Arizona Child Support Guide 2026: How the Guidelines Calculate Your Amount

Parents facing a support case in Arizona usually want one number: how much will the court order? A statewide guideline formula turns both parents’ gross incomes, the number of children, and each parent’s days with the children into a presumptive monthly amount. This guide explains how it works. Run your own figures in the free Arizona child support calculator.

How is child support calculated in Arizona?

Arizona adds both parents’ gross incomes together, looks up the basic support obligation for that combined income and number of children on the official schedule, adds child care, medical insurance and any age-12 adjustment, then charges each parent their income-share percentage after parenting-time adjustments and credits.

The steps come from the Arizona Child Support Guidelines, adopted by the Arizona Supreme Court under A.R.S. § 25-320. The current version took effect January 1, 2022 (revised September 21, 2022) and remains in force in 2026. Arizona uses an “income shares” model: the schedule estimates what an intact household at the parents’ combined income would spend on the children, and that amount is then divided between the two households in proportion to income.

What is the Arizona child support schedule?

The Schedule of Basic Support Obligations in the 2022 Arizona Child Support Guidelines lists a monthly basic obligation for combined adjusted gross incomes from $750 to $30,000, in $50 steps, for one to six children — for example, $1,889 for two children at $10,000 combined.

Unlike many states, Arizona does not interpolate: you use the schedule row closest to the combined income, and if income falls exactly halfway between two rows you round up to the higher one. At the top of the schedule, the obligation for two children at $30,000 is $3,911. A handful of online calculators still circulate older schedules or interpolate between rows — either shortcut can move the number, so check which schedule and rounding rule a tool uses.

Does Arizona use gross or net income for child support?

Gross income. Arizona’s “Child Support Income” is gross income from all sources before taxes, with no standardized tax deduction — the only reductions are the specific guideline adjustments for maintenance from this case and for supporting children of other relationships under Section II.B of the guidelines.

That is simpler than states that convert gross pay to net with tax tables, but it has its own complications. Regular overtime and bonuses count; a parent is presumed able to earn at least full-time minimum wage ($15.15 an hour in 2026); and if a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court can attribute income they could be earning. Self-employment income is based on business receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses, and benefits that reduce personal living expenses — a company car, employer housing — can count as income too.

How much is child support in Arizona for two children?

With parents earning $6,500 and $3,500 gross a month, two children under 12, $800 of child care and a $200 medical premium, the guideline estimate is $633.35 a month paid by the lower-earning parent, who has the children 120 days a year.

The arithmetic: combined income of $10,000 gives a basic obligation of $1,889 on the schedule. Adding the $800 child care and $200 premium (both paid by the higher-earning parent) makes a combined obligation of $2,889. The lower earner’s 35% share is $1,011.15, reduced by their parenting-time adjustment — 120 days is the 20% Table A band, worth $377.80 off — leaving $633.35. The higher earner’s own adjusted obligation comes out negative once their 50% parenting-time adjustment and the $1,000 of costs they pay directly are credited, so they receive rather than pay. Change any input — more overnights, a child turning 12, higher child care — and the number moves.

How does parenting time change Arizona child support?

Each parent’s days per year convert through Parenting Time Table A into a percentage — from 0% under 20 days to 50% at 164 or more days — and that percentage of the basic obligation is subtracted from that parent’s share of the total.

Days are counted from the parenting plan using specific rules: each 24 hours is a day, a block of 12 or more hours is a day, 6 to 11 hours is half a day, and 3 to 5 hours is a quarter day. The bands in between are 2.5% at 20–34 days, 5% at 35–49, 7.5% at 50–69, 10% at 70–84, 15% at 85–99, 17.5% at 100–114, 20% at 115–129, 25% at 130–142, 32.5% at 143–152, and 40% at 153–163. Because the adjustment is subtracted from both parents’ shares using their own day counts, shared time compresses the payment from both directions; at true 50/50 time, what remains is mostly the effect of the income gap. A separate Table B exists for near-equal time where basic household costs are not actually shared, but it requires proof and is not the default.

What is the older-child adjustment in Arizona?

Because teenagers cost more than the schedule’s average child, the guidelines raise the basic obligation by 10% for each child age 12 or over, prorated across the children — a full 10% if every child is 12 or over, proportionally less when only some are.

The guidelines’ own example: a basic obligation of $810 for three children, one of them over 12, assigns one-third of the obligation ($270) to the older child and adds 10% of that portion — $27 — for a total of $837. A child starts counting the day after the 12th birthday, so an order can step up mid-case when a child crosses that line.

Are child care and health insurance added to Arizona child support?

Yes. Work-related child care costs and the children’s share of a medical insurance premium are added to the basic obligation before it is split by income, and the parent who pays either cost directly receives a matching credit against their share under Section VI.

Details matter here. Only the part of a premium attributable to the children in the case counts — if a plan covers other people too, the cost is prorated. Child care must be needed so a parent can work or look for work, and costs that vary across the year are averaged into a monthly figure. Education expenses for private or special schooling and extraordinary expenses for a gifted or special-needs child can also be added, but those are case-specific and are not part of a standard estimate.

What is Arizona’s Self-Support Reserve?

The Self-Support Reserve is a low-income safeguard equal to 80% of monthly full-time earnings at the Arizona minimum wage. At the 2026 wage of $15.15 an hour, the reserve is $2,100.80 a month, and support may be reduced so the paying parent keeps that much.

The test, in Section VIII, subtracts the reserve from the paying parent’s adjusted income; if the remainder is smaller than the guideline obligation — or is zero or negative — the court may cut the order to that remainder, even to $0. Before reducing, the court also runs the same test on the receiving parent’s household, so the final figure can land between the full guideline amount and the payer-side result. Note that the $1,685 reserve figure printed in the 2022 guideline text is stale: it was built on the $12.15 minimum wage of its day, and the reserve rises with the wage each year.

What happens when combined income is above $30,000 a month?

The schedule stops at $30,000 of combined monthly income, and that top-row amount becomes the basic obligation by default. A parent may ask for more, but the court orders a higher amount only if the child’s needs and the other guideline factors justify it.

Section III.A.1.c lists what the court weighs: the child’s needs above the presumptive amount, any significant disparity between the parents’ income shares, and other case-specific factors. There is no fixed percentage-of-excess formula, unlike some states. For more than six children, the six-child schedule amount is likewise presumptive, and the parent wanting more must prove the children’s needs require it.

Can an Arizona court order more or less than the guideline amount?

Yes — the guideline amount is presumptive, not automatic. Under Section IX a court deviates when strict application would be inappropriate or unjust, after considering the child’s best interests, and it must put its reasons and both figures in writing in the order.

The guidelines name examples: a significant income disparity where both parents have substantial parenting time, combined income over $30,000 with a large income gap, one parent paying a disproportionate share of the children’s expenses, or parenting-time travel costs so high they would impede the parent’s time with the children. Parents can also agree to a different amount if the court finds the agreement was informed and voluntary. Deviations remain the exception — most orders land on the guideline figure, so a careful estimate is a realistic preview.

How can you estimate your own Arizona child support?

Gather both parents’ gross monthly incomes, the number of children and how many are 12 or over, each parent’s days per year, and your child care and medical premium costs, then enter them in the free Arizona child support calculator for a step-by-step estimate.

The calculator uses the complete official 2022 schedule — all 586 rows — with the guidelines’ closest-row rule, applies Table A to each parent, credits costs paid directly, and runs the Self-Support Reserve Test at the 2026 minimum wage. See also our Arizona income tax calculator and the paycheck calculator for help pinning down gross monthly pay.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who pays child support in Arizona when parenting time is equal?

The parent with the higher adjusted income. When time is essentially equal, both parents receive the 50% Table A adjustment, so the remaining difference comes from the income gap and any add-on costs one parent pays — Section X.A.2 of the guidelines assigns the payment to the higher earner.

What if a parent supports children from another relationship?

Section II.B reduces that parent’s income before the schedule is applied. Court-ordered support actually paid for other children is deducted dollar for dollar, and a parent whose other children live primarily with them gets a simplified deduction equal to the schedule amount for those children at their own income. Support owed but not actually paid, and arrearage payments, do not count.

Are the 2022 Arizona guidelines still current in 2026?

Yes. The Arizona Courts website lists the 2022 Guidelines (effective January 1, 2022, revised September 21, 2022) as the current version — confirmed in October 2026. A quadrennial review subcommittee took public comment on proposed revisions in late 2026, but no new version had been adopted.

Can Arizona child support be modified?

Yes. Either parent can ask the court to modify an order when there has been a substantial and continuing change in circumstances — a job loss or raise, a change in parenting time, a child turning 12 (which triggers the older-child adjustment), or a change in the guidelines themselves. Section XIV of the guidelines governs modifications.

Is child support taxable in Arizona?

No. Child support is not taxable income for the parent who receives it, and the parent who pays it cannot deduct it. That is a federal rule and applies the same way in Arizona as everywhere else.

Disclaimer: This guide is general information and an estimate only — not legal advice. Support orders are set by the court under A.R.S. § 25-320 and the Arizona Child Support Guidelines (2022) and may differ from any estimate here. For advice about your case, consult an Arizona family law attorney.