How Connecticut calculates child support
- Each parent’s net weekly income is gross income minus the allowable deductions: income taxes, Social Security (or mandatory retirement) and Medicare, health insurance premiums, court-ordered life and disability insurance, union dues and uniforms deducted by the employer, and support paid for other families.
- A parent supporting other children who live with them may deduct a share of what the schedule says those children would need.
- The combined net weekly income, rounded to the nearest $10, and the number of children give the basic obligation from the schedule. Each parent’s share is their percentage of the combined income, rounded to a whole percent.
- If the paying parent’s own income is in the schedule’s darker shaded low-income area, their obligation is the shaded amount for their income alone.
- With shared physical custody the parent with the higher income pays their share to the other parent. With split custody the two amounts are offset.
- Combined net income above $6,000 a week is decided case by case.
What the calculator asks
- How many children is the support for?
- Where do the children live?
- How many of the children live with you?
- Your gross income per week
- Your allowable deductions per week
- How many other children do you support who live with you?
- The other parent’s gross income per week
- The other parent’s allowable deductions per week
- How many other children does the other parent support who live with them?
- Is a child paid Social Security dependency benefits on a parent’s earnings record?
It never asks for names, Social Security numbers or account numbers, and your answers are not saved.
What the estimate leaves out
- Child care contributions and cash medical support (worksheet lines 27, 28, 33a and 34)
- Social Security dependency benefits paid for the child (worksheet line 19)
- Arrearage payments (worksheet lines 29 to 32)
- Cases with more than two parents (worksheet CCSG-1A)
- Deviations the court may make (§ 46b-215a-5c), including for shared physical custody
When a situation is outside what the calculator covers, it says so and points you to the official worksheet instead of guessing.
Official sources
- Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines, effective August 1, 2026 (Commission for Child Support Guidelines)
- Worksheet CCSG-1 (JD-FM-220, Rev. 5-25)
- Adopted regulation, SOTS File No. 6462 (eRegulations PR2025-021), effective August 1, 2026
Connecticut Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, CCSG-1 (JD-FM-220) →
Ready to estimate? The calculator shows each worksheet line so you can check it against the official form.
Open the Connecticut 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.