Georgia changed how parenting time works on 1 January 2026. The old discretionary deviation is gone, replaced by a formula that weighs each parent's days and folds the result straight into the obligation. It reduces orders considerably more than people expect, so any calculator or article written before 2026 will give you a very different number.
Four questions. The estimate updates as you type, and you can open the working to see which figure drives it.
Gross pay before deductions — wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, self-employment profit and benefits.
Count the nights the children sleep at your home. This matters financially: 90 overnights is the threshold for an automatic 10% reduction.
Enter both incomes to see an estimate.
Estimate onlyBasic support before health insurance, child care and medical costs are added. Courts can depart from the guideline figure. Based on O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15, last checked 2026-08-25.
Income shares on combined adjusted gross income, followed by a parenting time adjustment that weights each parent's days by a power of 2.5.
Tamara and Devon have one child. Tamara's adjusted gross monthly income is $4,000 and Devon's is $2,000. The child spends 20% of the year's overnights with Tamara.
About $31 a month — a far larger reduction than the old deviation would have given. At 40% of overnights the same case comes out near $269, and at 49% near $479, because the curve is steep at the low end and flattens as time approaches an even split.
This replaced the old parenting time deviation on 1 January 2026 under Senate Bill 454. It is now a formula rather than something a judge may or may not grant, and it applies from the first overnight rather than at a threshold — there is no cliff to reach.
O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(g)(2)(B)Because days are raised to the power of 2.5, the reduction accelerates sharply as parenting time rises. Georgia's own Parenting Time Tool turns an $800 share into $120.66 at 100 of 365 overnights. That is not a mistake in this calculator — it is what the state's formula does.
O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(g)(2)(B)Georgia works from gross income with specific statutory adjustments — self-employment tax, preexisting support orders and other qualified children living in the home. It does not deduct ordinary income tax.
O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(b) and (f)Parenting days must total 365 and the noncustodial parent is capped at 182.5 of them. Beyond an even split the parents' roles swap rather than the formula continuing.
O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15(g)Also new for 2026, a failsafe stops the obligation exceeding a set share of the payer's adjusted gross income: 19% for one child, then 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28% up to six.
Georgia Child Support Commission, 2026 calculator changesKidtime records every overnight, swap and handover as it happens, so the parenting-time figure behind your support order is evidence rather than an estimate. Free to start.
File a petition in the Superior Court of the county where the respondent lives, or open a case through the Division of Child Support Services. DCSS can establish parentage, set the order and enforce it.
Either parent may seek a modification once every two years without showing a change, or at any time on a substantial change in either parent's income or the child's needs. The 2026 change to the parenting time rules is not by itself grounds to reopen an existing order.
The discretionary parenting time deviation was replaced by a parenting time adjustment that is calculated by formula, and a low-income adjustment replaced the low-income deviation. Both took effect on 1 January 2026, so older calculators give different answers.
More than in most states, and it starts from the first overnight rather than at a threshold. Because days are raised to the power of 2.5, the reduction is steep early and flattens near an even split.
Gross, with Georgia's statutory adjustments — self-employment tax, preexisting support orders, and other qualified children in your home. Ordinary income tax is not deducted.
No. Georgia caps the noncustodial parent at 182.5 days. Past an even split the designations swap, and the other parent becomes the noncustodial one.
This calculator gives an estimate of basic guideline support for general information. It is not legal advice and it is not the figure a court will order — judges can and do depart from the guideline, and the calculation leaves out health insurance, child care and medical costs. For the controlling text see O.C.G.A. § 19-6-15, compare against the state's own calculator, and consult a licensed Georgia family-law attorney about your situation. Last reviewed 2026-08-25.