Child support · AL
Alabama child support calculator
Rule 32 of the Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration: the 2022 schedule, the reserve on Form CS-42 and the 50% custody adjustment of Form CS-42-S.
Rules read on official Alabama pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Income shares
- Income counted
- Adjusted gross
- Shared parenting
- No fixed formula
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $647
- a month, rules of May 1, 2022
An Alabama parent with $4,200 of monthly adjusted gross income and a co-parent at $3,800 owes about $805 a month for two children under Rule 32 of the Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration. The Supreme Court of Alabama adopted the current Schedule of Basic Child-Support Obligations by order of January 14, 2022, for cases filed from May 1, 2022; it lists $1,519 for two children at a combined $8,000, and the obligor's share is rounded to a whole percent, here 53%. Two features set Alabama apart. The reserve for low earners is no longer hidden in the table: Form CS-42 takes 85% of the obligor's income above $981 and keeps the lesser amount. And only an order for equal physical custody changes the arithmetic, through Form CS-42-S, which raises the schedule amount by half and credits each parent half of it; for the same family that gives $68.
Guideline child support in Alabama, per month
$647
$7,764 a year
| Combined monthly adjusted gross income | $8,000 |
| Basic obligation, closest schedule row, 1 child | $1,027 |
| Obligor’s share (rounded to 1 %) | 63.0% |
Estimate under the Alabama guideline as published, from the incomes you enter. Deviations, imputed income, other children and the judge's findings can change the order. How this is calculated.
Two schedules online, only one in force
Readers who open the rules page of the Alabama Judicial System still find an Appendix to Rule 32 that is the old table: it starts with "0-800.00", stops at $20,000 of combined income and has the reserve built into its numbers. It is no longer the law. The order of January 14, 2022 replaced it with Appendix I, which starts at a "0-250" line, runs in $50 steps and ends at $30,000. The calculator uses only that 2022 schedule. The June 1, 2023 amendments added the shared-custody form and changed the preface, but left the numbers alone.
Lookups follow Rule 32(C)(1): use the lower line when the income is less than halfway to the next one, the upper line from halfway up. At $8,025, exactly halfway, the upper line wins and the order is $807. Every dollar figure on the form is rounded to the dollar and every percentage to the nearest point, which is why Alabama results come out in whole dollars.
The reserve on the form, not in the table
Since 2022, lines 11 to 13 of Form CS-42 do the low-income test. Subtract the reserve of $981 from the obligor's adjusted gross income, keep 85% of what is left, and compare it with the obligor's share. A parent earning $1,200 against $2,800 for two children would owe $310 as a share, but only $186 is available for support, so that is the recommended order. When the available income falls under $50, the rule presumes $50. An obligor with no income at all who lives on means-tested benefits, or who has been incarcerated for more than 180 days, is presumed to owe nothing.
Equal custody and everything short of it
Rule 32(C)(7) applies only when a court orders physical custody split 50% (or close to it). The calculator treats 182 overnights or more as that case; this cut-off is our convention, not a number in the rule. Form CS-42-S multiplies the schedule amount by 150%, divides it by income, and gives each parent credit for half of the multiplied amount plus the costs he or she pays; the parent left owing more pays the difference. For our family that means $68 instead of $805. At 152 overnights, by contrast, the guideline figure stays $805: any schedule short of equal time is a reason to ask for a deviation, not a formula. Neither the reserve nor the $50 floor applies on Form CS-42-S. Neighbors Georgia, Tennessee and Mississippi take other routes.
The Alabama guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | Alabama |
|---|---|
| Model | Income shares, combined monthly adjusted gross income schedule (Ala. R. Jud. Admin. 32) |
| Income counted | Adjusted gross income: gross income minus the deductions the guideline allows. |
| Official schedule | $250 to $30,000 of combined income a month, 596 rows |
| Shared parenting | No overnight formula in the calculator (see the rule below) |
| In force since | May 1, 2022 |
Monthly support for one paying parent, the other parent without income
| Paying parent’s monthly income | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children | 4 children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | $379 | $577 | $696 | $777 |
| $3,000 | $551 | $838 | $1,011 | $1,129 |
| $4,000 | $685 | $1,033 | $1,236 | $1,380 |
| $5,000 | $796 | $1,194 | $1,422 | $1,588 |
| $6,000 | $851 | $1,271 | $1,506 | $1,682 |
| $8,000 | $1,027 | $1,519 | $1,782 | $1,990 |
| $10,000 | $1,155 | $1,700 | $1,984 | $2,216 |
| $12,500 | $1,337 | $1,951 | $2,256 | $2,520 |
| $15,000 | $1,557 | $2,279 | $2,645 | $2,954 |
| $20,000 | $1,835 | $2,727 | $3,215 | $3,591 |
How the amount is set. For incomes between two schedule amounts, use the lower value if the income falls less than halfway between them and the higher value if it falls halfway or more (Rule 32(C)(1)). The first row is printed '0-250'. source
Income. Gross income from any source (salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, dividends, severance, pensions, interest, trust income, annuities, capital gains, Social Security, veterans' benefits, workers' compensation, unemployment, disability insurance, gifts, prizes and preexisting periodic alimony), excluding child support received for other children and means-tested assistance such as TANF, SSI and food stamps (Rule 32(B)(2)); self-employment income is gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses without accelerated depreciation (Rule 32(B)(3)). Adjusted gross income is gross income less preexisting child-support obligations and preexisting periodic alimony actually paid to a former spouse (Rule 32(C)(1)).
Above the table. The court may use its discretion when combined adjusted gross income exceeds the uppermost level of the schedule (Rule 32(C)(1)); the Committee Comments (2022) state that support should not be extrapolated from the schedule above $30,000 but left to the court's discretion.
Parenting time. Only court-ordered shared 50% physical custody (each parent about 50% of the time) triggers the Shared 50% Physical-Custody Adjustment: the basic obligation is multiplied by 150% on Form CS-42-S, each parent is credited for costs paid and for half of the shared obligation, and the parent owing the higher adjusted amount pays it to the other (Rule 32(C)(7)(a)-(b)). The SSR calculation, the $50 minimum and the zero-dollar order do not apply with Form CS-42-S (Rule 32(C)(7)(e)). Other shared or extended physical custody is a ground for deviation (Rule 32(A)(1)(a)).
Child care and health care. work-related child care added to the basic obligation (capped at licensed-care cost per the DHR schedule) and shared by income cost of health-care coverage for the children added to the basic obligation and shared by income The total child-support obligation is the basic obligation plus work-related child-care costs and health-care-coverage costs, divided in proportion to the parents' adjusted gross incomes; the custodial parent is presumed to spend his or her share directly (Rule 32(C)(2)). Child-care costs may not exceed the cost of licensed care under the DHR schedule (Rule 32(B)(8)).
Low incomes. SSR calculation (Rule 32(C)(5)): Income Available After SSR = obligor's monthly adjusted gross income - $981 (Line 11); Income Available for Support = 85% of Line 11 (Line 12); the recommended order is the lesser of the obligor's adjusted obligation (Line 10) and Line 12; if Line 12 is under $50 there is a rebuttable presumption of a $50 minimum. A zero-dollar order is presumed when the obligor has no gross income and only means-tested assistance, or is incarcerated or institutionalized for more than 180 consecutive days with no income (Rule 32(C)(6)).
Worth knowing in Alabama
- The current schedule (Appendix I to the Supreme Court's order of January 14, 2022, effective May 1, 2022) runs from $0 to $30,000 of combined monthly income; the previous schedule stopped at $20,000. source
- Since 2022 the self-support reserve is no longer built into the schedule but computed on Form CS-42 with an 85% economic incentive, so the SSR amount can be updated without changing the table (Committee Comments, Appendix G). source
- A difference of more than 10% between the existing order and the guideline amount creates a rebuttable presumption that support should be modified (Rule 32(A)(3)(c)). source
- The 50% shared-custody adjustment (Form CS-42-S, x150%) was added effective June 1, 2023; a parent who fails without sufficient cause to exercise custody for more than 14 days in 12 months may face modification and attorney fees (Rule 32(C)(7)(c)-(d)). source
- The Advisory Committee on Child-Support Guidelines and Enforcement must review the guidelines and schedule at least once every four years (Rule 32(G)). source