Child support · NC
North Carolina child support calculator
The AOC schedule of basic support obligations, read the way Worksheets A and B read it.
Rules read on official North Carolina pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Income shares
- Income counted
- Adjusted gross
- Shared parenting
- From 123 overnights
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $720
- a month, rules of January 1, 2023
A North Carolina parent earning $5,000 a month of adjusted gross income, when the other parent earns $3,000 and keeps the two children most nights, owes about $1,079 a month on Worksheet A before child care and insurance. Everything turns on overnights: at 122 nights a year with the paying parent the figure is unchanged, at 123 nights the case moves to Worksheet B, the combined obligation is multiplied by 1.5, each share is weighted by the other parent's nights, and the payment falls to $746. The schedule comes from the Conference of Chief District Judges and has applied to actions heard since January 1, 2023; it is interpolated between rows $50 apart and stops at $40,000 of combined income. At the bottom, two protections apply on Worksheet A only: a $50 minimum order for an obligor under $1,150, and the shaded area, where support is computed on the obligor's income alone.
Guideline child support in North Carolina, per month
$720
$8,640 a year
| Combined monthly adjusted gross income | $8,000 |
| Basic obligation in the NC schedule, 1 child | $1,152 |
| Paying parent’s income share | 62.5% |
| Worksheet | A (primary custody) |
Estimate under the North Carolina 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.
Which worksheet, and why one night matters
North Carolina does not slide support down as visits increase. It sorts each case into a worksheet. Worksheet A is primary custody: one household has the children 243 nights or more. Worksheet B is shared custody: each parent has at least 123 nights and pays the children's expenses while they are there. Worksheet C handles split custody, where each parent keeps at least one child. Because the switch is binary, the 123th night is worth real money. In our example family the order is $1,079 at 122 nights and $746 at 123, a gap of $333 a month for a single extra overnight across a year.
The 1.5 multiplier exists because two homes cost more than one: each parent keeps a bedroom, clothes and food for the children. Worksheet B therefore inflates the basic obligation by half, splits it by income, then charges each parent for the share of the year the children spend in the other home. The parent with the larger figure pays the difference. Courts look at actual practice as well as the order, so a parent claiming Worksheet B should be ready to show the nights were really exercised.
The shaded cells of the schedule
Open the AOC schedule and the top-left corner is grey. Those shaded cells build in a self-support reserve, set from the federal poverty level for one person ($1,133 a month in the current version), so that a low-earning obligor keeps enough to live on. The grey zone reaches higher incomes as the number of children grows:
| Children | Shaded through (obligor income) |
|---|---|
| 1 | $1,750 |
| 2 | $2,150 |
| 3 | $2,500 |
| 4 | $2,800 |
| 5 | $3,100 |
| 6 | $3,450 |
When the paying parent's own income lands in a shaded cell and Worksheet A applies, the obligation is read on that income alone, and child care and health premiums are left out (either can still justify a deviation). Take an obligor at $2,000 and a custodial parent at $2,700 with two children: the ordinary combined method would give $546, while the shaded cell for $2,000 gives $522. The shading is not printed in the PDF's text, so we read it from the version of the same schedule that NC Child Support Services publishes on its site; the calculator applies it automatically.
Below the shading
Under $1,150 of adjusted gross income, the guidelines call for a $50 minimum order, absent deviation. The shaded area and the minimum order do not apply on Worksheets B or C. Neighboring Virginia handles the same problem with a statutory minimum instead of grey cells, and Georgia with a separate low-income table.
Above $40,000 a month of combined income the schedule no longer decides: the judge sets support from the child's reasonable needs and the parents' estates and standard of living, using the table only as a floor.
The North Carolina guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | North Carolina |
|---|---|
| Model | Income shares, combined monthly adjusted gross income schedule |
| Income counted | Adjusted gross income: gross income minus the deductions the guideline allows. |
| Official schedule | $1,300 to $40,000 of combined income a month, 775 rows |
| Shared parenting | Cross-credit formula from 123 overnights a year, basic amount × 1.5 |
| In force since | January 1, 2023 |
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 | $393 | $522 | $528 | $533 |
| $3,000 | $566 | $863 | $1,043 | $1,165 |
| $4,000 | $740 | $1,122 | $1,354 | $1,513 |
| $5,000 | $896 | $1,349 | $1,619 | $1,808 |
| $6,000 | $1,010 | $1,524 | $1,826 | $2,040 |
| $8,000 | $1,152 | $1,727 | $2,055 | $2,295 |
| $10,000 | $1,292 | $1,913 | $2,247 | $2,510 |
| $12,500 | $1,498 | $2,222 | $2,616 | $2,922 |
| $15,000 | $1,680 | $2,463 | $2,864 | $3,199 |
| $20,000 | $2,048 | $2,980 | $3,436 | $3,838 |
How the amount is set. For combined monthly adjusted gross income amounts falling between amounts shown in the schedule, the basic child support obligation should be interpolated (Guidelines, 'Basic Child Support Obligation'). The first row is printed '0 - 1300' ($50 for 1-6 children). source
Income. Gross income from any source (wages, self-employment net of ordinary and necessary expenses, rent, pensions, interest, capital gains, Social Security, workers' comp, unemployment, disability, gifts, prizes, alimony from third parties); excludes means-tested assistance (TANF, SSI, food benefits), adoption assistance and child support received for other children. Adjusted gross income = gross income minus child support actually paid for other children and minus the parent's basic obligation (schedule amount on own income) for other natural or adopted children living with the parent. Alimony paid is not deducted (NC Child Support Guidelines eff. 2023-01-01, 'Income' and 'Existing Support Obligations').
Above the table. If combined adjusted gross income is more than $40,000 a month ($480,000 a year), support is set case by case under the first sentence of G.S. 50-13.4(c) to meet the child's reasonable needs; the schedule may help determine a minimum level.
Parenting time. Worksheet B applies when the child lives with each parent at least 123 nights a year and each parent assumes financial responsibility during that time. The combined basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5, allocated by income share, and each parent's share is multiplied by the percentage of overnights the children spend with the other parent; the parent with the higher obligation pays the difference. The self-support reserve (shaded area) is not applied on Worksheet B (Guidelines, 'Child Support Worksheets').
Child care and health care. added to basic obligation and shared by income premium attributable to the children added to basic obligation and shared by income Work-related or job-search child care and the children's health (medical, dental, vision) insurance premium are added and prorated by income; the schedule already includes $250 per child per year of uninsured medical/dental costs; other extraordinary expenses (special schooling, transportation between homes) may be added (Guidelines, 'Child Care Costs', 'Health Insurance and Health Care Costs', 'Other Extraordinary Expenses').
Low incomes. The self-support reserve is based on the 2022 federal poverty level for one person ($1,133 a month). Obligors with adjusted gross income under $1,150 get a $50 minimum order absent deviation; above $1,150 the shaded area of the schedule embeds the reserve and, on Worksheet A, the obligation is computed on the obligor's income only (Guidelines, 'Self-Support Reserve; Supporting Parents With Low Incomes').
When support ends. Support ends at 18, or earlier emancipation; if the child is still in primary or secondary school at 18, support continues until graduation, stopping regular attendance or satisfactory progress, or age 20, whichever comes first (G.S. 50-13.4(c)). source
The state also runs its own official child support calculator; use it, or the court's worksheet, for a filing.
Worth knowing in North Carolina
- The current guidelines took effect January 1, 2023 and apply to actions heard on or after that date; the next quadrennial review by the Conference of Chief District Judges is during 2026. source
- Shared custody (Worksheet B) requires at least 123 overnights a year with each parent and multiplies the basic obligation by 1.5. source
- Primary custody (Worksheet A) means the child lives with one parent 243 nights or more a year. source
- For an order at least three years old, a 15% difference between the current order and the guideline amount is presumed a substantial change of circumstances. source
- Health insurance is reasonable in cost if the child's coverage does not exceed 5% of the parent's gross income (G.S. 50-13.11(a1), cited in the guidelines). source