How Vermont calculates child support
- Each parent’s monthly gross income is converted to after-tax income with the state’s Tax Conversion Table (standard federal and Vermont income tax and FICA). Child support paid for other children and the health insurance premium for these children are subtracted, and so is an amount for other children the parent supports. The result is available income.
- The combined available income and the number of children give the guideline amount from the Table of Intact Family Expenditures. Child care and extraordinary medical and educational costs are added, and each parent owes their share of the total in proportion to available income.
- With sole custody, the parent the children live with less pays their share, but not more than their after-tax income less the self-support reserve ($1,596 a month from February 2, 2026).
- With shared custody (each parent 30% or more of the overnights), the guideline amount is increased by 50% and each parent is credited for the time the children spend with them; the parent with the larger amount pays the difference, never more than under sole custody.
- When the parent with less time has the children 25% to 30% of the overnights, the shared custody worksheet is used and part of the time credit is added back (2% to 8% of it, from the Partial Shared Costs Table as the state’s online calculator applies it).
What the calculator asks
- How many children of both of you is the support for?
- Who do the children spend more overnights with?
- How many overnights a year do the children spend with the parent they are with less?
- Your monthly gross income
- Child support you actually pay for other children, per month
- Health insurance premium you pay for these children, per month
- How many other children do you have a duty to support?
- The other parent’s monthly gross income
- Child support the other parent actually pays for other children, per month
- Health insurance premium the other parent pays for these children, per month
- How many other children does the other parent have a duty to support?
- Does either parent have self-employment income or pay court-ordered spousal support?
- Work-related child care you pay for these children, per month
- Work-related child care the other parent pays, per month
- Extraordinary medical expenses you pay for these children, per month
- Extraordinary medical expenses the other parent pays, per month
- Extraordinary educational expenses you pay for these children, per month
- Extraordinary educational expenses the other parent pays, per month
- Is a child in the custody of the Department for Children and Families?
It never asks for names, Social Security numbers or account numbers, and your answers are not saved.
What the estimate leaves out
- Self-employment income and spousal support paid (the Self-Employment and/or Spousal Support Adjustment Worksheet)
- Split custody
- The nominal support the court sets when the paying parent’s income is below the self-support reserve
- The maintenance supplement (15 V.S.A. § 661), deviations (§ 659) and imputed income
When a situation is outside what the calculator covers, it says so and points you to the official worksheet instead of guessing.
Official sources
- Vermont Table of Intact Family Expenditures on Children (Guideline Table, R 1/2/2024)
- Adjusted Gross to After Tax Income Conversion Table, Sole or Split Custody (R 1/2/2024)
- Adjusted Gross to After Tax Income Conversion Table, Shared Custody (R 1/2/2024)
- Child Support Guidelines instructions, sole and split custody
- Instructions for shared custody
- Child Support Worksheet and Findings of Fact (OCS 131A)
- Child Support Worksheet for Shared Custody Cases (OCS 131C)
- DCF Child Support Calculator page: self-support reserve $1,596 effective February 2, 2026
- DCF online Child Support Calculator: Partial Shared Costs factor for 25% to 30% of the time (OCS 131C line 14)
- 15 V.S.A. § 653, definitions (available income, self-support reserve)
- 15 V.S.A. § 656, computation of parental support obligation
- 15 V.S.A. § 656a, adjustment for additional dependents
- 15 V.S.A. § 657, shared or split physical custody
Vermont Child Support Calculator, worksheets and tables (Department for Children and Families) →
Ready to estimate? The calculator shows each worksheet line so you can check it against the official form.
Open the Vermont 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.