Calculating support under an equal schedule is not always straightforward. At Beller Law, PL, we help parents understand how Florida’s child support and time-sharing laws apply to their circumstances. Rebeccah Beller brings more than 25 years of courtroom experience to this work. We provide education-focused, compassionate guidance to parents throughout Florida, including Duval, Clay, and St. Johns counties for your family law issues.
Is Florida a 50/50 Custody State?
Florida law generally uses the term time-sharing to describe the schedule that establishes when a child stays with each parent. The law assumes that parents sharing equal time with their children best serves the child’s best interests, absent specific evidence to the contrary.
A 50/50 time-sharing schedule gives each parent approximately half of the annual overnights. Both parents provide food, housing, transportation, and other care during substantial portions of the year.
Do You Pay Child Support with 50/50 Custody?
If you share custody equally with your child’s other parent and cover the child’s expenses when they are in your care, you may wonder, ” Do you pay child support with 50/50 custody?” It depends. Florida law provides guidelines that calculate who pays and how much they pay, including when parents share 50/50 custody.
How Does Florida Calculate Child Support?
Florida calculates child support by considering each parent’s income, allowable deductions, responsibility for the child’s expenses, and time with the child. The court uses these facts to determine who should pay and how much.
What Does the Calculation Include As Income?
The calculation starts with each parent’s gross income. Depending on your circumstances, gross income may come from sources such as:
- Wages and salaries,
- Bonuses and commissions,
- Business or self-employment income, and
- Disability and retirement benefits.
The court may also attribute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed without an adequate reason. Attributing income means treating the parent as earning income they could reasonably earn, based on factors such as employment qualifications and work history.
What Does the Calculation Deduct from Income?
The court then determines each parent’s net income by subtracting allowable deductions from gross income. Depending on your circumstances, the court may deduct:
- Applicable federal, state, and local income taxes;
- Social Security, Medicare, or self-employment taxes;
- Mandatory retirement contributions or union dues;
- Your own health insurance premiums; and
- Court-ordered support obligations.
The remaining amount is your net income for purposes of the child support calculation.
How Does the Calculation Allocate Support?
After combining parents’ net incomes, the court consults Florida’s guideline schedule. For parents who share equal time, the court generally:
- Calculates each parent’s share of the child’s basic support needs;
- Multiplies each parent’s share by 1.5;
- Multiples that value by the percentage of overnights the child spends with the other parent;
- Subtracts the smaller resulting amount from the larger one to determine the initial payment between the parents;
- Allocates qualifying childcare and health-related costs between them; and
- Credits each parent for eligible expenses they pay directly.
So, who pays child support in 50/50 custody? In most cases, the parent who earns more. Yet, qualifying expenses that one parent covers can modify that result, such as:
- Work-related childcare,
- The child’s health insurance premium, and
- Uninsured medical costs.
The court generally divides those costs according to the parents’ income percentages before crediting payments they personally make. The resulting figure represents the child support one parent pays to the other. A 50/50 custody child support calculator in Florida can help you estimate that amount, but your particular circumstances may justify adjusting the amount in limited situations. Your attorney can help you determine if your situation qualifies.
Discuss Your Child Support Calculation with Beller Law, PL
If you are preparing for an equal time-sharing arrangement or working within an existing support calculation, we can help you estimate the result the guidelines will reach, including evaluating the income, overnights, and expense figures that may affect it.
Contact Beller Law, PL, to discuss your Florida child support matter with an experienced family law attorney who will provide clear information and compassionate guidance.