Child support · DC
District of Columbia child support calculator
D.C. Code § 16-916.01 and its annual schedule, with the round-up rule, the 35% ceiling and the low-income adjustment applied to your figures.
Rules read on official District of Columbia pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Income shares
- Income counted
- Adjusted gross
- Shared parenting
- From 128 overnights
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $808
- a month, rules of April 1, 2007
A parent in the District of Columbia earning $4,000 a month of adjusted gross income, facing $2,000 on the other side, owes about $934 a month for two children under D.C. Code § 16-916.01. The District reads its schedule on yearly figures, from $12,382 up to $240,000 of combined adjusted gross income, with one column for four or more children, and it never interpolates: an income between two rows takes the next higher row. Three limits then shape the order. The total, child care and health premiums included, may not exceed 35% of the payer's adjusted gross income. A low-income adjustment keeps the self-support reserve of $15,654 a year out of reach and presumes $75 a month near that level. And once the child spends 35% of the year with each parent, shared physical custody is presumed, here bringing the same order to $560 at 146 nights.
Guideline child support in District of Columbia, per month
$808
$9,690 a year
| Combined adjusted gross income, monthly | $8,000 |
| Schedule row $96,000 a year, 1 child (next higher row) | $1,292 |
| Paying parent’s share of income | 62.5% |
Estimate under the District of Columbia 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.
A yearly table that always rounds up
Most guideline tables are monthly. The District's Appendix I in § 16-916.01a is annual, opens at $12,382 (the 2007 self-support reserve) and then climbs in steps of $600. Subsection (f)(1)(B) settles the gap between steps in the parent's disfavor: the basic obligation is "rounded up to the next higher amount". Raise the paying parent of our example from $4,000 to $4,010 a month and the combined figure passes a row by $120 a year; the next row applies and the order moves from $934 to $940, so most of a $10 raise goes straight to support. The calculator reproduces that ceiling lookup instead of reading the row below.
The schedule has not moved since the revision effective April 1, 2007, which the OAG calculator still cites. One published cell looks wrong: at $132,000, three children, the code prints $20,473 while the rows around it read $30,357 and $30,590. We keep the figure as published and flag it, because only the Council can correct the text; a family at that exact income should check it with the court.
Shared custody at 35% of the year
Subsection (q) speaks of time, not overnights; 35% of a year is 128 nights once rounded up. Below that line, at 127 nights, the order stays at $934. From 128 nights the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5, each parent keeps the part matching his or her own time, the remainders are offset, and the result here falls to $664. Paragraph (G) adds a ceiling of its own: the shared result may never exceed the sole-custody amount, which can happen when one parent earns nearly everything. Either parent can rebut the presumption by showing that the time split does not reflect who actually pays for the child.
Where the 35% ceiling and the reserve bite
A parent with $2,500 a month, four children and no income on the other side would owe the full row amount; subsection (n) stops the total at 35% of that parent's income, $875 a month. Lower down, the low-income adjustment of subsection (m) is the very last step. At $1,500 a month against $3,000, one child, the income share would be $272, but only $196 sits above the reserve, so that is the order. At $1,300 a month the yearly income falls under $15,654 and the remainder under $900 a year: subsection (g) then presumes the parent can pay $75, a presumption the judge may move down to zero or above. The reserve itself is the figure the code prints for April 1, 2015; the Mayor is supposed to update it every two years, and no later notice was found on official pages, so the calculator keeps the printed amount. Compare the neighboring Maryland schedule, which works on monthly income.
The District of Columbia guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | District of Columbia |
|---|---|
| Model | Income shares, combined adjusted gross annual income schedule (D.C. Code § 16-916.01, Appendix I in § 16-916.01a) |
| Income counted | Adjusted gross income: gross income minus the deductions the guideline allows. |
| Official schedule | $12,382 to $240,000 of combined income a year, 381 rows |
| Shared parenting | Cross-credit formula from 128 overnights a year, basic amount × 1.5 |
| In force since | April 1, 2007 |
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 | $442 | $631 | $696 | $696 |
| $3,000 | $597 | $844 | $985 | $1,050 |
| $4,000 | $747 | $1,047 | $1,211 | $1,365 |
| $5,000 | $886 | $1,220 | $1,390 | $1,565 |
| $6,000 | $1,028 | $1,400 | $1,586 | $1,784 |
| $8,000 | $1,292 | $1,749 | $1,972 | $2,223 |
| $10,000 | $1,557 | $2,098 | $2,350 | $2,645 |
| $12,500 | $1,884 | $2,526 | $2,818 | $3,170 |
| $15,000 | $2,198 | $2,929 | $3,250 | $3,647 |
| $20,000 | $2,754 | $3,619 | $3,968 | $4,452 |
How the amount is set. If combined adjusted gross income falls between two amounts in the schedule, the basic child support obligation is rounded up to the next higher amount (§ 16-916.01(f)(1)(B)). The first row is $12,382; from $12,600 the rows go up by $600. source
Income. Gross income is income from any source, listed in D.C. Code § 16-916.01(d)(1) (wages incl. overtime and tips, self-employment, commissions, bonuses, interest, dividends, business income net of reasonable expenses but not depreciation, Social Security, veterans' and insurance benefits, workers' and unemployment compensation, pensions, regular capital gains, significant perquisites, lottery winnings, net rental income...). Adjusted gross income deducts half of self-employment Social Security and Medicare taxes, alimony paid (alimony received is added), support orders being paid, and 75% of the schedule obligation for each other child living in the parent's home (§ 16-916.01(d)(2)-(5), (e)). Means-tested benefits are excluded (§ 16-916.01(d)(6)).
Above the table. The guideline is not presumptive above $240,000 of combined adjusted gross income per year; support may not be less than what would be ordered at $240,000, and the judge may order more based on the child's reasonable needs (§ 16-916.01(h)).
Parenting time. Where a child spends 35% or more of the time during the year with each parent, shared physical custody is presumed: the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5, split by income shares, each parent retains his or her share times his or her own percentage of time, the remainders are offset and the parent owing more pays the difference; the result may not exceed the sole-custody amount (§ 16-916.01(q)(1)). Either parent may rebut the presumption (§ 16-916.01(q)(3)-(4)).
Child care and health care. Reasonable work- or education-related child care expenses are divided in proportion to adjusted gross incomes and added to each parent's share (§ 16-916.01(k)). Health insurance premiums paid for the child are divided in proportion to adjusted gross incomes and added to each parent's share; coverage is reasonable if it costs no more than 5% of the parent's gross income (§ 16-916.01(i)). Uninsured medical expenses above $250 per child per year are extraordinary and shared by income (§ 16-916.01(j)). Health insurance (i), extraordinary medical expenses (j) and child care (k) are added; SSDI derivative benefits paid to the child are subtracted from the obligation (l).
Low incomes. Self-support reserve = 133% of the HHS poverty guideline for one person, updated by the Mayor every 2 years effective April 1; the code states $15,654 as of April 1, 2015 (§ 16-916.01(g)(1)). Low-income adjustment: the obligation is the lesser of the computed amount and adjusted gross income minus the reserve; if that remainder is negative or under $900 a year, the $75 per month presumption applies (§ 16-916.01(m), (g)(3)). The total obligation with add-ons may not exceed 35% of the payer's adjusted gross income (§ 16-916.01(n)). A $75 minimum order may also be entered when the payer defaults or gives no income information (§ 16-916.01(f-1)).
When support ends. The age of majority in D.C. is 18, but D.C. Code § 46-101 states that this does not affect any common-law or statutory right to child support. source
The state also runs its own official child support calculator; use it, or the court's worksheet, for a filing.
Worth knowing in District of Columbia
- D.C.'s schedule is annual and runs from $12,382 to $240,000 of combined adjusted gross income, with a single column for four or more children (§ 16-916.01a, Appendix I). source
- Child support including add-ons may not exceed 35% of the paying parent's adjusted gross income (§ 16-916.01(n)). source
- A change of 15% or more between the guideline amount and the existing order is presumed to be a substantial and material change that justifies modification (§ 16-916.01(r)(4)). source
- Retroactive support in a new case is limited to the 24 months before filing unless the payer acted in bad faith or other extraordinary circumstances exist (§ 16-916.01(v)(1)). source
- The OAG guideline calculator states it is based on the D.C. Child Support Guideline revised effective April 1, 2007. source