Child support · WV
West Virginia child support calculator
Chapter 48, Article 13 of the West Virginia Code, with the two worksheets and the low-income test that set the final figure.
Rules read on official West Virginia 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
- $620
- a month, rules of August 8, 2023
West Virginia prints its whole child support table inside the Code, at § 48-13-301, and the current figures date from the 2023 amendments effective August 8, 2023. A parent with $4,000 of monthly adjusted gross income, next to a parent with $2,000, owes about $873 a month for two children on Worksheet A: two thirds of the $1,310 the table lists for $6,000. Three rules make the state unusual. Extended shared parenting starts when each parent keeps the children more than 127 days a year, and Worksheet B then multiplies the table amount by 1.6, a heavier factor than most states use; our example drops to $662. Work-related child care counts at 75% of its cost, to reflect the federal tax credit. A payor under $2,600 a month gets an ability-to-pay check built on 80% of income and a $997 reserve.
Guideline child support in West Virginia, per month
$620
$7,440 a year
| Combined adjusted gross monthly income | $8,000 |
| Basic obligation in the West Virginia table, 1 child | $992 |
| Paying parent’s income share | 62.5% |
Estimate under the West Virginia 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.
Basic or extended shared parenting
West Virginia does not speak of visitation in its formula. Every case is "shared parenting", and the only question is which worksheet applies. Under § 48-1-239 basic shared parenting means one parent has the children overnight for less than 35 percent of the year; extended shared parenting means each parent has them more than 127 days, which is 35 percent. Worksheet B then takes the table amount times 1.6, splits it by income, has each parent owe his or her part times the share of nights spent with the other parent, and offsets the two. In our example, 127 nights keeps the order at $873; 128 nights brings it to $662. The 1.6 factor assumes that two homes cost more than one, so the drop is smaller than the time shift alone would suggest.
Child care at 75% of the bill
Both worksheets enter child care as 75% of what is actually paid, a flat allowance for the federal child care credit that the payee may claim. If the parent with the children spends $600 a month, the worksheet adds $450, and the payer's order in our example becomes $1,173 instead of $873. Health insurance premiums for the children and uninsured medical costs go in at full value.
The ability-to-pay line under $2,600
Section 48-13-404 adds a second calculation for a payor whose adjusted gross income is below $2,600 a month: take 80% of that income, subtract $997, and never go below $50; the order is the lower of that result and the worksheet amount. Two parents at $1,500 each with one child show the effect: the worksheet gives $248, the test allows $203, and the calculator returns $203. When combined income is under $550, below the first row, the basic obligation is $50 or a discretionary amount (§ 48-13-302).
At the top, the table ends at $35,000 of combined income. Section 48-13-303 sets the top amount as a floor and lets the court add 8.8% of the excess for one child, up to 19.6% for six. For the neighbor across the Potomac, open the Virginia page.
The West Virginia guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Model | Income shares, combined adjusted gross monthly income schedule |
| Income counted | Adjusted gross income: gross income minus the deductions the guideline allows. |
| Official schedule | $550 to $35,000 of combined income a month, 690 rows |
| Shared parenting | Cross-credit formula from 128 overnights a year, basic amount × 1.6 |
| In force since | August 8, 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 | $342 | $521 | $603 | $603 |
| $3,000 | $496 | $756 | $914 | $1,021 |
| $4,000 | $649 | $979 | $1,181 | $1,319 |
| $5,000 | $782 | $1,181 | $1,416 | $1,581 |
| $6,000 | $869 | $1,310 | $1,568 | $1,752 |
| $8,000 | $992 | $1,488 | $1,772 | $1,979 |
| $10,000 | $1,121 | $1,657 | $1,944 | $2,171 |
| $12,500 | $1,286 | $1,907 | $2,243 | $2,505 |
| $15,000 | $1,439 | $2,108 | $2,447 | $2,733 |
| $20,000 | $1,762 | $2,562 | $2,950 | $3,295 |
How the amount is set. The statute only says the basic obligation is determined from the table (§ 48-13-301); it does not state a rounding or interpolation rule. 'floor' is an implementation choice, not a statutory rule. source
Income. Gross income = all earned and unearned income (wages, commissions, bonuses, pensions, Social Security, unemployment, workers' compensation, interest, dividends, attributed income, self-employment income minus ordinary business expenses) plus 50% of average overtime over the preceding 36 months unless excluded (W. Va. Code § 48-1-228). Adjusted gross income deducts preexisting child support paid, maintenance paid, an additional-dependent deduction and a student loan payment capped at 25% of gross income (§ 48-13-202(3); Worksheets A and B, §§ 48-13-403, 48-13-502).
Above the table. Above $35,000 per month the obligation may not be less than at $35,000. The court may compute it as the $35,000 amount plus a percentage of combined adjusted gross income above $35,000: 1 child $2,527 + 0.088; 2 children $3,719 + 0.129; 3 children $4,342 + 0.153; 4 children $4,850 + 0.169; 5 children $5,335 + 0.183; 6 children $5,799 + 0.196 (W. Va. Code § 48-13-303).
Parenting time. Extended shared parenting applies when each parent keeps the child overnight for more than 127 days per year (35 percent) (W. Va. Code §§ 48-1-239(c), 48-13-501). Worksheet B: basic obligation x 1.6, apportioned by income; each parent's share x percentage of overnights with the other parent; the obligations are offset and the parent owing more pays the difference. Additional direct expenses (child care, uninsured health care, extraordinary expenses) are apportioned by income and netted against expenses each parent actually pays (§§ 48-13-501, 48-13-502).
Child care and health care. added to basic obligation and shared by income (work-related child care counted at 0.75 x actual cost to reflect the federal tax credit, Worksheets A/B) Children's portion of health insurance premiums and uninsured extraordinary medical expenses are added and shared by income (§ 48-13-202(1); Worksheet A line 5b). The court adds unreimbursed child health care expenses, work-related child care and other agreed or ordered extraordinary expenses to the basic obligation and subtracts agreed or ordered extraordinary credits; the payor's direct payments of these expenses are credited (W. Va. Code §§ 48-13-202, 48-13-403).
Low incomes. In basic shared parenting cases where the payor's adjusted gross income is below $2,600 per month, the order is the lower of the Worksheet A amount and (80% of the payor's adjusted gross income minus $997), but not less than $50 (W. Va. Code § 48-13-404; Worksheet A Part II, § 48-13-403).
When support ends. Support continues beyond 18 while the child is unmarried, living with a parent, guardian or custodian and enrolled full time in a secondary or vocational program making substantial progress toward a diploma, but not past age 20 (W. Va. Code § 48-11-103(a)). source
Worth knowing in West Virginia
- The schedule is written into the statute itself (W. Va. Code § 48-13-301); it was last amended by 2023 SB 573 (effective June 9, 2023) and 2023 1st Special Session HB 112 (effective from passage, August 8, 2023). source
- 50% of the average overtime paid over the preceding 36 months counts as gross income, unless the parent shows the overtime is voluntary and there was no prior overtime pattern (W. Va. Code § 48-1-228(b)(6)). source
- A parent's student loan payment may be deducted from income, capped at 25% of the parent's gross income (W. Va. Code § 48-13-202(3)). source
- Work-related child care is counted at 75% of its actual cost to reflect the federal child care tax credit (Worksheets A and B, W. Va. Code §§ 48-13-403, 48-13-502). source
- Extended shared parenting multiplies the basic obligation by 1.6 before cross-crediting (W. Va. Code § 48-13-501). source