Child support · AR
Arkansas child support calculator
The Arkansas Family Support Chart required since July 2020, with its built-in reserve, minimum order and shaded low-income cells.
Rules read on official Arkansas pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Income shares
- Income counted
- Gross income
- Shared parenting
- No fixed formula
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $609
- a month, rules of July 1, 2020
Arkansas has used an income shares chart since July 1, 2020, when the Supreme Court's Administrative Order No. 10 left behind the old charts read on the payor's net income. Both parents' gross monthly incomes are added, the chart gives one basic obligation, and the paying parent owes their percentage of it: with $4,000 and $2,000 and two children, the chart shows $1,178 and the payor's share is about $785 a month. The chart runs in $50 steps from $1,050 to $30,000 of combined income and covers up to 6 children. Its heading states the two protections built into every low line: a self-support reserve of $900 a month and a minimum order of $125. Health insurance, extraordinary medical costs and child care are added and shared by the same percentages, and the parent who pays them out of pocket receives a credit.
Guideline child support in Arkansas, per month
$609
$7,313 a year
| Combined gross monthly income | $8,000 |
| Chart amount, 1 child | $975 |
| Paying parent’s share of income | 62.5% |
| Shared custody | no adjustment applied (Arkansas rule not modeled) |
Estimate under the Arkansas 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.
The official example, line by line
The Administrative Office of the Courts published a sample calculation with the 2020 forms, and it is the best guide to how the chart is meant to be used. A payor earns $2,000, the payee $1,000, one child. The chart line for $3,000 reads $469; two thirds of it is $312.67. The payor pays a $100 premium and the payee $200 of child care, so $300 of expenses are shared two thirds and one third, and the payor is credited for the premium already paid. The calculator reaches $412.67; the sample then rounds down to the whole dollar, and the order is written at $412.
The blue cells
The lowest part of the chart is shaded blue, and a footnote says that combined gross income does not apply there. The shading covers combined incomes up to $1,150 for 1, $1,350 for 2, $1,500 for 3, $1,600 for 4, $1,700 for 5 and $1,800 for 6 children. We read the footnote to mean that a shaded amount is owed as printed rather than split by income: with $800 and $300 and one child, the combined $1,100 lands in a blue cell and the payor owes $140. One step above the shading, at $1,200, the one-child amount is $203 and income shares resume. Every blue line already assumes the payor keeps $900 to live on, which is why the amounts climb so fast in that band.
What this page does not compute
Arkansas courts and the Office of Child Support Enforcement work from the full text of Administrative Order No. 10. We could not retrieve that text from an official server while preparing this page, so three rules are left out on purpose rather than guessed: any reduction for shared or extended parenting time, the method above $30,000 of combined income (the calculator stops at the top line, $2,660 for two children), and the age at which support ends. If you share time with the children or earn above the chart, the order can differ from this estimate. The Arkansas Judiciary guidelines page lists the chart, the worksheet and the official calculator. Neighbors with a time formula include Oklahoma and Mississippi, which still uses percentages.
The Arkansas guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | Arkansas |
|---|---|
| Model | Income shares, combined gross monthly income Family Support Chart (Ark. Sup. Ct. Administrative Order No. 10, required July 1, 2020) |
| Income counted | Gross income before taxes, as the state guideline defines it. |
| Official schedule | $1,050 to $30,000 of combined income a month, 580 rows |
| Shared parenting | No overnight formula in the calculator (see the rule below) |
| In force since | July 1, 2020 |
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 | $323 | $474 | $573 | $640 |
| $3,000 | $469 | $688 | $832 | $929 |
| $4,000 | $612 | $899 | $1,086 | $1,213 |
| $5,000 | $737 | $1,081 | $1,307 | $1,460 |
| $6,000 | $815 | $1,178 | $1,414 | $1,579 |
| $8,000 | $975 | $1,395 | $1,668 | $1,863 |
| $10,000 | $1,074 | $1,501 | $1,802 | $2,013 |
| $12,500 | $1,245 | $1,730 | $2,067 | $2,309 |
| $15,000 | $1,391 | $1,914 | $2,302 | $2,572 |
| $20,000 | $1,639 | $2,197 | $2,629 | $2,937 |
How the amount is set. The chart lists combined gross monthly income in $50 steps from $1,050 (first row covers $1-$1,050) to $30,000. The interpolation/rounding rule between rows is set in Administrative Order No. 10 and was not read (see uncertain). source
Income. The gross income of both parents is determined and combined; each parent's share is their percentage of the combined income (official Sample Calculation, Step 1). The detailed income definition is in Administrative Order No. 10, which could not be read from an official server from this environment.
Above the table. Chart ends at $30,000 combined gross monthly income; the rule above it is in Administrative Order No. 10 (not read).
Child care and health care. Allowed child care expenses are added to the basic obligation and shared by each parent's income percentage; the parent paying out of pocket is credited (official Sample Calculation, Steps 3-5). The child's health insurance premium and extraordinary medical expenses are added and shared by income percentage, with a credit to the parent who pays (official Sample Calculation, Steps 3-5). Presumptive obligation = share of basic chart obligation + share of additional child-rearing expenses (health insurance premiums, extraordinary medical, child care) - credit for expenses the payor pays directly; the result is rounded down to the dollar ($412.67 -> $412 in the official example).
Low incomes. Self-Support Reserve = $900/month and Minimum Order = $125 per month are built into the Family Support Chart (chart heading); in the blue-shaded area the combined gross income does not apply (footnote 1).
The state also runs its own official child support calculator; use it, or the court's worksheet, for a filing.
Worth knowing in Arkansas
- Arkansas switched to an income shares chart based on combined gross income for orders from July 1, 2020 (Arkansas Judiciary, Child Support Guidelines page: forms 'required July 1, 2020'). source
- The Family Support Chart embeds a $900/month self-support reserve and a $125/month minimum order. source
- The chart runs from $1,050 to $30,000 of combined gross monthly income in $50 steps for up to six children. source
- In the official example the final monthly order is rounded down to the whole dollar ($412.67 -> $412). source