three, 31% for four, and at least 35% for five or more. The non-custodial parent pays a share of that amount equal to that parent's share of the combined parental income. This calculator uses 35% for five or more children.

The percentage applies to combined parental income up to the statutory cap, currently $193,000. For combined income above the cap, the court sets the amount by considering the factors listed in the statute and/or the child support percentage.

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

New York uses two maintenance formulas. When the maintenance payor will also pay child support as the non-custodial parent for children of the marriage, the first calculation is 20% of the payor's income minus 25% of the payee's income. When the maintenance payor is the custodial parent, or child support will not be paid for children of the marriage, the first calculation is 30% of the payor's income minus 20% of the payee's income. In either case, the second calculation is 40% of the parties' combined income minus the payee's income. The guideline amount is the lower result, but not less than zero.

For the capped calculation, the payor's income is limited to $241,000, effective March 1, 2026. Additional statutory rules, including the self-support-reserve provisions, and judicial discretion may affect the award.

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

Income for support purposes is a statutory measure, not take-home pay. It starts with gross income as it should have been or should be reported on the most recent federal income tax return. To the extent not already included, it adds other sources such as workers' compensation, disability benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, Social Security benefits, veterans benefits, pensions and retirement benefits, fellowships and stipends, and annuity payments. For a self-employed parent, depreciation greater than straight-line depreciation, and travel and entertainment allowances to the extent they reduce personal expenses, are added back.

The statute then subtracts only the deductions it lists, including FICA and Medicare taxes and New York City or Yonkers income taxes actually paid, maintenance paid to a former spouse and child support paid for other children under an order or written agreement, and unreimbursed employee business expenses. Federal and New York State income taxes are not deducted. Public assistance and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are also deducted, so they do not count as income. SSI is a needs-based benefit and is different from Social Security retirement or disability benefits, which do count.

Not every nontaxable receipt is automatically income. Beyond the listed sources, the court has discretion to attribute income from other resources, such as money, goods or services provided by relatives and friends, or perquisites provided with employment, and it can impute income to a parent who has reduced income to avoid support.

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).

The guideline formulas stop at the caps. For combined parental income above the child support cap, the court sets support by considering the statutory factors and/or the child support percentage. For payor income above the maintenance cap, any additional maintenance is within the court's discretion after considering the statutory factors.

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

Child support follows physical custody, not legal custody. The parent with primary physical custody, meaning the parent the children live with most of the time, is the custodial parent for support purposes, and the other parent is the non-custodial parent, who pays child support. Joint legal custody, which concerns shared decision-making, does not by itself determine who pays support or how much.

In true 50/50 shared custody arrangements, courts typically treat the parent with the higher income as the non-custodial parent for child support purposes, so the higher earner generally still pays. In split custody cases, where each parent has primary physical custody of at least one child, the formula is applied separately for each group of children. This calculator assumes all of the children included live primarily with one parent, so it cannot model split custody.

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

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.

This calculator estimates basic child support only. It does not calculate add-on expenses, which can be added to the basic obligation.

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.

This calculator does not evaluate those factors. Its optional fields for alternative amounts let you compare a figure you enter with the guideline amount.

Learn more: Spousal Maintenance | Child Support

New York's advisory schedule for the duration of post-divorce maintenance is based on the length of the marriage, measured from the date of the marriage to the date the divorce action was commenced. For a marriage of up to and including 15 years, the advisory duration is 15% to 30% of the length of the marriage. For more than 15 years up to and including 20 years, it is 30% to 40%. For more than 20 years, it is 35% to 50%.

The schedule is advisory, not mandatory. Whether or not the court uses it, the court must consider the statutory factors, and it can award non-durational maintenance in an appropriate case. This calculator does not calculate duration.

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

Federal income tax: for a divorce or separation agreement executed after 2018, maintenance (alimony) is not deductible by the payor and is not taxable income to the recipient. Under an agreement executed before 2019, maintenance generally remains deductible by the payor and taxable to the recipient, unless the agreement was modified after 2018 and the modification expressly adopts the new rule.

New York income tax: New York did not follow the federal change. For qualifying payments, generally those under agreements executed after 2018, the payor subtracts the maintenance paid and the recipient adds the maintenance received when computing New York income. Child support is neither deductible by the payor nor taxable to the recipient.

This calculator does not model the tax effects of support, and its results are not an after-tax cash-flow estimate. A tax professional can explain how these rules apply to you.

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

Yes. A court may modify a child support order upon a showing of a substantial change in circumstances. In addition, unless the parties specifically opted out in a validly executed agreement or stipulation, the court may modify the order when three years have passed since it was entered, last modified or adjusted, or when either party's gross income has changed by 15% or more since it was entered, last modified or adjusted. A reduction in income qualifies only if it was involuntary and the party has made diligent attempts to find work commensurate with his or her education, ability and experience.

These are grounds for asking the court to modify an order. The passage of time or a change in income does not change an existing order by itself; the order stays in effect as written until the court modifies it.

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 while a divorce action is pending 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.

A temporary order remains in effect until the final judgment unless the court modifies it or replaces it with a further order, and temporary maintenance ends no later than the judgment of divorce or the death of either party, whichever occurs first. A temporary award does not decide the final award: the final judgment sets support going forward, and the final amounts may differ from the temporary ones.

Learn more: Temporary Orders During a New York Divorce

For federal tax purposes, the custodial parent is the parent the child lived with for the greater number of nights during the year. If the child lived with each parent for an equal number of nights, the custodial parent is the parent with the higher adjusted gross income. These federal tax rules are separate from the custody labels used in a court order.

The custodial parent can release the claim to the non-custodial parent by signing IRS Form 8332 or a similar statement. The release has a limited effect: it allows the non-custodial parent to claim the child tax credit, the additional child tax credit or the credit for other dependents for the child, but it does not transfer head of household filing status, the earned income credit, the credit for child and dependent care expenses or the exclusion for dependent care benefits.

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