Child support · NE
Nebraska child support calculator
The Nebraska Supreme Court rules, Neb. Ct. R. § 4-201 and following, worked through with the numbers that change an order.
Rules read on official Nebraska pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Income shares
- Income counted
- Net income
- Shared parenting
- From 143 overnights
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $706
- a month, rules of January 1, 2025
In Nebraska a parent with $4,000 of monthly net income, next to a parent with $2,000, owes about $913 a month for two children who live with the other parent. That is two thirds of the $1,369 that Table 1 lists for a combined net income of $6,000. Nebraska's guidelines are court rules, not a statute: the Supreme Court writes them in Chapter 4, Article 2, and updates one figure every January, the basic subsistence limitation, now $1,330 of net income a month. No order for support, child care and health care may push a parent below it, although the minimum order ($50 or 10% of net income, whichever is greater) can still apply. Time matters too: when joint physical custody is ordered and each parent has more than 142 days a year, Worksheet 3 replaces Worksheet 1 and the figure here drops to $564.
Guideline child support in Nebraska, per month
$706
$8,468 a year
| Combined monthly net income | $8,000 |
| Table 1 amount, 1 child | $1,129 |
| Paying parent’s percentage contribution | 62.5% |
Estimate under the Nebraska 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 subsistence limitation, revised every winter
Section 4-218 is the rule Nebraska amends most often. Its history line lists a new figure nearly every January since 1992; the current text sets $1,330 of net monthly income, or the federal poverty guideline for one person, as the amount a parent keeps. The rule's own worked example in § 4-207 shows a father with $1,500 of net income paying $534 for three children out of the $712 that Table 1 gives at $2,000. Applied in 2026, that order would leave him less than $1,330, so the calculator stops at $170, the income above the floor. Below that, the minimum order of § 4-209 takes over: 10% of net income or $50, whichever is greater, with a lower figure possible for disability or incarceration.
Days with each parent: 109, 142 and beyond
Section 4-212 draws two lines. When the court orders joint physical custody and each parent's time exceeds 142 days a year, Worksheet 3 is presumed: the Table 1 amount times 1.5, each parent's share of that figure multiplied by the share of the year the children spend with the other parent, and the difference paid. Between 109 and 142 days, the court may use Worksheet 3 but does not have to; our calculator keeps Worksheet 1 there. A "day" generally includes an overnight. In our example, 142 days still gives $913; one more day gives $564. Parents who share time without a joint physical custody order are handled by § 4-210 instead, which allows a reduction of up to 80 percent during parenting time of 28 days or more in any 90-day period.
Net income, and a table that stops
Table 1 is read on combined monthly net income: gross pay minus income taxes at standard deductions, FICA, mandatory retirement (or up to 4 percent voluntary), support for other children and the parent's own health insurance. It runs to $20,000. Above that, § 4-203(C) lets the court add 10% of the excess for one to three children and up to 14% for six; the rule's example multiplies the wrong base, and the calculator follows the rule's wording, not its example. Neighbors with a gross-income table are on the Michigan and Idaho pages.
The Nebraska guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | Nebraska |
|---|---|
| Model | Income shares, combined monthly net income table |
| Income counted | Net income: after income taxes and mandatory deductions, as the state defines it. |
| Official schedule | $500 to $20,000 of combined income a month, 391 rows |
| Shared parenting | Cross-credit formula from 143 overnights a year, basic amount × 1.5 |
| In force since | January 1, 2025 |
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 | $387 | $575 | $670 | $670 |
| $3,000 | $580 | $855 | $1,060 | $1,184 |
| $4,000 | $755 | $1,098 | $1,363 | $1,522 |
| $5,000 | $849 | $1,220 | $1,511 | $1,687 |
| $6,000 | $952 | $1,369 | $1,692 | $1,890 |
| $8,000 | $1,129 | $1,618 | $1,997 | $2,230 |
| $10,000 | $1,303 | $1,875 | $2,295 | $2,563 |
| $12,500 | $1,538 | $2,208 | $2,670 | $2,982 |
| $15,000 | $1,786 | $2,545 | $3,024 | $3,378 |
| $20,000 | $2,282 | $3,220 | $3,732 | $4,169 |
How the amount is set. The combined monthly net income from line 4 of worksheet 1 is compared to table 1, reading across to the column for the number of children (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-206). The rule does not state how to treat incomes between two $50 rows; 'floor' is an implementation choice. source
Income. Total monthly income from all sources except means-tested public assistance (including any earned income tax credit) and payments received for children of prior marriages; earning capacity may be used; regular overtime may be counted; income is annualized and divided by 12 (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-204). Net income deducts federal and state income taxes (standard deductions), FICA/self-employment tax, mandatory retirement contributions (or voluntary contributions up to 4% of gross), child support previously ordered for other children, a credit for other children supported, and the parent's own health insurance cost up to 5% of gross income (§ 4-205).
Above the table. If total net income exceeds $20,000 monthly, support may be more but not less than at $20,000. As an aid (not a rebuttable presumption) the court may use the $20,000 amount plus 10% of net income above $20,000 for one, two and three children, 12% for four, 13% for five and 14% for six (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-203(C)).
Parenting time. When joint physical custody is ordered and each parent's parenting time exceeds 142 days per year, support is presumptively calculated with worksheet 3; at 109 to 142 days for one parent, worksheet 3 is discretionary; a 'day' generally includes an overnight (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-212). Worksheet 3: table amount x 1.5, split by each parent's income percentage; each parent's share x the percentage of the year the child is with the other parent; the difference is owed; health insurance premiums are adjusted separately. Outside § 4-212, support may be reduced by up to 80% during parenting-time periods of 28 days or more in any 90-day period (§ 4-210).
Child care and health care. Not in the table; net child care (actual cost minus the federal child care tax credit) is allocated to the obligor up to the obligor's income percentage and added to the basic obligation; the court may impute the tax credit at 25% (max $62.50/month, one child) or 20% (max $100/month, two or more) above stated income levels (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-214). The increased cost of health insurance for the children is added to the table amount and prorated; the parent paying the premium gets a credit (§ 4-215(A)). Children's health care expenses up to $250 per child per year are included in the table; nonreimbursed reasonable and necessary costs above $250 per child per year are allocated in proportion to income (§ 4-215(B)).
Low incomes. A parent's support, child care and health care obligation shall not reduce his or her net income below $1,330 net monthly for one person, or the HHS poverty guidelines, except that minimum support may still be ordered (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-218, amended January 28, 2026, effective January 1, 2026). Minimum support is the greater of $50 or 10% of the obligor's net income (§ 4-209).
When support ends. Support continues until each child reaches majority under Nebraska law, is emancipated, becomes self-supporting, marries or dies (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-208); the Judicial Branch's termination guidance lists a child reaching 19 years as a ground for terminating 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 Nebraska
- Nebraska's guidelines are Supreme Court rules (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-201 et seq.), based on the equal duty of both parents to contribute in proportion to their net incomes. source
- The basic subsistence limitation is updated every year; it is $1,330 net per month effective January 1, 2026 (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-218). source
- Voluntary retirement contributions are deductible up to 4% of gross employment income when there is no mandatory plan (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-205(C)). source
- Incarceration may not be treated as voluntary unemployment or underemployment (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-204(F)). source
- Final child support is rounded to the nearest whole dollar (Neb. Ct. R. § 4-221). source