New York's Child Support Standards Act is a percentage of the parents' combined income, split between them in proportion to what each earns. There is no sliding schedule to look up and — unlike most states — no adjustment for how many overnights the paying parent has. This estimator applies the statutory percentages and the 2026 income figures, and shows the subsection behind each step.
Four questions. The estimate updates as you type, and you can open the working to see which figure drives it.
New York works from gross pay less Social Security and Medicare (FICA), and less New York City or Yonkers income tax if you pay it. State and federal income tax are NOT deducted.
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 N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 413 and OTDA form LDSS-4515, last checked 2026-08-25.
A flat percentage of combined parental income, prorated by each parent's share of it, capped at a combined income amount that is reset every two years.
Maya and Ellis have two children who live mainly with Ellis. Maya's CSSA income is $60,000 a year and Ellis's is $36,000.
About $1,250 a month. Note that this does not fall if Maya has the children more often — New York's percentage is fixed regardless of overnights.
This is the biggest difference from neighbouring states. The CSSA percentage does not fall because the paying parent has the children more; the overnight count decides only which parent is non-custodial. A court can still depart from the guideline, but the formula itself does not.
N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 413(1)(c)Start from gross, subtract Social Security and Medicare, and subtract New York City or Yonkers income tax if you pay it. Federal and state income tax stay in. Using take-home pay understates the result.
N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 413(1)(b)(5)The percentages apply to combined income up to $193,000 as of 1 March 2026. Above that a court may apply them, or may set an amount on the statutory factors instead — so an estimate above the cap is a floor, not a figure.
N.Y. Soc. Serv. Law § 111-i(2)(b)If the order would push the paying parent below the $21,546 self-support reserve it is reduced to the difference between their income and the reserve, with a $50 monthly floor. Below the $15,960 poverty guideline the order is $25 a month.
N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 413(1)(g)The reserve and poverty amounts are reissued every March and the income cap every two years. Any calculator quoting a lower cap or an older reserve is out of date.
OTDA form LDSS-4515 (Rev. 03/26)Kidtime 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 Family Court in the county where either parent or the child lives, or ask for support inside a Supreme Court divorce case. Your local child support office can file on your behalf and there is no fee to open a case.
Either parent can seek a modification if three years have passed since the order, if either income has changed by 15% or more, or on a substantial change in circumstances. The three-year and 15% grounds apply to orders made or last adjusted after October 2010.
No. New York's percentages do not adjust for overnights, so support is normally still ordered — typically with the higher earner treated as the non-custodial parent for the calculation. Courts have discretion in a genuine equal-time case, but the guideline itself does not zero out.
Gross pay less Social Security and Medicare, and less New York City or Yonkers income tax if you pay it. Do not subtract federal or state income tax — the CSSA leaves those in.
A court may apply the same percentages to the excess, or may decide the amount on the statutory factors instead. It is discretionary, so treat any estimate above the cap as a starting point rather than a prediction.
The Child Support Standards Chart is a convenience rendering of the same percentages, and it rounds down to the bottom of each income band. This estimator applies the percentages directly, which is what the chart itself tells you to do for a precise figure.
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 N.Y. Fam. Ct. Act § 413, compare against the state's own calculator, and consult a licensed New York family-law attorney about your situation. Last reviewed 2026-08-25.