PA Child Support Calculator 2026: Factors Affecting Payments in Monroe County

Pennsylvania’s official child support calculator is the Child Support Estimator on the Pennsylvania Child Support Program website. It asks for each parent’s income and pay frequency, the number of children, child care and health insurance costs, and whether the children spend 146 or more overnights a year with the parent who would pay, then applies the support guidelines in force since January 1, 2026 and shows its arithmetic line by line. This guide from Monroe County family law attorney Gary J. Saylor, II explains what the estimator needs, how the guidelines turn two incomes into a monthly support figure, and what the estimator leaves out, with one fully worked example from the 2026 schedule.

How Is Child Support Calculated in Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania calculates child support with a statewide income-shares guideline set out in Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16-1 through 1910.16-7. The parents’ monthly net incomes are added together, the combined figure and the number of children set a basic support amount from the schedule in Rule 1910.16-3, and that amount is divided in proportion to each parent’s share of the combined income. The paying parent’s share is then adjusted for health insurance, child care and other allowed expenses, and it is presumptively reduced when the paying parent has the children for 40% or more of the overnights; the result is presumed correct unless the court finds it unjust or inappropriate under the deviation factors in Rule 1910.16-5.

The schedule in use today took effect on January 1, 2026. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania adopted it on August 11, 2025 as part of the guidelines’ required four-year review, updating the dollar amounts and raising the self-support reserve from $1,063 to $1,255 a month. A chart or calculator built on the 2022 schedule will not match the current guidelines.

If you want a second set of eyes on your numbers before a support conference, a Monroe County child support attorney can review the income figures, overnights and expenses that the calculation depends on.

Using the Official Pennsylvania Child Support Estimator

After you accept its disclaimer, the estimator’s entry form asks for:

• the county where you live and the number of children in this support case;
• each parent’s gross income and how often it is paid (weekly, bi-weekly, semi-monthly, monthly or another schedule), plus each parent’s tax filing status and number of dependents claimed;
• state and local tax rates (unless you enter your own, it uses 3.14% for Pennsylvania, which combines state income tax withholding and unemployment tax, and 1.00% for local tax);
• monthly child care costs a parent pays in order to work or attend school, and monthly health insurance premiums for the children in this case; and
• monthly union dues, non-voluntary retirement contributions (a 401(k) does not count), and any alimony, spousal support or alimony pendente lite a parent pays.

A second screen asks follow-up questions, including whether the children spend 146 or more overnights a year with the noncustodial parent, whether there are other expenses such as private school tuition, summer camp or lessons, whether the children receive Social Security benefits because of a parent’s death, disability or retirement, and whether there are ongoing unreimbursed medical expenses over $250 a year. The results page lists each parent’s monthly net income, the combined income, the basic support amount from the schedule, each parent’s percentage share and the noncustodial parent’s monthly obligation.

What the estimator cannot do

The estimator’s own disclaimer says its result is only an estimate and that the final amount is set by the Court of Common Pleas. It does not handle combined net income above $30,000 a month, a noncustodial parent whose monthly net income is below $1,255, deviations, more than six children, multiple-family situations or self-employment tax withholding, and it does not calculate spousal support or alimony pendente lite. It returns a $0 basic support amount when the parents’ combined income is under $1,300 a month. If any of those apply to you, the estimate will be incomplete; the steps below explain the main pieces the court works through.

The Pennsylvania Child Support Guidelines, Step by Step

These steps are a simplified overview that follows the order of the worksheet in Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16-4, using the rules as amended effective January 1, 2026. They cover the adjustments most families meet; the rules also contain special calculations for less common situations, such as children in placement or support claims brought by a grandparent or other caregiver.

Step 1: Each parent’s monthly net income (Rule 1910.16-2)

Support starts with gross income from any source, ordinarily averaged over at least six months. Rule 1910.16-2(a) lists wages, salaries, bonuses, fees and commissions; net income from a business or from dealings in property; interest, rents, royalties and dividends; pensions and all forms of retirement; income from an estate or trust; Social Security disability and retirement benefits, disability benefits, workers’ compensation and unemployment compensation; alimony, if the court decides to include it; and lump sums such as lottery winnings, income tax refunds, insurance compensation or settlements, and awards and verdicts. Public assistance and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are not counted. If a child receives Social Security derivative benefits because of a parent’s retirement or disability, the benefit is added to the income of the parent who receives it before the schedule is used, and when the parent receiving support is the one who gets the benefit, it is then subtracted from the support owed by the parent whose retirement or disability created it (Rule 1910.16-2(b)(2)).

From gross income, the rule allows only these deductions:

• federal, state and local income taxes;
• unemployment compensation taxes and Local Services Taxes;
• Social Security, Medicare and self-employment taxes, and non-voluntary retirement payments;
• mandatory union dues; and
• alimony paid to the other party.

That is why guideline net income is often higher than a paycheck’s take-home amount: voluntary 401(k) contributions and other elective payroll deductions are not on the list. If a parent fails to obtain or keep appropriate employment, the court imputes an earning capacity instead, limited to what one full-time position would pay and based on factors such as work history, education, health, child care responsibilities and the local job market. A voluntary pay cut does not lower an existing order; a substantial, continuing involuntary loss of income from illness, layoff, termination, incarceration or job elimination can. Weekly or bi-weekly pay is converted to a monthly figure.

Step 2: Combined monthly net income

Add the two monthly net incomes together. If the same case also includes a claim for spousal support or alimony pendente lite, that amount is calculated first and moved from the paying spouse’s income to the receiving spouse’s income before the child support step (Rule 1910.16-4(a)(1), Parts B and C).

Step 3: The basic child support obligation from the 2026 schedule (Rule 1910.16-3)

The Basic Child Support Schedule is a table of what intact families spend on their children, by combined monthly net income and number of children. It runs in $50 rows from $1,300 to $30,000 of combined monthly net income, with columns for one through six children. The figure where your combined-income row meets your number of children is the basic child support obligation for the whole family, not the amount one parent pays. More than six children uses the formula in Rule 1910.16-4(b), and combined income above $30,000 uses the high-income rule in Step 8.

Step 4: Each parent’s percentage share

Divide each parent’s monthly net income by the combined income. The paying parent’s share of the basic obligation is the schedule amount multiplied by that percentage. In the usual arrangement, where the child lives mainly with the parent receiving support, that parent’s share is not paid to anyone: the guidelines treat it as spent directly on the child in that home. When each parent has primary custody of a different child, each can owe support to the other, and the court offsets the two amounts (Rule 1910.16-4(d)).

Step 5: The shared-custody adjustment at 40% of overnights (Rule 1910.16-4(c))

If a child spends 40% or more of the year’s overnights with the paying parent (146 of 365 nights), the rule creates a rebuttable presumption that that parent is entitled to a reduction, because that parent is spending more on the child directly. The worksheet subtracts 30 from the paying parent’s percentage of overnights and takes the difference off that parent’s income share: at 40% of the overnights the share drops by 10 percentage points, and at 50% it drops by 20. When there is more than one child and the children’s schedules differ, the court averages their overnight percentages and applies the adjustment if the average is 40% or more.

When overnights are split equally, the lower-income parent is not ordered to pay basic child support to the higher-income parent (both can still be ordered to share the add-on expenses in Step 6), and if the calculation would leave the receiving parent with more than half of the combined income, the amount is reduced so the combined income is divided equally.

Step 6: Health insurance, child care and other add-ons (Rule 1910.16-6)

• Child care. Reasonable child care costs a parent pays in order to keep working, or to attend school in pursuit of income, are shared in proportion to the parents’ incomes. The total is first reduced by the federal child care tax credit available to the eligible parent, whether or not that parent claims it, and a parent who receives a DHS child care subsidy shares only the amount that parent actually pays.
• Health insurance premiums. Premiums a parent pays for the child’s coverage are shared by income. If the paying parent carries the insurance, the other parent’s share is subtracted from the support amount; if the receiving parent carries it, the paying parent’s share is added. Employer-paid premiums and the cost of covering someone who is not owed support are left out. Every order must also provide for the child’s medical support: the paying parent has the first responsibility to provide coverage if it is available at a reasonable cost, which the rule defines as no more than 5% of that parent’s monthly net income and, together with the support and other expenses ordered, no more than 50% of it.
• Unreimbursed medical expenses. Reasonable unreimbursed medical expenses of the child (or of a party who is owed support) are shared, counting only the amount above $250 per person per year; the $250 is prorated for a partial year, such as the year the order is first entered. They include co-payments, deductibles and necessary medical, surgical, dental, optical, psychiatric and psychological services and orthodontia. Cosmetic and chiropractic care are not shared unless the order specifically says so.
• Private school, summer camp and activities. These costs are not built into the schedule. If the court finds them reasonable for the family’s circumstances, private school tuition, summer camp and the costs of educational, extracurricular or developmental activities are shared as well.
• The marital home’s mortgage. The guidelines assume the parent living in the marital residence pays the mortgage, real estate taxes and homeowners insurance. If the receiving parent lives there and the payment exceeds 25% of that parent’s monthly net income (counting support received), the court may require the paying parent to cover up to 50% of the excess; if the paying parent lives there and the payment exceeds 25% of that parent’s monthly net income after the support that parent pays, support may be adjusted downward. This adjustment ends once the economic claims in the divorce are finally resolved.

Step 7: The self-support reserve for low incomes (Rule 1910.16-2(e))

The self-support reserve (SSR) is $1,255 a month: the minimum monthly net income the guidelines reserve to the paying parent for basic needs. Where the paying parent’s income and number of children fall in the shaded low-income area of the schedule, the court runs two calculations, one using the paying parent’s income alone and one using the regular combined-income formula, and uses the lower result. If the paying parent’s net income is at or below $1,255, support may be awarded only after the court considers both parents’ actual financial resources and living expenses.

Step 8: High-income cases above $30,000 a month (Rule 1910.16-3.1)

When combined monthly net income is above $30,000, the schedule ends and a formula produces the preliminary figure:

• One child: $3,749 + 4.0% of combined monthly net income above $30,000.
• Two children: $4,981 + 4.0% of combined monthly net income above $30,000.
• Three children: $5,803 + 4.7% of combined monthly net income above $30,000.
• Four children: $6,482 + 5.3% of combined monthly net income above $30,000.
• Five children: $7,130 + 5.8% of combined monthly net income above $30,000.
• Six children: $7,750 + 6.3% of combined monthly net income above $30,000.

That figure is divided by income share and adjusted for 40%-plus custody. The court then weighs the child’s reasonable needs using the deviation factors, the add-on expenses and the parties’ expense statements, and it can move the amount up or down, but never below the presumptive minimum: the support obligation the court would have awarded if the parties’ combined monthly net income were exactly $30,000. The court must state its findings and reasons on the record or in writing.

Step 9: Deviation from the guideline amount (Rule 1910.16-5)

The guideline amount is presumed to be the correct support amount. The presumption is rebutted only when the court finds, in writing or on the record, that the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate. In deciding whether to deviate, the court considers:

• unusual needs and unusual fixed obligations;
• a party’s other support obligations;
• other household income;
• the child’s age;
• the parties’ relative assets and liabilities;
• medical expenses not covered by insurance;
• the parties’ and the child’s standard of living;
• in a spousal support or alimony pendente lite case, the length of the marriage; and
• other relevant and appropriate factors, including the child’s best interest.

A court that deviates must state the guideline amount, the reason for the deviation, the facts that justify it and the amount of the deviation. Separately, when a parent’s basic support obligations to children in more than one household total more than half of that parent’s monthly net income, the court may reduce them proportionately while leaving the parent at least $1,255 a month (Rule 1910.16-7).

A Worked Example Under the 2026 Guidelines

Here is one complete calculation, using round numbers so every figure can be checked against the schedule. It is a child-support-only case (no spousal support or alimony pendente lite claim) for one child who lives mainly with Parent B.

• Parent A (the paying parent): monthly net income of $4,200 after the deductions Rule 1910.16-2(c) allows. The child spends fewer than 146 overnights a year with Parent A.
• Parent B: monthly net income of $2,800. Parent B pays $150 a month, out of pocket, for a health insurance policy that covers only the child.

1. Combined monthly net income: $4,200 + $2,800 = $7,000.
2. Basic child support obligation: the 2026 schedule in Rule 1910.16-3, row $7,000, “One Child” column: $1,287 a month.
3. Income shares: Parent A $4,200 ÷ $7,000 = 60%; Parent B $2,800 ÷ $7,000 = 40%.
4. Parent A’s share of basic support: 60% × $1,287 = $772.20.
5. Low-income check: Parent A’s $4,200 is far above the $1,255 self-support reserve and outside the shaded low-income area of the schedule, so Rule 1910.16-2(e) changes nothing.
6. Custody check: fewer than 146 overnights (under 40%), so there is no shared-custody adjustment.
7. Health insurance: Parent B pays the premium, so Parent A’s 60% share is added: 60% × $150 = $90 (Rule 1910.16-6(b)(1)(ii)).
8. Guideline child support: $772.20 + $90 = $862.20 a month from Parent A to Parent B, presumed correct unless the court finds a reason to deviate.

The same family with 40% of the overnights. If the child instead spent 146 nights a year with Parent A, the Rule 1910.16-4(c) adjustment would apply: 40% minus 30% is 10 percentage points, so Parent A’s share of basic support drops from 60% to 50%, and 50% × $1,287 = $643.50. Adding the same $90 health insurance share gives $733.50 a month.

Real cases rarely land on a round $50 row, and child care, unreimbursed medical bills and deviation claims can all move the number. In a support case, the conference officer calculates the guideline amount from the parties’ actual documents.

Child Support in Monroe County: Filing and the Support Conference

In Monroe County, child support cases run through the Domestic Relations Section (DRS) of the Court of Common Pleas, 43rd Judicial District, at 610 Monroe Street, Stroudsburg, PA 18360. According to the Monroe County Domestic Relations Section page, a complaint for child support is filed with the DRS, and a support conference is then scheduled to determine the financial obligation. The DRS asks you to bring as much information as you can about the other parent, including name, Social Security number, place of employment and address. The DRS also handles spousal support; it does not handle custody, which goes through the court’s Custody Department.

At the conference, a conference officer calculates and recommends a guideline support amount (Pa.R.C.P. 1910.11(d)). Rule 1910.11(c) lists what each party provides: the most recently filed federal income tax return with all schedules, W-2s and 1099s; partnership or business returns with K-1s for a self-employed parent or business owner; pay stubs for the preceding six months; verification of child care expenses; any other support or alimony orders or agreements; proof of available medical coverage; and an Income Statement, plus an Expense Statement if you are asking for a deviation or for an expense to be shared.

Monroe County follows the Rule 1910.12 hearing procedure. It is listed that way on the county list kept by the Supreme Court’s Domestic Relations Procedural Rules Committee, and the court’s current local rules for domestic relations actions include a local Rule 1910.12 on exceptions to the hearing officer’s report. If the parents do not agree at the conference, the case goes to a record hearing before a hearing officer, who must be an attorney; when the hearing is not set for the same day, the court first enters an interim order calculated under the guidelines. After the hearing, the hearing officer files a report recommending a support order, the court enters an interim order consistent with it, and either party has 20 days from receiving the report or its mailing, whichever comes first, to file written exceptions; under Monroe’s local rule, a party who files exceptions must file a motion for a transcript of the hearing officer proceedings at the same time. If no exceptions are filed in that time, the interim order becomes the final order. A parent who was properly served but misses the conference can receive an interim default order and has 20 days from receipt or mailing to demand a hearing before a hearing officer; otherwise that order becomes final.

Frequently Asked Questions About Pennsylvania Child Support Calculations

Is there an official Pennsylvania child support calculator?

Yes. The Child Support Estimator on the Pennsylvania Child Support Program website applies the support guidelines to the incomes and expenses you enter and shows each step of the result. Its disclaimer says the result is only an estimate and that the Court of Common Pleas makes the final determination, and it does not cover combined net income above $30,000 a month, deviations, multiple-family situations, or spousal support and alimony pendente lite.

What is the self-support reserve in Pennsylvania in 2026?

The self-support reserve is $1,255 a month, up from $1,063, effective January 1, 2026 (Pa.R.C.P. 1910.16-2(e)). It is the minimum monthly net income the guidelines reserve to the paying parent. When the paying parent’s income falls in the shaded low-income area of the schedule, the court uses the lower of two calculations, and if that parent’s net income is at or below $1,255, support may be awarded only after the court considers both parents’ actual financial resources and living expenses.

How many overnights lower child support in Pennsylvania?

Forty percent of the year’s overnights with the paying parent, which is 146 nights. At that point Rule 1910.16-4(c) presumes a reduction: the paying parent’s income share drops by the number of percentage points above 30, so 10 points at 40% of the overnights and 20 points at 50%. When overnights are split equally, the lower-income parent is not ordered to pay basic child support to the higher-income parent.

If I make $1,000 a week, how much child support will I pay in PA?

It depends on the other parent’s income and the number of children, because Pennsylvania divides one shared obligation by income. If $1,000 is your weekly net income under the guidelines, that is about $4,333 a month ($1,000 × 52 ÷ 12). Add the other parent’s monthly net income, find that combined row and your number of children in the 2026 schedule, and multiply the schedule figure by your share of the combined income, as in the worked example above. If $1,000 is your gross weekly pay, the official estimator accepts gross income with a weekly pay frequency and estimates the tax deductions for you.

Does the 2026 schedule change an existing support order automatically?

No. The new schedule does not rewrite existing orders on its own. A parent who wants the 2026 figures applied files a petition for modification, and Rule 1910.19(a) provides that a new guideline amount resulting from revised support guidelines may constitute a material and substantial change in circumstances.

Does child support in Pennsylvania cover college?

Pennsylvania law does not require it. The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania declined to recognize a legal duty for a parent to pay for college in Blue v. Blue (1992) and struck down the 1993 law that tried to create one in Curtis v. Kline (1995). Under Rule 1910.19(e), the Domestic Relations Section sends an emancipation inquiry before the child turns 18, and the order can end once the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is last, unless the parents have an agreement for payments after that point or the child has special needs that may justify continued support. Parents who want to share college costs can put that in a written agreement.

Schedule a Confidential Consultation with Monroe County Child Support Attorney Gary J. Saylor, II

Do you need to know more about calculating child support in Monroe County, PA? If so, we invite you to get in touch. To schedule a confidential consultation with Monroe County child support attorney Gary J. Saylor, II, please call 570-421-5568 or contact us online today.

This article is general legal information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Pennsylvania law changes and every case turns on its specific facts. Consult a licensed Pennsylvania family-law attorney about your situation.