Connecticut Child Support Guidelines 2026: Weekly Math

At a glance

Model	Income shares on the parents' combined net weekly income (Regs. Conn. State Agencies 46b-215a)
Guidelines in force	Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines effective August 1, 2026
Schedule range	Up to $6,000 of combined net weekly income (was $4,000)
Low income	No obligation under $150 net a week; a $362 weekly self-support reserve shapes the shaded low-income area
Shared custody	The higher earner pays the presumptive amount; any reduction is a deviation
Support ends	At 18, or for a full-time high school student, at the end of 12th grade or 19; college support orders possible to 23
Modification	Substantial change, or a 15% or greater deviation from the guidelines (C.G.S. 46b-86)

Net weekly income and the CCSG-1 worksheet

Every figure on the Connecticut worksheet (form CCSG-1) is a weekly average. Each parent starts with gross income and subtracts only the allowable deductions listed in the regulations: federal, state and local income taxes after all exemptions, deductions and credits; Social Security (or a mandatory retirement plan in its place) and Medicare tax; health, dental and HUSKY Health premiums for the parent and their legal dependents; court-ordered life and disability insurance; union dues and mandatory uniforms or tools to the extent the employer deducts them; court-ordered support for other people; and an imputed amount for a qualified child living with the parent. Mandatory contributions to Connecticut's paid family and medical leave program are now also addressed on the worksheet.

The parents' net weekly incomes are added and found on the schedule, which gives both a percentage and a dollar amount for one to six children. Each parent's share of that basic obligation follows their share of combined net income; the custodial parent's share is presumed spent directly on the child. Above $6,000 a week, the dollar amount at $6,000 is the minimum presumptive support, and the maximum is the parents' combined net weekly income times the percentage listed at $6,000, with the court free to set an amount in that range using the statutory factors.

Worked example: Connecticut

Parent A takes home $900 a week in net income under the guidelines' definition and Parent B takes home $600, for $1,500 combined.
The August 2026 schedule lists 30.99% for two children at $1,500, which is $465 a week. At the top row, $6,000 a week, two children are 18.27%, or $1,096.
Parent A earns 60% of the combined net income, so Parent A's share is $279 and Parent B's is $186.
With the children living with Parent B, the presumptive current support order is $279 a week, or about $14,508 over 52 weeks, plus a health care coverage order and a percentage share of child care and unreimbursed medical costs.

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.

Shared physical custody without a time formula

Connecticut deliberately has no parenting-time formula. The regulations define shared physical custody as a residence arrangement that gives the child substantially equal time and contact with both parents, without requiring an exact 50/50 split. In that situation the presumptive order is simply the support amount of the parent with the higher net weekly income, payable to the lower earner. In the example that stays $279 a week, the same as with primary custody.

Shared custody is instead a deviation criterion. The 2026 commission again rejected a time-based formula, worried it would push parents to negotiate schedules around money, and says a finding of shared physical custody needs time substantially beyond alternate weekends, alternate holidays, some vacation and short midweek visits. Substantially equal incomes are a separate listed reason to deviate. Any deviation must be explained on section VIII of the worksheet.

Health coverage, unreimbursed medical bills, and child care

Every order must make one or both parents contribute to the child's health care coverage, usually by naming the child on insurance available at reasonable cost; if none is available, the order requires applying for HUSKY B or a similar public plan. Cash medical support can include a share of HUSKY costs. Unreimbursed medical expenses are split by each parent's net disposable income, and a low-income obligor never pays more than 50% of them in a two-parent case.

Child care is handled outside the schedule as its own contribution order, usually stated as a percentage of the actual cost. Only costs that are reasonable and necessary for the custodial parent to keep working count, minus any reimbursement or subsidy, and not above what quality licensed care would cost. The contribution follows net disposable income, with the same 50% cap for low-income obligors.

The 2026 low-income changes

The new schedule raises the floor below which a parent owes no support from $50 to $150 of net weekly income. It adds a self-support reserve of $362 a week (125% of the 2024 federal poverty guideline for one person): below it, the one-child obligation starts from 10% of the obligor's net income and phases up through the shaded low-income area until the parent can keep the full reserve and pay the regular 23.12% for one child. The commission cited Connecticut's $16.94 minimum wage, effective January 1, 2026, as a reason to widen that area. When income is imputed to a parent, full-time work is now considered 32 hours a week.

Age limits, college support, and modification

Support runs to 18. For an unmarried child who is a full-time high school student, parents must keep supporting the child until 12th grade is finished or the child turns 19, whichever comes first. Separately, C.G.S. 46b-56c lets a court enter an educational support order for up to four academic years of college or vocational school, ending no later than age 23, but only if it is requested when the divorce or separation decree is entered or the decree expressly reserves it.

An order can be modified on a substantial change in circumstances or when it substantially deviates from the guidelines; by statute, a deviation of 15% or more is presumed substantial and less than 15% is presumed not. Support Enforcement Services of the Judicial Branch and the Department of Social Services handle child support services and enforcement, and the 2026 arrearage rules let a judge or family support magistrate set payments on an old arrearage at 20% to 100% of an imputed support amount when there is no longer a current support duty.

Documents you will need

Pay Stubs, last 2-3 months
W-2 Forms, last 2 years
Federal Tax Return, most recent year
Health Insurance Premium Statement
Childcare Receipts / Provider Statement
Existing Support Order (if applicable)
Schedule C (Self-Employment Income)
Business Bank Statements, 3 months
Profit & Loss Statement

Connecticut child support FAQ

How is child support calculated in Connecticut?

Add both parents' net weekly incomes, find the basic obligation on the schedule, and split it by income share on worksheet CCSG-1. The noncustodial parent pays their share weekly, plus a health coverage order and percentage shares of child care and unreimbursed medical costs.

What changed in the 2026 Connecticut child support guidelines?

From August 1, 2026: an updated schedule extended from $4,000 to $6,000 of combined net weekly income, a $150 weekly floor for any obligation, a $362 self-support reserve, 32-hour imputation of full-time work, rules for children with more than two legal parents, and new arrearage payment discretion.

Does 50/50 custody change child support in Connecticut?

Not automatically. With shared physical custody, the higher earner pays the full presumptive amount, $279 a week in our example. A judge can deviate below it for shared custody or substantially equal incomes, but must explain why.

Do parents have to pay for college in Connecticut?

Only if a court enters an educational support order under C.G.S. 46b-56c, which must be requested when the decree is entered (or reserved in it). It can cover up to four academic years and ends by age 23.

When can I modify child support in Connecticut?

When circumstances have substantially changed, or when the guidelines now produce an amount at least 15% higher or lower than your order. A difference under 15% is presumed not substantial.

Next steps

Run your estimate in CoreParent's child support calculator and keep your assumptions next to your parenting plan.
Custody schedules that change the overnight count: week on, week off, 2-2-5-5 schedule, alternating weeks.
Find a Connecticut family law attorney in our directory.
States with a similar model: New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey.
How custody is decided state by state: custody by state.

Sources

Verified against these official sources in October 2026:

Child support in every other state

All states

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

Connecticut child support: the August 2026 guidelines, figured by the week