Arizona Child Support Calculator (2026)
Estimate monthly child support under Arizona’s official income-shares guidelines. Enter both parents’ gross incomes and this tool applies the full official Schedule of Basic Support Obligations (all 586 rows), adds the age-12 and over adjustment, child care and medical insurance, applies Parenting Time Table A for each parent’s days, and runs the Self-Support Reserve Test using the 2026 Arizona minimum wage.
Calculate Arizona Child Support
Gross income from all sources, before taxes — Arizona uses gross income, not net. Either parent can be Parent A; the result shows who pays whom.
Each child age 12 or over adds a prorated 10% older-child adjustment (Guidelines § III.B.2).
Count days using the Guidelines § V.C rules (each 24 hours = 1 day; 12+ hours = 1 day; 6–11 hours = ½ day; 3–5 hours = ¼ day). The two day counts should total 365.
Each parent’s days drive that parent’s own Table A adjustment.
Work-related child care for these children (Guidelines § III.B.4). Use an average monthly amount if the cost varies by season.
The parent who pays a cost directly gets it credited (§ VI).
Only the part of the premium attributable to the children in this case (§ III.B.3). Dental and vision for the children can be included.
Court-ordered support for children of other relationships that Parent A is actually paying (§ II.B.2.c). Arrearages do not count.
Children of other relationships who live primarily with Parent A (§ II.B.2.d simplified deduction).
Only court-ordered maintenance from this marriage, actually paid (§ II.B.2.a).
How to read this: each parent’s share of the combined obligation is reduced by their own Parenting Time Table A adjustment and by any child care or premium costs they already pay directly. The parent left with a positive obligation pays that amount to the other parent; the other parent’s share is treated as spent directly on the children in their home.
How Arizona Calculates Child Support
Arizona uses an income-shares model (A.R.S. § 25-320 and the Arizona Child Support Guidelines, adopted by the Supreme Court). The guidelines estimate what parents living together would spend on their children at their combined income level, then divide that cost between the parents in proportion to income. The current guidelines took effect January 1, 2022 (revised September 21, 2022) and remain the version in force in 2026 — a quadrennial review is under way, but no replacement had been adopted when this page was prepared. The calculation follows the guideline sections:
- Find each parent’s Child Support Income (§ II.A). Arizona uses gross income from all sources — wages, regular bonuses and commissions, business income, and benefits that reduce living expenses. Means-tested public assistance is excluded. Parents are presumed able to earn at least full-time minimum wage, and a court can attribute (impute) income to a parent who is voluntarily underemployed.
- Apply the income adjustments (§ II.B). Deduct court-ordered spousal maintenance from this marriage that is actually paid, court-ordered support actually paid for children of other relationships, and a simplified deduction for other children living in the parent’s home.
- Add the two adjusted incomes to get the Combined Adjusted Child Support Income.
- Look up the Basic Child Support Obligation (§ III.A) on the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations, using the combined income and the number of children. The schedule runs in $50 income steps from $750 to $30,000 a month; you use the closest row, rounding up if income falls exactly halfway between two rows.
- Add the § III.B adjustments: the older-child adjustment (below), the children’s medical insurance premium, and work-related child care — producing the Combined Child Support Obligation.
- Split the combined obligation by income share (§ IV). A parent with 65% of the combined adjusted income is responsible for 65% of the obligation.
- Subtract each parent’s parenting-time adjustment (§ V). Parenting Time Table A converts each parent’s days per year into a percentage; that percentage of the Basic Obligation is subtracted from that parent’s share.
- Credit costs a parent already pays directly (§ VI). A parent who pays the medical premium or child care gets that amount credited against their share.
- Run the Self-Support Reserve Test (§ VIII) for the paying parent (explained below). The result is the presumptive award; a court may still deviate under § IX.
Each parent’s obligation = (their income share × combined obligation) − (their Table A % × Basic Obligation) − (costs they pay directly)
Monthly support = the positive obligation, after the Self-Support Reserve Test
Worked Example: $6,500 and $3,500 Gross Monthly Incomes, 2 Children
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Combined adjusted income | $6,500 + $3,500 (no § II.B adjustments) | $10,000/mo |
| Basic obligation (schedule, 2 children) | Exact schedule row at $10,000 | $1,889/mo |
| Older-child adjustment | Neither child is 12 or over | $0 |
| Combined obligation | $1,889 + $800 child care + $200 premium (both paid by Parent A) | $2,889/mo |
| Parent B income share | $3,500 ÷ $10,000 | 35% |
| Parent B share of combined obligation | 35% × $2,889 | $1,011.15/mo |
| Parent B parenting-time adjustment | 120 days/yr = 20% (Table A) × $1,889 Basic | −$377.80 |
| Parent A obligation | 65% × $2,889 − 50% × $1,889 (245 days) − $1,000 costs paid directly | −$66.65 (spent in-home) |
| Estimated support | Parent B’s positive obligation; Self-Support Reserve Test does not reduce it | Parent B pays Parent A $633.35/mo |
Arizona Basic Child Support Obligation Schedule (Excerpt)
The full official schedule covers combined monthly adjusted gross incomes from $750 to $30,000 in $50 steps — 586 rows. This calculator encodes every row of the official schedule from the 2022 Guidelines (Administrative Order 2021-131); the excerpt below shows selected rows exactly as published.
| Combined Monthly Adjusted Gross Income | 1 Child | 2 Children | 3 Children | 4 Children | 5 Children | 6 Children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $750 | $159 | $243 | $293 | $328 | $360 | $392 |
| $1,000 | $211 | $321 | $389 | $434 | $477 | $519 |
| $1,500 | $304 | $463 | $559 | $625 | $687 | $747 |
| $2,000 | $395 | $601 | $727 | $812 | $893 | $971 |
| $2,500 | $485 | $738 | $892 | $996 | $1,096 | $1,191 |
| $3,000 | $574 | $874 | $1,057 | $1,180 | $1,298 | $1,411 |
| $4,000 | $750 | $1,123 | $1,349 | $1,507 | $1,658 | $1,802 |
| $5,000 | $883 | $1,332 | $1,596 | $1,782 | $1,961 | $2,131 |
| $6,000 | $953 | $1,429 | $1,700 | $1,899 | $2,088 | $2,270 |
| $8,000 | $1,092 | $1,622 | $1,912 | $2,135 | $2,349 | $2,553 |
| $10,000 | $1,274 | $1,889 | $2,224 | $2,484 | $2,732 | $2,970 |
| $15,000 | $1,650 | $2,415 | $2,801 | $3,129 | $3,442 | $3,741 |
| $20,000 | $1,991 | $2,912 | $3,376 | $3,771 | $4,149 | $4,509 |
| $25,000 | $2,282 | $3,412 | $4,050 | $4,524 | $4,976 | $5,409 |
| $30,000 (top) | $2,572 | $3,911 | $4,723 | $5,276 | $5,803 | $6,308 |
Above $30,000 a month of combined income, § III.A.1.c makes the $30,000-row amount the Basic Obligation unless a parent asks for more and the court finds a higher amount is in the child’s best interests — there is no automatic percentage-of-excess rule. For more than six children, the six-child amount is presumptive and the parent seeking more must prove greater need. The schedule starts at $750; for combined incomes below that, this calculator uses the $750 row, and the Self-Support Reserve Test below does most of the work in very low-income cases.
Parenting Time: Table A and How Days Are Counted
Because the schedule is built on spending in an intact household, § V adjusts for the costs that shift when a child spends time in both homes. You count each parent’s parenting-time days per year from the court order, parenting plan, expectation, or past practice, using these counting rules (§ V.C): each full 24 hours counts as 1 day; a remaining block of 12 or more hours counts as 1 day; 6 to 11 hours counts as ½ day; 3 to 5 hours counts as ¼ day; and under 3 hours counts as ¼ day only if that parent regularly pays routine expenses such as meals during the visit. Table A then converts days into an adjustment percentage:
| Parenting-Time Days per Year | Adjustment (% of Basic Obligation) |
|---|---|
| 0–19 | 0% |
| 20–34 | 2.5% |
| 35–49 | 5.0% |
| 50–69 | 7.5% |
| 70–84 | 10% |
| 85–99 | 15% |
| 100–114 | 17.5% |
| 115–129 | 20% |
| 130–142 | 25% |
| 143–152 | 32.5% |
| 153–163 | 40% |
| 164 or more | 50% |
The percentage is multiplied by the Basic Obligation and subtracted from the share of the parent who exercises that time — so both parents’ day counts matter, not just the paying parent’s. As time approaches 50/50, each parent’s adjustment reaches 50%, and the parent with the higher income typically pays only the difference created by the income gap (and any add-on costs). The guidelines also contain a Table B for near-equal time where the listed household costs are not shared nearly equally; its percentages and proof requirements are narrower, and this calculator implements Table A only — if your costs are not shared at near-equal time, a court’s result can differ. If children have genuinely different schedules, the guidelines average the days across children, or use separate worksheets in true split-custody cases; this tool assumes one schedule for all children in the case.
The Older-Child Adjustment (Age 12 and Over)
Children age 12 or older cost about 10% more than the schedule’s average, so § III.B.2 raises the Basic Obligation by 10% for each child age 12 or over, prorated: the adjustment equals the Basic Obligation × 10% × (children 12+ ÷ all children). A child qualifies starting the day after their 12th birthday. Example from the guidelines: with a Basic Obligation of $810 for three children and one child over 12, one-third of the obligation ($270) is assigned to the older child and 10% of that portion ($27) is added, for $837. If all the children are 12 or over, the full +10% applies.
Low Incomes: the Self-Support Reserve Test
The Self-Support Reserve is 80% of one month of full-time earnings at the Arizona minimum wage for the year the support is calculated (§ VIII). Arizona’s minimum wage is $15.15 per hour for 2026 (set by the Industrial Commission of Arizona), so full-time monthly earnings are $15.15 × 40 × 52 ÷ 12 = $2,626, and the 2026 Self-Support Reserve is $2,100.80 per month. (The $1,685 figure printed in the 2022 guideline text is based on the old $12.15 wage and no longer applies.)
The test subtracts the reserve from the paying parent’s adjusted income. If what remains is less than the presumptive obligation, the court may reduce the order to that remaining amount — down to $0 in the lowest-income cases — after also considering the effect on the receiving parent’s household, which must pass the same test. Applying the reserve is not a deviation. This calculator applies the payer-side reduction in full and flags it in the results, so treat a flagged figure as the low end of what a court might order: a court that weighs the other household more heavily could reduce by less.
Income Adjustments for Other Children and Maintenance
Three § II.B adjustments can lower a parent’s Child Support Income before the schedule is applied, and all three are included in this calculator. Spousal maintenance ordered in this same case and actually paid is deducted from the paying parent’s income (maintenance to a former spouse from an earlier marriage no longer counts, and arrearage payments do not count). Support actually paid under a court order for children of other relationships is likewise deducted. And a parent who is the primary residential parent of other children gets a simplified deduction equal to the schedule amount for those children at that parent’s own income — for example, a parent earning $3,000 with one other child at home deducts $574, the schedule’s one-child amount at $3,000.
Two refinements are not modeled: the guideline example that grosses the maintenance deduction up for taxes, and the § II.B.2.f rule that trims the other-children adjustment when it would leave the children in this case with almost nothing. Either can move a real order somewhat from this estimate.
How This Calculator Works — and Its Simplifications
This tool encodes the complete official 2022 schedule (all 586 rows) and uses the guidelines’ own closest-row rule — it does not interpolate between rows. The parenting-time percentage is applied to the Basic Obligation from § III.A, as § V.D directs and as the guidelines’ worked examples generally do; one official example in § X applies the percentage after the older-child adjustment instead, so in cases with a child 12 or over a court worksheet could differ slightly. Both parents’ obligations are computed after adjustments and credits; the parent with a positive obligation pays that amount, and if both are positive the higher one pays the difference. Not modeled: education expenses for private, special, or gifted schooling and extraordinary-child expenses (§ III.B.5–B.6), Table B parenting time, split-custody worksheets, attributed (imputed) income decisions, and court deviations under § IX. Treat the result as the guideline starting point, not a prediction of any individual order.
