Divorce 101 Video: How is Child Support Calculated in Florida?

At a Glance

Florida calculates child support using a guideline formula inFlorida Statutes § 61.30 that looks mainly at both parents’ income, the number of overnights each parent has with the children, and specific expenses like health insurance and daycare.

• The formula combines both parents’ income, overnights, and certain expenses to set a presumptive support amount.
• Florida’s default time-sharing starting point is fifty percent with each parent, though parents can agree to something different.
• Child support is considered the right of the child, so parents generally cannot agree to waive it entirely.
• Families can still build flexibility into their plan, including how expenses like college or extracurriculars are shared.

Whether you are a physician, business owner, or executive facing a divorce, the child support formula can feel like a black box, especially when your income is not a simple paycheck. Understanding how the numbers actually work is the first step toward a private, informed resolution rather than a public fight over a spreadsheet.

In the video below, Adam B. Cordover, a leading Florida Collaborative Divorce attorney, walks through how Florida calculates child support and where families have room to make their own decisions.

Below is a transcript, lightly edited for this post.

How is child support calculated in Florida?

I’m Adam B. Cordover, a Collaborative Divorce attorney here in Tampa Bay.

Child support in Florida is based on a set of guidelines created by the law. In simple terms, it’s a formula designed to make sure your children’s basic financial needs are met after a separation.

At a high level, the calculation looks at three main things: your income and your spouse’s income, the number of overnights each parent has with the children, and how certain expenses are handled.

Let’s break that down a little further.

How Income Is Counted

First, income. The law looks at all sources of income, not just your paychecks. If you own a business, for example, your income includes the extent to which the business is covering personal expenses that you would otherwise pay for. If your spouse is receiving investment assets in the divorce, we may also consider whether those assets could generate income for your spouse. And if alimony is involved, that amount is usually deducted from the payor’s income and added to the recipient’s income before child support is calculated.

How Overnights Affect the Number

Next, overnights. The more time each parent spends with the children, the more that can affect the support amount. Keep in mind that, by default, Florida says that children would spend fifty percent of the time with each parent, though the parents can agree on a different time-sharing schedule.

Which Expenses Are Built Into the Guidelines

Then there are specific expenses. The guidelines can factor in things like health insurance premiums for the children, non-covered medical expenses, and certain daycare costs.

What Child Support Covers, and What It Doesn’t

Child support is meant to cover your children’s basic needs, like their share of housing, food, and everyday living expenses. But above and beyond child support, there are expenses that are usually handled separately, like extracurricular activities and additional medical, dental, vision, or psychological expenses. If the parents have similar incomes, then these expenses may be split 50/50. If there is a big difference between each parents’ incomes, then usually there is a proportional split. So if a parent has 70% of the family income, that parent will oftentimes end up paying 70% of these certain expenses.

Can You Waive Child Support in Florida?

One important thing to understand is that child support is considered the right of the child. That means you and your co-parent generally cannot waive it altogether.

Where Families Still Have Flexibility

That said, families do have flexibility in how support is structured. For example, instead of one parent simply paying the other, you might agree to directly cover certain expenses or contribute toward a college fund. One other thing to note is that, without an agreement, a court typically cannot require parents to pay for college, but if you choose to plan for it together in an agreement, that agreement will become enforceable.

Courtroom Litigation vs. a Collaborative Approach

In a traditional court case, a judge applies the formula and makes decisions if you can’t agree. That process can feel rigid, public, and sometimes disconnected from your family’s day-to-day reality.

In a Collaborative Divorce, you and your co-parent work together with your attorneys and often a neutral financial professional to make sure both spouses understand each other’s income and the guideline amount. Then you can explore options that make sense for your family. That allows you to create a plan that is private, informed, practical, and child-focused.

In my work with families across Florida, I often see that when parents understand how the numbers work, it becomes much easier to shift from conflict to problem-solving.

The good news is that you don’t have to figure this out on your own. And you don’t have to do it in a public courtroom during an adversarial proceeding.

Next Steps

In fact, we invite you to schedule a virtual planning meeting by calling us at 813-443-0615.  You can also access our calendar and schedule a planning meeting directly or have us contact you by clicking the button below. We work with clients in every county in Florida, with offices available by appointment in Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota.

When discretion matters, count on us.

 

Other Divorce 101 Videos

Check out other videos in our Divorce 101 Video Library.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Florida use a strict formula for child support, or can a we deviate from it?

Florida law, under Fla. Stat. § 61.30, sets a presumptive guideline amount based on income, overnights, and certain expenses. However, you may be able to deviate from that amount considering factors like the needs of the child and each parent’s financial ability.

What counts as income if I’m self-employed or own a business?

Florida looks beyond a simple salary. If your business covers personal expenses you would otherwise pay out of pocket, that benefit can be counted as part of your income for child support purposes.

Can my co-parent and I agree to skip child support altogether?

Generally, no. Child support belongs to the child, not to either parent, so it cannot simply be waived by agreement between the parents.

Does a fifty-fifty time-sharing schedule mean no child support is owed?

Not necessarily. Even with equal overnights, child support can still be owed if there is a difference in income between the parents. Overnights are one factor in the formula, not the only one.