A Comprehensive Guide to Virginia Child Support

Last reviewed September 2026.

Virginia calculates child support under a statutory guideline in Va. Code § 20-108.2. The court combines both parents’ monthly gross incomes, finds the basic obligation on the statutory schedule for that income and the number of children, adds work-related child care and the children’s health, dental, and vision coverage costs, and divides the total between the parents in proportion to their incomes. If each parent has the children more than 90 days a year, a separate shared custody formula applies. The result is presumed correct. A judge may depart from it only with written findings tied to the factors in Va. Code § 20-108.1. Support ordinarily ends at 18, and continues to 19 for a full-time high school student who meets the statute’s conditions.

The General Assembly revised the guideline schedule effective July 1, 2025. The amounts in the schedule changed, and the schedule now runs to $42,500 in combined monthly gross income. For a working estimate, use my Virginia child support calculator.

How the Virginia Guideline Works

The guideline treats support as a shared parental obligation and allocates it by income. For a sole custody calculation, the statute builds the total obligation from three pieces:

• the basic child support obligation from the schedule in § 20-108.2(B), based on combined monthly gross income and the number of children;
• the cost of health care, dental, and vision coverage for the children; and
• work-related child care costs.

That total is divided between the parents by their percentage of combined income. The paying parent then receives credit for any children’s coverage he or she pays directly. Three inputs drive almost every case: each parent’s gross income, the number of children, and the number of days each parent has the children.

Income: What Counts and When Income Is Imputed

What counts as gross income

Virginia defines gross income as “all income from all sources.” § 20-108.2(C). The statute lists salaries, wages, commissions, royalties, bonuses, dividends, severance pay, pensions, interest, trust income, annuities, capital gains, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, disability insurance, veterans’ benefits, spousal support received, rental income, gifts, prizes, and awards, along with Social Security benefits except as the statute provides. Very little escapes that definition.

The statute excludes public assistance benefits, federal Supplemental Security Income, child support received, and certain secondary employment income earned to pay down an existing arrearage. It also makes several adjustments:

• Spousal support paid under an order or written agreement is deducted from the payor’s income and added to the recipient’s. How the two interact is covered on my spousal support page.
• One-half of self-employment tax paid is deducted.
• Support a parent actually pays under an existing order or written agreement for other children is presumptively deducted.
• A parent with other children in the household who are not part of the case receives a presumptive deduction based on the schedule.

Business owners and self-employed parents may deduct reasonable business expenses, and the parent claiming the deduction carries the burden of proving it by a preponderance of the evidence. § 20-108.2(C). What is “reasonable” is often the whole case. Personal expenses run through a business, cash receipts, and retained earnings all draw scrutiny. For how courts approach a closely held business, see how Virginia courts value closely held businesses in divorce. Military pay and allowances raise their own income questions, which I address on my military divorce page.

Proving income

Tax returns, W-2s, and pay statements are the usual starting point, not the end of the inquiry. Where a parent under-reports, courts look at bank deposits, loan applications, financial statements, and spending. Credibility lost on income tends to follow a party into every other contested issue in the case.

Bonuses, commissions, and overtime are income. When they fluctuate, courts commonly average several years. A parent who says a bonus or overtime will not recur should expect to prove it with documents, not just testimony. In some cases the better structure is a percentage of future bonus income rather than an estimate folded into the monthly figure.

Imputed income

A court may attribute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or voluntarily underemployed. § 20-108.1(B)(3). The parent seeking imputation must show what the other parent could earn and that the work is actually available. The statute sets three limits:

• Income may not be imputed to a custodial parent when a child is not in school, child care is not available, and the cost of child care is not included in the computation.
• When imputation rests on a change in employment, the court must consider the good faith and reasonableness of the parent’s employment decisions, including a decision to attend and complete an educational or vocational program likely to maintain or increase earning potential.
• Incarceration of 180 or more consecutive days is not voluntary unemployment or underemployment.

Good faith is a factor, not a safe harbor. The central question remains earning capacity. When earning capacity is in controversy, the court may, on motion and for good cause, order a parent to submit to a vocational evaluation by the moving party’s expert. § 20-108.1(H).

A new spouse’s income is not added to a parent’s income for the calculation. It can matter, however, as part of the court’s review of a parent’s financial resources and ability to meet expenses, particularly where a parent has left work and is relying on the new spouse’s earnings. Remarriage does not reduce a parent’s obligation to the children of the prior relationship.

Shared and Split Custody

The 90-day threshold

When a parent has custody or visitation of the children for more than 90 days of the year, the court calculates support under the shared custody formula in § 20-108.2(G)(3). At 90 days or fewer, the sole custody calculation applies.

A “day” is a 24-hour period. Where the parent with fewer overnights has an overnight with the child but has the child for less than 24 hours during that overnight, there is a presumption that each parent is allocated one-half day for that period. Counting days accurately, from the actual order or schedule, is one of the first things I do in any shared custody case.

How the shared formula works

The shared calculation takes the schedule amount for the parents’ combined income and multiplies it by 1.4, which accounts for the fact that both homes carry costs for the children. Each parent’s custody share is his or her number of days divided by 365. Each parent’s obligation is calculated against the other parent’s custody share, children’s coverage and child care costs are added, and each result is multiplied by that parent’s share of combined income. The two figures are netted, and the parent owing the larger amount pays the difference.

The shared formula assumes the schedule of days actually happens. Where support was set under the shared formula and one parent consistently fails to exercise the custody share the award was based on, there is a rebuttable presumption that the award should be modified. § 20-108.2(G)(3).

The formula creates an incentive problem. Because support falls as days rise above 90, some parents seek more time for financial reasons, and others resist reasonable time for the same reason. Custody is decided on the children’s best interests, and a parenting-time position visibly driven by money tends to damage the parent taking it. My guide to Virginia custody and visitation and my custody and visitation practice page cover the custody side.

Split custody and combined arrangements

Split custody means each parent has primary physical custody of at least one of the children. The court computes what each parent would owe the other as a noncustodial parent, and the parent with the larger obligation pays the difference. § 20-108.2(G)(2). The statute also provides methods for families with different arrangements for different children, such as one child shared and another in one parent’s sole custody. § 20-108.2(G)(4)-(6).

Add-Ons: Health Coverage, Medical Expenses, and Child Care

Health, dental, and vision coverage

The cost of health care, vision, and dental coverage for the children, paid by a parent or that parent’s spouse, is added to the basic obligation. § 20-108.2(E). Only the children’s portion counts. If the insurer states a per-child cost, that figure is used. Otherwise, the cost of individual coverage for the policyholder is subtracted from the total premium, and the remainder is divided by the number of other covered persons. That last step matters when a new spouse is also on the plan. Get the premium tiers from the employer or insurer.

The court may order either or both parents to provide health care coverage or cash medical support, or both, if reasonable under all the circumstances. § 20-108.1(C). “Cash medical support” is the parents’ proportional share of reasonable and necessary unreimbursed medical and dental expenses, discussed next. Va. Code § 63.2-1900.

Unreimbursed medical and dental expenses

Unless the parties agree otherwise or the court finds good cause, the order must require the parents to pay reasonable and necessary unreimbursed medical and dental expenses in proportion to their incomes, each paying his or her share as the expenses are incurred. These payments are separate from the monthly guideline figure. § 20-108.2(D). The statute includes eyeglasses, prescription medication, prosthetics, orthodontics, and mental health or developmental disability services, including services from a counselor, therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist.

Orthodontia disputes rarely turn on whether braces are covered. They are. The question is whether a particular treatment is reasonable and necessary, and a treating provider’s recommendation carries more weight than a parent’s opinion.

Child care

Child care costs incurred because of the custodial parent’s employment are added to the basic obligation and shared by income. § 20-108.2(F). The costs may not exceed what is required for quality care from a licensed source. The court considers the other parent’s willingness and availability to provide care personally, and, on request, the tax effect of child care deductions and credits. Child care tied to a custodial parent’s education or vocational training is handled differently. It is a deviation factor under § 20-108.1(B)(4), not an automatic add-on.

Deviations and the § 20-108.1 Factors

The guideline amount is presumed correct, but the presumption can be rebutted in either direction. To deviate, the court must make written findings that applying the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate. The findings must state the amount the guideline would have required, explain why the order departs from it, and rest on evidence relating to the statutory factors. § 20-108.1(B). A bare conclusion is not enough.

Section 20-108.1(B) lists fifteen factors. Those that come up most often include:

• support actually paid for other family members;
• custody arrangements, including the cost of visitation travel;
• imputed income;
• court-ordered direct payments, such as life insurance or education expenses;
• extraordinary capital gains, such as gain from the sale of the marital home;
• a child’s special needs arising from a physical, emotional, or medical condition;
• the standard of living established during the marriage;
• each parent’s earning capacity, obligations, financial resources, and special needs;
• a written agreement, stipulation, consent order, or decree that includes an amount of support; and
• other factors necessary to consider the equities for the parents and children.

Private school tuition and significant extracurricular costs are usually addressed through these factors rather than as automatic add-ons. A history of private school, a child’s particular educational needs, and the parents’ ability to pay all bear on the request. The same is true of a child’s high-level athletic or artistic commitment that was established before the separation.

Travel for visitation is a listed factor. I have represented parents who fly across the country for regular visitation. In my experience, the physical toll of that schedule is often a greater burden than the cost, but the cost is real and belongs in the analysis.

Parents may agree on a figure. An agreement to pay more than the guideline amount rarely draws objection. An agreement to pay less receives closer review, because the court must still be satisfied that the arrangement serves the children.

High Incomes Above the Schedule

The schedule now runs to $42,500 in combined monthly gross income, up from $35,000 before the 2025 revision. Above $42,500, the statute adds to the $42,500 amount a percentage of the income over that level: 2.6% for one child, 3.4% for two, 3.8% for three, 4.2% for four, 4.6% for five, and 5.0% for six. § 20-108.2(B).

The result is a presumptive figure like any other, and either parent may seek a deviation. In high-income cases, the more common disputes involve the standard of living during the marriage, the children’s actual needs, a parent’s financial resources, and whether bonus, equity, or business income belongs in the calculation at all. Each of those is a deviation or income question that requires evidence.

How Long Support Lasts

Support generally ends at 18. The court must order support to continue for a child over 18 who is a full-time high school student, not self-supporting, and living in the home of the parent seeking or receiving support, until the child reaches 19 or graduates from high school, whichever occurs first. Va. Code § 20-124.2(C); see also § 20-107.2. Every support order must contain notice of that rule. Va. Code § 20-60.3.

The court may also order support to be paid, or to continue, for an adult child who is severely and permanently mentally or physically disabled, where the disability existed before 18 (or before 19 for a child who qualified under the high school provision), the child cannot live independently and support himself or herself, and the child lives in the home of the parent seeking or receiving support. § 20-124.2(C). Support may be directed to a special needs trust or ABLE account on either party’s request.

Virginia law does not require a parent to pay college expenses. Parents may agree to extend support beyond the statutory end date, for example through a reasonably continuous course of full-time undergraduate study, and the court may confirm that agreement. § 20-124.2(C). The terms need to be drafted carefully: which schools, which expenses, what enrollment status, and when the obligation ends.

Modifying an Existing Order

The court retains authority to revise a child support order. Va. Code § 20-108. The party seeking the change must prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, a material change in circumstances that justifies modification. Edwards v. Lowry, 232 Va. 110, 112, 348 S.E.2d 259, 261 (1986). A parent seeking a reduction must also make full disclosure of his or her ability to pay and show that the reduced ability to pay is not the result of his or her own voluntary act or neglect. Id. at 112-13, 348 S.E.2d at 261.

Common grounds include a significant change in either parent’s income, a change in parenting time, a change in child care or health coverage costs, or new needs of a child. The change must be significant. A modest shift in income or a handful of days may not justify a hearing. The existence of a new child in a parent’s household does not, by itself, constitute a material change. § 20-108.2(C). Incarceration of 180 or more consecutive days does. § 20-108.1(B)(3).

Once a modification hearing opens, the court recalculates. A parent who files for a reduction can leave with an increase. Know the other parent’s current income before you file.

The 2025 schedule revision and existing orders

A substantive change to the guidelines, combined with an existing award that varies significantly from the new presumptive amount, can justify a modification hearing without a separate change in the family’s circumstances. Slonka v. Pennline, 17 Va. App. 662, 440 S.E.2d 423 (1994). The July 1, 2025 revision changed the schedule amounts themselves, not only the top income level. Orders entered before that date should be tested: hold the incomes and days constant, run the calculation under the current schedule, and compare. A significant variance may open the door to review. A small one will not.

Timing matters

A support order cannot be modified retroactively. It may be modified only back to the date the other parent received notice of the petition, not the date the petition was filed. § 20-108. Consider a parent ordered to pay $500 per month who files to reduce support. The other parent is served on May 1. At an August 1 hearing, the court reduces support to $300. The parent who kept paying $500 in May, June, and July is entitled to a $200 credit for each of those months. If that parent had waited until August to file, there would be no credit at all.

Delay is a common and expensive mistake in modification cases. Until a court enters a new order, the existing order controls. Informal agreements between parents to reduce or suspend support generally do not protect the paying parent. A job loss, a shift in the children’s schedule, or a significant income change warrants prompt advice.

Payment and Enforcement

Support orders must contain notice that payments may be collected by income withholding. § 20-60.3. In an initial case, liability for support runs back to the date the proceeding was commenced by filing, provided the filing parent exercised due diligence in serving the other parent. § 20-108.1(B). A parent can therefore owe several months of back support on the day of the first hearing.

Unpaid support becomes a judgment by operation of law. The order must provide for interest on arrearages at the judgment rate unless the parent owed support waives interest in a writing submitted to the court, and the court may award attorney’s fees where the arrearage equals or exceeds three months of support. Va. Code § 20-78.2. Other enforcement tools include show cause proceedings for contempt and license suspension. Support orders must give notice that a delinquency of 90 days or $5,000 or more can lead to a petition to suspend professional, business, and recreational licenses, and, in cases enforced by the Department of Social Services, a driver’s license. § 20-60.3.

Parents cannot contract away a child’s right to support, and no agreement can prevent the court from exercising its power to decree child support. Kelley v. Kelley, 248 Va. 295 (1994). The court also retains its authority to modify support under Va. Code § 20-108. Those limits restrict what a separation agreement or a later private arrangement can accomplish. They do not prevent parents from agreeing on an amount; they prevent an agreement from waiving the child’s right altogether.

JDR Court or Circuit Court

Child support can be decided in either court. When a divorce is pending, the circuit court addresses support, either pendente lite or at the final hearing. Parents who were never married, and married parents who are not yet divorcing, generally proceed in the juvenile and domestic relations district court. If a JDR case is later superseded by a circuit court divorce before a final support order is entered, the circuit court’s award is retroactive to the JDR filing date, provided service was diligent. § 20-108.1(B). My overview of the Fairfax County divorce process explains where support fits within a divorce case.

A JDR court’s final support order may be appealed to the circuit court within 10 days of entry, and the appeal is heard de novo. Va. Code § 16.1-296. That means a new trial in circuit court. Appeals from the circuit court to the Court of Appeals of Virginia are a different undertaking, with strict deadlines and review limited to the record.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Virginia use gross or net income for child support?

Gross income. The guideline applies to each parent’s monthly gross income from all sources, with specific statutory adjustments for spousal support, self-employment tax, business expenses, and support for other children. § 20-108.2(C).

How many days do I need for shared custody support?

More than 90 days per year. A day is a 24-hour period, with a presumption of a half-day for an overnight of less than 24 hours by the parent with fewer overnights. § 20-108.2(G)(3).

Can we agree that neither of us will pay child support?

No. Parents may agree on an amount, and the court will consider the agreement. They cannot waive the child’s right to support or prevent the court from ordering or modifying support later.

When does child support end in Virginia?

At 18, or at 19 or high school graduation, whichever comes first, for a full-time high school student who is not self-supporting and lives with the parent receiving support. Support may continue for a severely and permanently disabled adult child who meets the statute’s conditions, and parents may agree to extend support further. § 20-124.2(C).

Can I modify my order because of the July 1, 2025 schedule revision?

Possibly. A substantive guideline change, combined with a significant variance between your current order and the new presumptive amount, can justify a modification hearing. Slonka v. Pennline, 17 Va. App. 662, 440 S.E.2d 423 (1994). The comparison has to be run on your figures. Any modification reaches back only to the date the other parent received notice. § 20-108.

Discuss Your Case

Child support turns on income evidence, parenting time, and the specific findings a court must make. If you need to establish support, are responding to a request for support, or believe your order should be modified, I can review the numbers and the record with you. I represent parents in Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and throughout Northern Virginia. Contact me to schedule a consultation.

This article provides general information about Virginia law and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The application of the law depends on the specific facts of each case.