How Ohio calculates child support
- Each parent’s annual gross income is reduced by credits for their other minor children, health insurance premiums they pay for the coverage, and court-ordered spousal support they pay.
- The combined income and the number of children give the basic obligation from the schedule. The paying parent owes the lower of their income share of that amount or the schedule amount for their own income alone, and never less than $960 a year.
- A paying parent with a court order for at least 90 overnights a year gets a 10% reduction.
- Child care needed for work or training is shared by income share, up to state caps per child and after tax credits.
- Each order also includes cash medical support of $510.21 a year per child, shared by income share.
- The paying parent also pays a 2% processing charge on support collected (R.C. 3119.27). It is shown separately, as the state’s calculator does, and is not part of the guideline amount.
What the calculator asks
- How many children is the support for?
- Who will be the children’s residential parent?
- Does the parent who pays have a court order for parenting time of at least 90 overnights a year?
- Your gross income for the year
- How many other minor children do you have a legal duty to support?
- Health insurance premiums you pay or will pay for the children’s coverage
- Court-ordered spousal support you pay each year
- The other parent’s gross income for the year
- How many other minor children does the other parent have a legal duty to support?
- Health insurance premiums the other parent pays or will pay for the children’s coverage
- Court-ordered spousal support the other parent pays each year
- Child care you pay each year so you can work or train
- Child care the other parent pays each year so they can work or train
- How many of the children are in that paid child care?
- How old is the child in paid child care?
- Federal and Ohio child care tax credits available to the parent(s) paying child care
- Does a child receive Social Security, veterans or other benefits because of a parent?
It never asks for names, Social Security numbers or account numbers, and your answers are not saved.
What the estimate leaves out
- Shared parenting and split parenting orders
- Overtime and bonus averaging and self-employment adjustments (worksheet lines 2 and 3)
- Benefits a child receives because of a parent (worksheet line 20)
- Extraordinary medical expenses and other separate orders
- Deviations the court may make, including for extended parenting time (R.C. 3119.22 to 3119.24 and 3119.231)
When a situation is outside what the calculator covers, it says so and points you to the official worksheet instead of guessing.
Official sources
- Ohio Basic Child Support Schedule, JFS 07767 (Rev. 6/2023)
- Sole/Shared Child Support Computation Worksheet, JFS 07768 (Rev. 3/2019)
- Child Support Guideline Manual, JFS 07766 (Rev. 4/2026)
- Ohio Adm.Code 5101:12-1-17 (eff. April 1, 2026)
- R.C. 3119.051, parenting time reduction
- R.C. 3119.27, 2% processing charge
Ohio Child Support Calculator (state guideline calculator) →
Ready to estimate? The calculator shows each worksheet line so you can check it against the official form.
Open the Ohio 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.