Child support · VT
Vermont child support calculator
The Vermont Table of Intact Family Expenditures, the self-support reserve and the 15 V.S.A. § 657 custody rules, applied to monthly available income.
Rules read on official Vermont pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Income shares
- Income counted
- Net income
- Shared parenting
- From 110 overnights
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $894
- a month, rules of January 2, 2024
With $4,000 of monthly available income on one side and $2,000 on the other, a Vermont parent owes $1,178 a month for two children under 15 V.S.A. § 656. Available income is an after-tax figure the Office of Child Support builds with its own tax conversion tables, so the gross pay on a stub is not the number to enter. That income is matched against the Table of Intact Family Expenditures on Children, revised January 2, 2024, in $50 brackets from $625 to $30,024.99. The paying parent always keeps a self-support reserve, $1,596 a month since February 2, 2026. Custody counts in overnights: at 30% of the year for each parent the guideline adds half again for two homes and nets the two obligations, which brings our example to $896 at 120 nights, never above the sole-custody amount.
Guideline child support in Vermont, per month
$894
$10,733 a year
| Combined monthly available income | $8,000 |
| Guideline amount in the Intact Family Expenditures Table, 1 child | $1,431 |
| Paying parent’s share of available income | 62.5% |
Estimate under the Vermont 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.
What a family that stayed together would spend
Section 654 sets a goal that few statutes spell out: the table must reflect what Vermont parents living together ordinarily spend on their children, so the children keep the same share of parental income after the split. Hence the table's name. It is built on available income, which section 653(1) defines in detail: gross income minus FICA, spousal support and earlier child support actually paid, the cost of the children's health insurance, and state and federal income tax computed with the standard deduction. The tax step is not neutral. The custodial parent is taxed as head of household with the children's exemptions, the other parent as single with one exemption, so two parents with the same gross pay can have different available incomes.
The health premium is a deduction, not an add-on. If the paying parent of our example covers the children for $300 a month, that parent's available income falls by the same amount and the order becomes $1,104 instead of $1,178. Child care and extraordinary medical or school costs do the opposite: they join the table amount to form the total support obligation shared by income.
The reserve, and the nominal order below it
A paying parent with $2,000 a month, facing $3,000, one child, would owe $428 as an income share. Paying it would leave less than $1,596, so section 656(c) presumes the share is the difference: $404. Under the reserve, at $1,500 for instance, or under the table's first income of $625, the court uses the section 659 factors and must still order a nominal amount; the statute names no figure, so the calculator shows zero and says why.
Shared custody in three bands
Section 657 counts overnights. From 30% of a calendar year with each parent, about 110 nights, the table amount is multiplied by 1.5; the paying parent owes his or her income share of that larger total, minus a credit equal to his or her share of the year times the larger amount. At 120 nights our family lands at $896. Subsection (c) forbids a result above the sole-custody amount.
Between 25% and 30%, roughly 92 to 109 nights, a shared costs table adopted by rule should apply. It is not in the tables republished in 2024, so for that band the calculator keeps the sole amount, here $1,178, and flags it. Near equal time the formula can reverse: with $2,900 against $3,100 and 182 nights, the result is negative by $40.54, and the OCS worksheet then has the other parent pay that amount or $50, whichever is greater: $50 here. For a state with a different time rule nearby, see New Hampshire.
The Vermont guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | Vermont |
|---|---|
| Model | Income shares, Table of Intact Family Expenditures on Children by combined monthly available income (15 V.S.A. §§ 654-656) |
| Income counted | Net income: after income taxes and mandatory deductions, as the state defines it. |
| Official schedule | $625 to $30,025 of combined income a month, 588 rows |
| Shared parenting | Cross-credit formula from 110 overnights a year, basic amount × 1.5 |
| In force since | January 2, 2024 |
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 | $404 | $404 | $404 | $404 |
| $3,000 | $691 | $1,053 | $1,272 | $1,404 |
| $4,000 | $915 | $1,377 | $1,652 | $1,846 |
| $5,000 | $1,071 | $1,614 | $1,931 | $2,157 |
| $6,000 | $1,180 | $1,767 | $2,101 | $2,347 |
| $8,000 | $1,431 | $2,114 | $2,477 | $2,767 |
| $10,000 | $1,653 | $2,438 | $2,851 | $3,185 |
| $12,500 | $1,938 | $2,836 | $3,290 | $3,675 |
| $15,000 | $2,228 | $3,236 | $3,722 | $4,157 |
| $20,000 | $2,737 | $4,042 | $4,736 | $5,290 |
How the amount is set. Find the combined monthly available income in the Intact Family Expenditures Table and take the amount under the number of children (Shared Custody Instructions, Line 7; 15 V.S.A. § 654); the total support obligation is divided in proportion to available incomes and the noncustodial parent pays his or her share (15 V.S.A. § 656(a)). source
Income. Available income is gross income less spousal support and preexisting child support actually paid, the cost of health insurance (or cash medical contribution) for the children, FICA (7.65%, or 15.3% self-employed) and state and federal income taxes computed with the standard deduction: head of household with exemptions for the children for the custodial parent, single with one exemption for the noncustodial parent (15 V.S.A. § 653(1)). Gross income covers income from any source, including imputed income on non-income-producing assets of $10,000 or more and potential income of a voluntarily unemployed or underemployed parent; means-tested assistance is excluded (15 V.S.A. § 653(5)). The Office of Child Support publishes adjusted-gross-to-after-tax conversion tables for this step.
Above the table. The court may use its discretion when combined available income exceeds the uppermost level of the guideline (15 V.S.A. § 656(d)); the table ends at the $29,975.00-$30,024.99 bracket.
Parenting time. When each parent keeps the children overnight 30% or more of a calendar year, the total support obligation is increased by 50%, divided by income shares and by each parent's share of time, and the obligations are offset (15 V.S.A. § 657(a)). When one parent has 25% to less than 30% of overnights, shares are set by a shared costs table adopted by rule, also reflecting a 50% increase (15 V.S.A. § 657(b)). No parent pays more under (a) or (b) than under the regular guideline (15 V.S.A. § 657(c)). Split custody: theoretical payments for the children with the other parent are offset (15 V.S.A. § 657(e)).
Child care and health care. Work- or education-related child care costs (annualized, net of subsidies and tax credits) are added to the guideline amount to form the total support obligation shared by income (15 V.S.A. § 653(2), (9)). The parent's actual cost of health insurance for the children is deducted from that parent's available income (15 V.S.A. § 653(1)(B)); coverage is reasonable in cost if the premium is 5% or less of the parent's gross income (15 V.S.A. § 658(f)). Extraordinary medical expenses (uninsured medical expenses over $200 a year) and extraordinary education expenses are added to the total support obligation (15 V.S.A. § 653(4), (9)). Total support obligation = table amount + child care costs + extraordinary expenses (15 V.S.A. § 653(9)).
Low incomes. Self-support reserve = 120% of the HHS poverty guideline for one person (15 V.S.A. § 653(7)); OCS states it is $1,596 per month effective February 2, 2026. If paying the guideline amount would bring the noncustodial parent below the reserve, the share is presumed to be available income minus the reserve; below the reserve or below the lowest table income, a nominal amount is ordered (15 V.S.A. § 656(b)-(c)).
When support ends. The court may order support until the child reaches the age of majority or finishes secondary education, whichever is later (15 V.S.A. § 658(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 Vermont
- Vermont's guideline must reflect what parents living together in Vermont ordinarily spend on their children, so that children keep the same share of parental income after separation (15 V.S.A. § 654). source
- The guideline tables were updated on January 2, 2024; the next review is scheduled for completion by January 2, 2028 (Office of Child Support). source
- The self-support reserve is indexed at 120% of the federal poverty guideline for one person: $1,596 per month from February 2, 2026 (15 V.S.A. § 653(7); OCS). source
- Vermont computes taxes differently for each parent: head of household with the children's exemptions for the custodial parent, single with one exemption for the noncustodial parent (15 V.S.A. § 653(1)(D)). source
- Effective July 1, 2026, OCS sets the Presumed Income at $99,513.00 a year. source