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Virginia child support: the 2025 schedule, the 90-day rule, and the math step by step

Virginia works from gross income, not take-home pay. Both parents' monthly gross incomes go into one schedule that the General Assembly rewrote for July 1, 2025, and once the parent with less time has the children more than 90 days a year, a shared custody formula with a 1.4 multiplier takes over.

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At a glance

ModelIncome shares on combined monthly gross income, Va. Code 20-108.2
ScheduleUpdated by 2025 Acts ch. 702 (SB 805) from July 1, 2025; rows run to $42,500 combined a month, with 1 to 6 children
Above the scheduleThe $42,500 amount plus 2.6% (1 child) to 5.0% (6 children) of combined income over $42,500
Shared custodyMore than 90 days a year with the parent who has less time: schedule amount x 1.4, cross-credited by custody share
Medical costsUnreimbursed medical and dental bills split by gross income share, outside the monthly amount
Support endsAge 18, or 19 for a full-time high school student living at home who is not self-supporting
Arrears interestJudgment rate, 6% a year, unless the receiving parent waives it in writing
AgencyDivision of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE), Virginia Department of Social Services

How Virginia calculates child support

Everything starts with gross income, defined in 20-108.2(C) as income from all sources: salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, severance, pensions, interest, dividends, capital gains, Social Security, workers' compensation, unemployment and disability benefits, veterans' benefits, spousal support received, rental income, gifts, prizes and awards. Public assistance, federal SSI and child support received are left out, and so is extra income from a second job when the parent took it to pay down a child support arrearage under an order.

A few adjustments come off before the lookup. Spousal support paid under an order or written agreement is subtracted (and added for the parent who receives it). Self-employed parents deduct reasonable business expenses and half of their self-employment tax, and they carry the burden of proving those expenses. Taxes are not deducted: Virginia's schedule already assumes gross dollars.

The two incomes are added and matched to the schedule of monthly basic child support obligations in 20-108.2(B). Amounts that fall between two rows are extrapolated. The court then adds the children's health, dental and vision coverage premiums and work-related child care, and each parent owes that total in proportion to gross income. The courts' worksheet for this is form DC-637; shared custody uses DC-640.

The schedule itself changed on July 1, 2025, the first new table since 2014. It now covers six children instead of five and climbs to $42,500 of combined monthly income instead of $35,000. Above the top row, the court adds a fixed percentage of the excess income. A new spouse's earnings are never counted.

Worked example: Virginia

  1. Parent A earns $7,000 a month gross and Parent B earns $5,000, so the combined gross income on line 5 of the worksheet is $12,000.
  2. The 2025 schedule in 20-108.2(B) lists $2,059 a month for two children at $12,000. With one child the same row lists $1,420.
  3. Parent A brings in 58.3% of the combined gross income and Parent B 41.7%, so Parent A's part of the schedule amount is $1,201 and Parent B's is $858.
  4. If the children live with Parent B and Parent A has 90 days a year or fewer, the sole custody calculation applies: Parent A pays $1,201 a month, about $14,412 a year, before insurance premiums or child care are added.

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 custody in Virginia: more than 90 days and the 1.4 multiplier

Under 20-108.2(G)(3), the shared formula applies when a parent has custody or visitation for more than 90 days of the year. A day is a 24-hour period, but when the parent with fewer overnights keeps the child overnight for less than 24 hours, each parent is presumed to get half a day. That counting rule matters: a schedule of every other weekend plus a weeknight dinner can land well under or just over 90 depending on pickup times.

Past that line, the schedule amount is multiplied by 1.4 to reflect the cost of two homes (the shared support need). Each parent's income share of that figure is multiplied by the other parent's custody share, and the parent who owes more pays the difference. A parent can still insist on the sole custody amount if it is lower, so the shared result never costs the payer more. In the example, with 120 days for Parent A, the payment drops to about $734 a month instead of $1,201, a difference of $467. At an even 50/50 split it falls to about $240.

Two safeguards come with it. If either parent's gross income is at or below 150% of the federal poverty level, the shared amount is no longer presumptive and the court weighs which result is fairer. And if a support order was based on shared time that a parent then consistently fails to use, the law presumes the order should be modified.

Health coverage, medical bills and child care

The premium for the children's health, dental and vision coverage, paid by a parent or that parent's spouse, is added to the basic obligation. Only the children's portion counts: if the insurer does not quote a per-child cost, subtract the cost of single coverage for the policyholder and divide the rest by the other people covered. Coverage is reasonable in cost if it does not exceed 5% of the gross income of the parent providing it.

Unreimbursed medical and dental expenses are handled separately from the monthly payment: parents pay them as they come in, in proportion to gross income, unless they agree otherwise or the court finds good cause. The statute spells out that this includes eyeglasses, prescriptions, orthodontics and counseling or therapy. Child care that the custodial parent needs in order to work is added to the obligation, up to the cost of quality licensed care, and a parent can ask the court to factor in the tax credit the other parent receives for it.

Low incomes and the presumptive minimum

The schedule starts at combined income of $0 to $350 a month, where it lists $68 for one child and $104 for two. Virginia also sets a presumptive minimum order. A court may go below it only when the paying parent's gross income is at or under 150% of the federal poverty level and the evidence shows no ability to pay, and never so low that the custodial parent cannot keep minimal housing and basic necessities for the child. Parents who are institutionalized without assets, imprisoned for life without parole, totally and permanently disabled (including SSI recipients), or otherwise involuntarily unable to earn are exempt.

Other children in either home

Support a parent is actually paying for other children under an order or written agreement comes off gross income. For a parent's other biological or adopted children living in that parent's home, the deduction is the full schedule amount for those children figured on that parent's income alone. Both are presumptions, and a new child is not by itself a material change that reopens an existing order.

When support ends and how to change it

Support runs to 18. It continues past 18 for a child who is a full-time high school student, not self-supporting, and living with the parent receiving support, until the child turns 19 or graduates, whichever comes first. A court may also order support for an adult child with a severe and permanent disability that began before 18 (or 19 under the high school rule) who cannot live independently and lives with the parent seeking support.

Any change applies only from the date the other parent got notice of the petition; Virginia does not modify support retroactively before that. The 2025 schedule update, like any amendment to the guideline statutes, is not by itself a material change in circumstances. In DCSE reviews, a material change exists when the guideline amount differs from the current order by at least 10% and at least $25 a month, and most orders can be reviewed every three years. Incarceration of 180 or more consecutive days is a material change.

Collection and enforcement

The Division of Child Support Enforcement in the Virginia Department of Social Services opens cases, sets administrative support orders, reviews orders and enforces them; you do not need a lawyer to apply, and its MyChildSupport portal handles applications and payments. Arrears in a support order become a judgment that carries interest at Virginia's 6% judgment rate unless the parent owed the money waives interest in writing. DCSE points parents to the courts' DC-637 worksheet to estimate an amount.

Documents you will need

Virginia child support FAQ

Did Virginia child support change in 2025?

Yes. SB 805 (2025 Acts ch. 702) replaced the schedule in 20-108.2(B) starting July 1, 2025, extending it to $42,500 of combined monthly gross income and six children. The new table alone is not a material change, so an older order is not modified just because the schedule changed.

How is child support calculated in Virginia?

Add both parents' monthly gross incomes, find the basic obligation for that total and the number of children in the 20-108.2(B) schedule, add the children's insurance premiums and work-related child care, and split the total by each parent's share of gross income. With more than 90 days for the parent with less time, the shared custody formula applies.

How much is child support for 2 kids in Virginia?

At $12,000 of combined gross income the schedule lists $2,059 for two children. A parent earning 58.3% of that income who has the children 90 days a year or fewer would owe about $1,201 a month before insurance and child care.

How many days do you need for shared custody support in Virginia?

More than 90 days a year. Days are 24-hour periods, and an overnight shorter than 24 hours with the parent who has fewer overnights counts as half a day for each parent. In our example, 50/50 time brings the payment down to about $240 a month.

Does Virginia child support end at 18?

Usually. It continues to 19 or high school graduation, whichever comes first, for a full-time high school student who lives at home and is not self-supporting. Support can continue for an adult child with a severe disability that began in childhood.

Next steps

Sources

Verified against these official sources in October 2026:

Child support in every other state

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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 Virginia.