Iowa child support calculator

How Iowa calculates child support

• Each parent’s net monthly income is gross income less federal and state income tax and Social Security and Medicare, then less union dues, mandatory license fees, support paid for other children and a deduction for other children in the home.
• The combined adjusted net income and the number of children give the basic obligation from the schedule effective January 1, 2026, shared by income percentage. A paying parent with net income of $1,250 or less pays the low-income amount for their own income; just above that, the lower of the two amounts applies.
• The children’s share of a health insurance premium is shared by percentage. A paying parent with more than 127 court-ordered overnights a year gets a 15% to 25% credit.
• A child care add-on covers the paying parent’s share of the custodial parent’s child care after an estimated 25% tax credit, capped at half of the paying parent’s disposable income less support. Joint physical care uses 1.5 times the basic obligation, half for each parent, and offsets the two amounts.

What the calculator asks

• How many children is the support for?
• Who will have physical care of the children?
• How many court-ordered overnights a year will the children spend with the other parent (the one who pays)?
• Your gross monthly income
• Your monthly income after federal and state income tax and Social Security and Medicare
• Union dues and mandatory occupational license fees you pay each month
• Child support you actually pay each month under an order for other children
• How many other children of yours (not in this case and without a support order) do you have a legal duty to support?
• The other parent’s gross monthly income
• The other parent’s monthly income after federal and state income tax and Social Security and Medicare
• Union dues and mandatory occupational license fees the other parent pays each month
• Child support the other parent actually pays each month under an order for other children
• How many other children of the other parent (not in this case and without a support order) do they have a legal duty to support?
• Does either parent pay health insurance for other children under a court or administrative order?
• Which parent will be ordered to provide health insurance for these children?
• Will the court order cash medical support instead?
• What does the health plan cover?
• Monthly premium the insuring parent pays for the plan
• Monthly premium for single coverage (the parent alone)
• How many people does the plan cover, not counting the insuring parent?
• Yearly child care expenses the parent with physical care pays for these children
• How many of the children are in that child care?

It never asks for names, Social Security numbers or account numbers, and your answers are not saved.

What the estimate leaves out

• The guidelines’ own federal and state income tax computation (enter net income after taxes)
• Cash medical support, health insurance for other children, and split physical care
• Variances the court may make (rule 9.11)
• Uncovered medical expenses, which are shared by percentage outside the monthly amount
• Combined incomes above $30,000 a month, which are left to the court

When a situation is outside what the calculator covers, it says so and points you to the official worksheet instead of guessing.

Official sources

• Iowa Court Rules chapter 9, Child Support Guidelines (Legislative Services Agency, July 2026)
• Order adopting amendments to the Iowa Child Support Guidelines (Sept. 29, 2025, effective January 1, 2026)
• Amendments to chapter 9 with the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations (filed with the order)
• Order correcting an omitted schedule row (Feb. 17, 2026)
• 26 U.S.C. 21(c), maximum child care expenses for the tax credit

Iowa Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (rule 9.27, Form 1) →