Child support · HI
Hawaii child support calculator
The 2024 Hawaii Child Support Guidelines worksheet, line by line, with the three time-sharing tiers that follow it.
Rules read on official Hawaii pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Melson formula
- Income counted
- Gross income
- Shared parenting
- No fixed formula
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $731
- a month
A Hawaii parent earning $8,000 a month gross, with the other parent at $3,000 and one child living with that other parent, owes about $1,087 a month under the 2024 Hawaii Child Support Guidelines, in force since April 1, 2024. Hawaii does not use an income-shares table. Its worksheet follows a Melson-style sequence: first each parent's net income and SOLA income are read in the Judiciary's Table of Incomes, then the child's basic need is set at $455 per child plus child care and health insurance, and finally a Standard of Living Adjustment hands the child 10% of the parents' remaining income per child, 30% at most. In this example the need is $455, the SOLA adds $794, and the higher earner carries 87% of the total. Time-sharing changes the order in three tiers: at 143 overnights or fewer nothing moves, between that and equal time a per-night credit applies, and at equal time the order here falls to $463.
Guideline child support in Hawaii, per month
$731
$8,772 a year
| Net incomes (Table of Incomes), combined | $2,385 |
| Paying parent’s share of net income (whole percent) | 77.0% |
| Primary child support need, 1 child | $455 |
| Standard of living adjustment (10 % of remaining SOLA income) | $494 |
| Paying parent’s monthly support (Line 17) | $731 |
Estimate under the Hawaii 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.
Four incomes per parent, read in one table
Appendix B, the Table of Incomes, gives for each dollar of monthly gross income a net income, a SOLA income and 70 percent of net. Net income is gross minus 2022 federal and state taxes for a single filer and FICA, minus a self-support reserve of $1,693; a parent at $8,000 shows $3,691 of net income and a parent at $3,000 shows $546. SOLA income is simpler: gross minus $1,303. The worksheet divides each net income by the total and rounds the share to the nearest whole percent, so a share of 87% is an exact figure here, not an approximation.
Need first, standard of living second
Line 4 puts $455 per child on the table, the monthly difference between a two-person and a one-person household in the 2022 federal poverty guidelines. Child care and the children's premium join it to form the Primary Child Support Need. Only then does the SOLA come in: the parents' combined SOLA income minus that need, times 10% per child. Each parent owes the total times his or her share, at least $91 per child, and the paying parent's premium and child care are credited at the end. A parent at $1,800 beside a parent at $5,000 reaches the $91 floor in our calculator: $91. When no affordable insurance exists, a cash medical payment of 10% of net income may be ordered separately.
Sole, extensive, equal
The Extensive Time-Sharing Worksheet has three outcomes. With 143 overnights or fewer the Line 17 amount stands. At equal time, about 183 nights each, both Line 17 amounts are multiplied by 6 months and the difference is spread over twelve: $463 in our case. In between, the gap between those two figures is divided by 40 nights and credited for every night above 143; at 160 nights the order is $822. Our calculator treats 182 nights for the parent with less time as equal time, since 182 and 183 are as even as a year allows.
The Table of Incomes stops at $13,001 of gross income. Above it the Judiciary's spreadsheet computes taxes directly; our calculator extends net income at the table's last rate and says so. The guidelines date from April 1, 2024 and the next review is scheduled for 2026. For another state that starts from net income, see California.
The Hawaii guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | Hawaii |
|---|---|
| Model | Modified Melson formula: base primary support + child care + health insurance, plus a Standard of Living Adjustment (SOLA), shared by net income percentages |
| Income counted | Gross income before taxes, as the state guideline defines it. |
| Official schedule | $1,304 to $13,001 of combined income a month, 11698 rows |
| Shared parenting | No overnight formula in the calculator (see the rule below) |
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 | $479 | $910 | $1,365 | $1,820 |
| $3,000 | $546 | $546 | $546 | $546 |
| $4,000 | $679 | $1,218 | $1,218 | $1,218 |
| $5,000 | $779 | $1,467 | $1,839 | $1,839 |
| $6,000 | $879 | $1,667 | $2,365 | $2,460 |
| $8,000 | $1,079 | $2,067 | $2,965 | $3,283 |
| $10,000 | $1,279 | $2,467 | $3,565 | $3,883 |
| $12,500 | $1,529 | $2,967 | $4,315 | $4,633 |
| $15,000 | $1,779 | $3,467 | $5,065 | $5,383 |
| $20,000 | $2,279 | $4,467 | $6,565 | $6,883 |
How the amount is set. CSG Worksheet (2024 Guidelines § II.A): (1) read each parent's Net Income and SOLA Income from the Table of Incomes (Appendix B, cs-schedules/hawaii.json); (2) income share = each parent's net / total net, rounded to the nearest whole percent; (3) Primary Child Support Need = $455 x number of children + child care actually paid + children's health insurance premium (or cash medical); (4) remaining SOLA income = (SOLA A + SOLA B) - Primary Need, not below 0; (5) SOLA amount = remaining SOLA income x 10% per child, maximum 30% (1 child 10%, 2 children 20%, 3+ children 30%); (6) Child Support Calculation = Primary Need + SOLA amount; (7) each parent's Total Support Obligation = calculation x income share, subject to the $91 per child minimum and to the maximum (generally not more than the parent's Net Income when it exceeds $91 per child); (8) each parent subtracts child care and health insurance he or she actually pays; the non-custodial parent pays the remainder, rounded to the nearest dollar. source
Income. Monthly gross income from all sources (wages, tips, commissions, bonuses, overtime and second jobs, spousal support received, investment and rental income, business income, pensions, Social Security except SSI, VA benefits, military pay and allowances, workers' compensation, unemployment, disability, gifts, winnings, fringe benefits); excludes spousal support paid, TANF, SSI, SNAP, Section 8, general assistance, Pell grants, WIC and adoption assistance (2024 Guidelines § V.J.1-2). Net income and SOLA income are read from the official Table of Incomes: net = gross minus 2022 state/federal income tax (single, one exemption) and FICA, minus the $1,693 self-support reserve; SOLA income = gross minus $1,303 (§ V.J.4-6, § V.U).
Parenting time. Sole physical custody: the other parent has 143 or fewer overnights (§ V.H.5). Equal time-sharing (about 183 overnights each): each parent's Line 17 support (at least $91 per child) x 6 months, difference / 12 paid monthly by the parent owing more (Extensive Time-Sharing Worksheet lines 18-21). Extensive time-sharing (more than 143 but fewer than 183 overnights): adjustment rate = (regular support - equal time-sharing support) / 40; support = regular support - adjustment rate x (overnights - 143) (lines 22-29; if a different parent pays under equal time-sharing, the two amounts are added before dividing). Split custody: per-child support offset between households (lines 30-35).
Child care and health care. part of the Primary Child Support Need (Line 5), shared by net income percentage; the parent who pays it gets a credit (Line 15) Children's premium (cost above single coverage) is part of the Primary Need (Line 6) with a credit to the paying parent (Line 16); if no reasonable insurance, cash medical support of 10% of the parent's net income (§ V.L). Private education expenses (PEX, K-12 tuition, books, required fees) are handled through the Exceptional Circumstances Form (§ II.B.2, § V.R).
Low incomes. Net income already deducts a $1,693 self-support reserve; gross income up to $1,303 gives zero net and zero SOLA income. Minimum child support is $91 per month per child unless exceptional circumstances apply (§ V.M). Support exceeding 70% of net income is listed as a possible exceptional circumstance (§ II.B.2.b.i); the Table of Incomes prints 70% of net income for that test.
When support ends. The Court may order support for an unmarried adult child enrolled full time in post-high school education or vocational training; support generally terminates before or at age 23, decided case by case; CSEA and OCSH can only establish orders before the age of majority (2024 Guidelines § III.A). source
The state also runs its own official child support calculator; use it, or the court's worksheet, for a filing.
Worth knowing in Hawaii
- The 2024 Hawai'i Child Support Guidelines took effect April 1, 2024 (Family Court Memorandum dated March 20, 2024); the next review is scheduled for 2026. source
- Base Primary Support is $455 per child per month, the monthly difference between a two- and one-person household under the 2022 Federal Poverty Guidelines (§ V.C). source
- The Standard of Living Adjustment gives the children 10% of the parents' remaining SOLA income per child, capped at 30%; the original guidelines used 12% / 6% / 4% (§ II.A.3 and note 5). source
- Support for adult children in post-graduate programs is excluded under the 2024 Guidelines (not retroactive to earlier orders) (note 20). source
- Child support is computed by the Family Court, the Child Support Enforcement Agency (Department of the Attorney General) or the Office of Child Support Hearings, which have concurrent jurisdiction (§ I and note 1). source