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Alabama child support: Rule 32, Form CS-42, and what changes at 50/50

In Alabama, support is set on a court form, CS-42, that follows Rule 32 of the Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration line by line. Both parents' gross incomes go in, a schedule adopted by the Supreme Court of Alabama supplies the cost of raising the children, and the parent without primary custody pays a share. A court-ordered 50/50 arrangement uses a separate form with its own math.

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At a glance

ModelIncome shares on combined monthly adjusted gross income (Ala. R. Jud. Admin. 32)
ScheduleIn effect since May 1, 2022; covers combined gross income from $0 to $30,000 a month
Self-support reserve$981 a month; the order cannot exceed 85% of the obligor's income above it, with a presumptive $50 minimum
50/50 custodyShared 50% physical-custody adjustment (SPCA): 150% of the basic obligation on Form CS-42-S
Health insuranceReasonable if it costs the providing parent no more than 10% of gross income; the children's portion is added to the obligation
Support endsWhen the child reaches the age of majority, 19 in Alabama
ModificationMaterial, substantial and continuing change; presumption to modify when the guideline amount differs by more than 10%

Reading Form CS-42 from the top

Each parent first files Form CS-41, a sworn income statement backed by pay stubs and the latest tax return. Rule 32 counts gross income from almost any source: wages, commissions, bonuses, severance, pensions, Social Security and veterans' benefits, workers' compensation, unemployment, gifts, prizes and alimony from an earlier marriage. Means-tested benefits such as TANF, SSI and food assistance are left out, and so is child support received for other children. A parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed is assigned the income they could earn, judged by their work history, skills, health, the local job market and similar facts. Incarceration is not treated as voluntary unemployment.

From gross income the form subtracts court-ordered support actually paid for other children and alimony actually paid to a former spouse, leaving monthly adjusted gross income. The two parents' figures are added and looked up on the Schedule of Basic Child-Support Obligations. Between rows, you use the lower row if the income is less than halfway to the next one and the higher row otherwise. Work-related child care and the children's health insurance are added, the total is split by each parent's percentage of combined income (rounded to the nearest whole percent), and the custodial parent is presumed to spend their share directly on the children.

The current schedule took effect May 1, 2022. It is built on gross income adjusted for Alabama's income distribution, assumes each parent is taxed as a single filer, and already includes up to $250 per child per year of unreimbursed medical costs. It runs from $0 to $30,000 of combined monthly income. Above $30,000 the amount is left to the judge, and the committee comments say it should not be extrapolated from the table.

Worked example: Alabama

  1. Parent A reports $6,000 a month in adjusted gross income on Form CS-41 and Parent B reports $4,000. Combined, that is $10,000, which sits exactly on a schedule row.
  2. The 2022 schedule lists $1,700 a month for two children at $10,000 of combined income. (At the very top of the table, $30,000, the figure for two children is $3,599.)
  3. Parent A earns 60% of the combined income and Parent B 40%. Parent A's share of the basic obligation is $1,020; Parent B's is $680.
  4. With the children living primarily with Parent B, the recommended order on Form CS-42 is $1,020 a month ($12,240 a year), before any child care or insurance lines. The self-support check does not lower it here: 85% of Parent A's income above the $981 reserve is far more than that.

This is an estimate, not legal advice. Figures are rounded to the dollar and leave out the insurance, childcare, and other adjustments your case may have. Try your own numbers in CoreParent's calculator, then confirm with the state's official calculator.

Court-ordered 50/50 custody: the SPCA and Form CS-42-S

Since May 2022, Rule 32(C)(7) has a formula for one situation only: a court order giving each parent physical custody 50% (or approximately 50%) of the time. The parents then use Form CS-42-S. The basic obligation is read from the schedule as usual and multiplied by 150%, each parent is responsible for their income share of that larger amount, and each is credited with half of it. Whoever still owes the higher amount pays it to the other. In the example, equal custody turns Parent A's $1,020 into about $255 a month. The self-support reserve, the $50 minimum and the zero-dollar order do not apply on Form CS-42-S.

Anything short of equal custody stays on the regular form. Extra visitation well beyond what courts customarily order is a listed reason to deviate, not a formula. If a parent with an SPCA order skips their custody time for more than 14 days in the 12 months before a modification petition, the court can treat that as a material change, make the new amount retroactive to the filing date, and, when the failure was willful, award attorney fees.

Health insurance, child care, and extraordinary costs

Every Alabama order must provide for the children's health care through private or public coverage, cash medical support, or both. Coverage is reasonable in cost when it takes no more than 10% of the providing parent's gross income, and it must be accessible, meaning ordinary care within 100 miles of the children's home. Only the children's portion of the premium goes on the form: divide the premium by everyone it covers and multiply by the number of children in the case. The parent who pays it gets a credit against their share.

Child care needed for a parent's job or job search is added too, up to what a licensed provider would charge under the Department of Human Resources' schedule, and credited to whoever pays it. If actual child care runs 20% or more above that allowance, the court may deviate. Extraordinary medical, dental and educational expenses can be ordered on top of the recommended amount when the parents agree in writing or the judge finds them in the children's best interest.

Low incomes: the $981 reserve and zero-dollar orders

Lines 11 to 13 of Form CS-42 protect a paying parent's subsistence. Subtract the $981 self-support reserve (based on 2021 federal poverty levels adjusted for Alabama) from the obligor's adjusted gross income and take 85% of what is left. The recommended order is the lower of that figure and the parent's regular share. If the result is under $50, there is a rebuttable presumption that $50 is ordered. When the obligor has no income and receives only means-tested assistance, or has no income and is incarcerated or institutionalized for more than 180 consecutive days, the presumption is a zero-dollar order.

Other children, benefits, and split custody

Support actually paid under an order for other children is deducted from gross income. A parent supporting other children in the home without an order may deduct an imputed obligation taken from the schedule, although in a modification no deduction is allowed for children born or adopted after the first order. Social Security, veterans' and similar benefits the children receive on the obligor's record are credited against the obligor's support. When each parent has primary custody of at least one child, each obligation is figured separately and the smaller is subtracted from the larger.

Age 19, modification, and collection

Alabama's age of majority is 19, so support under an order generally continues until each child turns 19, and an income withholding order can be ended once every child on it has reached 19 and nothing is owed. To change an order, a parent must plead and prove a material change in circumstances that is substantial and continuing. When the guideline amount differs from the current order by more than 10%, there is a rebuttable presumption that the order should be modified. A new schedule is not by itself a change of circumstances, and changes apply only to payments falling due after the petition is filed. The need to add health coverage is enough to reopen an order.

The Child Support Enforcement Division of the Alabama Department of Human Resources locates parents, establishes paternity and orders, reviews and adjusts them, and collects and distributes payments.

Documents you will need

Alabama child support FAQ

How is child support calculated in Alabama?

Add both parents' monthly adjusted gross incomes, find the basic obligation on the Rule 32 schedule, add work-related child care and the children's health insurance, and split the total by income share on Form CS-42. The parent without primary custody pays their share, limited by the $981 self-support reserve calculation.

Does Alabama have a child support formula for 50/50 custody?

Yes, but only when a court orders shared 50% physical custody. The basic obligation is multiplied by 150% on Form CS-42-S, each parent gets credit for half, and the parent who still owes more pays. With a 60/40 income split, our example lands near $255 a month.

What is the minimum child support in Alabama?

When the self-support calculation leaves less than $50, Rule 32 presumes a $50 order. A zero-dollar order is presumed only when the obligor has no income and lives on means-tested assistance, or has no income and is confined for more than 180 consecutive days.

At what age does child support stop in Alabama?

Generally at 19, Alabama's age of majority, one year later than in most states. An income withholding order can be ended once every child on it is 19 and no arrearage is owed.

How much does income have to change to modify support in Alabama?

There is no fixed income threshold. The test is a material, substantial and continuing change, and a gap of more than 10% between the current order and the guideline amount creates a presumption that the order should change.

Next steps

Sources

Verified against these official sources in October 2026:

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This is general educational information, not legal advice, and official figures change. Last verified: October 2026. Consult a licensed family-law attorney in Alabama.