How South Carolina calculates child support
- Each parent’s monthly gross income is adjusted for alimony between the parents, alimony or child support paid under earlier orders, and a credit for other children living in the home (75% of the schedule amount for them).
- The combined adjusted income gives the basic obligation from the 2024 schedule; between two rows this estimate uses the next higher row. The children’s health insurance, regular extraordinary medical expenses and work-related child care (less a simulated tax credit) are added and shared by income.
- When the paying parent’s income falls in the shaded area of the schedule, support is the schedule amount on that parent’s income alone, so they keep the $1,010.50 self-support reserve. The state’s online calculator does not apply this rule, so the estimate also shows the income-shares figure it gives; the court’s worksheet controls.
- With shared physical custody (more than 109 overnights a year each, Worksheet C), the obligation is multiplied by 1.5 and each parent’s share is reduced by their own time; from 110 to 127 overnights the amount moves gradually from Worksheet A to Worksheet C. Split custody uses Worksheet B.
What the calculator asks
- How many children is the support for?
- Who has custody of the children?
- How many court-ordered overnights a year are the children with you?
- How many of the children are in your custody?
- Your monthly gross income
- Alimony you pay the other parent in this case, per month
- Alimony or child support you pay under an earlier court order for others, per month
- How many other children of yours live in your home?
- The other parent’s monthly gross income
- Alimony the other parent pays the you in this case, per month
- Alimony or child support the other parent pays under an earlier court order for others, per month
- How many other children of the other parent’s live in their home?
- Health insurance you pay for these children, per month
- Health insurance the other parent pays for these children, per month
- Extraordinary medical expenses you pay regularly for the children, per month
- Extraordinary medical expenses the other parent pays regularly for the children, per month
- Work-related child care the parent with custody pays for these children, per month
- How many children are in that child care?
- Does the parent who pays support also pay work-related child care for these children?
It never asks for names, Social Security numbers or account numbers, and your answers are not saved.
What the estimate leaves out
- Imputed income for a parent who is unemployed or underemployed
- Reasonable unreimbursed medical expenses above $250 a year per child, which are shared by income as they arise
- Deviations the court may make (Reg. 114-4710(B)), including for more than six children
When a situation is outside what the calculator covers, it says so and points you to the official worksheet instead of guessing.
Official sources
- S.C. Code Regs. 114-4710 to 114-4750, Child Support Guidelines (SCSR 48-2, Doc. No. 5145, effective February 23, 2024)
- State Register Document No. 5145 (final regulation text; implementation date January 1, 2024)
- DSS Booklet 2819, South Carolina Child Support Guidelines 2024 Edition: schedule and Worksheets A, B and C
- DSS Schedule of Basic Support Obligations (2022 review, adopted 2024)
- DSS child support calculator: income shares to 0.1%
South Carolina Child Support Guidelines, Worksheets A, B and C (DSS Booklet 2819, 2024 Edition) →
Ready to estimate? The calculator shows each worksheet line so you can check it against the official form.
Open the South Carolina 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.