How Arizona calculates child support
- Each parent’s Child Support Income is gross income from all sources. Court-ordered spousal maintenance in this case moves from the paying parent to the receiving parent, and court-ordered support paid for other children is subtracted. A parent who is the main caregiver of other children may also subtract the Schedule amount for them.
- The parents’ combined adjusted income and the number of children give the Basic Child Support Obligation from the Schedule in the 2022 Guidelines (effective January 1, 2022). Children 12 or older add 10%, and the children’s medical insurance and child care costs are added.
- The total is shared by income percentage. The parent with less parenting time subtracts a parenting time adjustment from 2.5% (20 days a year) to 50% (164 days or more, or essentially equal time) of the Basic Child Support Obligation.
- Each parent is credited for the insurance and child care they pay. A Self-Support Reserve Test limits support so the paying parent keeps $2,100.80 a month (80% of full-time pay at the 2026 Arizona minimum wage of $15.15).
- The final amount is rounded to the whole dollar.
What the calculator asks
- How many children is the support for?
- How many of those children are 12 or older?
- Do all of the children follow the same parenting schedule?
- Who has the children more of the time?
- How many parenting-time days a year does the parent with less time have?
- Your gross income per month
- Court-ordered child support you actually pay each month for children of another relationship
- How many children of another relationship live mainly with you without a support order?
- The other parent’s gross income per month
- Court-ordered child support the other parent actually pays each month for children of another relationship
- How many children of another relationship live mainly with the other parent without a support order?
- Is court-ordered spousal maintenance paid between the two of you?
- Spousal maintenance actually paid each month
- Medical, dental and vision insurance you pay each month for these children
- Medical, dental and vision insurance the other parent pays each month for these children
- Child care you pay each month so you can work or look for work
- Child care the other parent pays each month so they can work or look for work
- Does a child receive Social Security or similar benefits because of a parent’s retirement or disability?
It never asks for names, Social Security numbers or account numbers, and your answers are not saved.
What the estimate leaves out
- Education and extraordinary (gifted or special needs) child expenses
- Deviations the court may order, including a higher amount when combined income is above $30,000 a month
- The tax effect of spousal maintenance, which the court may consider
- Credits for Social Security or similar benefits paid for a child
- Uninsured medical costs, which the order divides by percentage
When a situation is outside what the calculator covers, it says so and points you to the official worksheet instead of guessing.
Official sources
- Arizona Child Support Guidelines (2022), Arizona Supreme Court Administrative Order 2022-116
- Arizona Supreme Court: Arizona Child Support Guidelines
- Statewide 2022 Child Support Calculator, Excel version (Superior Court in Maricopa County), with the 2026 minimum wage
- Arizona Supreme Court Administrative Order 2026-54 (current guidelines review)
- A.R.S. 25-320 (child support; guidelines)
Arizona 2022 Child Support Calculator (statewide, Superior Court in Maricopa County) →
Ready to estimate? The calculator shows each worksheet line so you can check it against the official form.
Open the Arizona calculator →An estimate from the published guideline formula, not a prediction of a court order. The official court worksheet and the court’s decision control. General information, not legal advice. LawCat is not a law firm.