Calculation is client-side, income figures are never transmitted or stored.
How Connecticut Child Support Is Calculated
- Connecticut is an income-shares state, but uniquely uses WEEKLY net income (not monthly, and not gross) as its unit throughout the guidelines.
- Add both parents' net weekly income to get combined net weekly income, rounded to the nearest $10.
- Look up the combined income and number of children in the official Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations to get the basic weekly support amount.
- If the noncustodial parent's OWN net weekly income (not combined) falls at or below $470/week, that parent is a 'low-income obligor' -- the schedule is looked up using their income alone, and this is their full obligation directly (no add-ons, no proration). Effective 2026-08-01, this threshold is a flat $470/week for every child count (previously it rose from $280 to $480 by number of children).
- Otherwise, each parent's share of the basic obligation is their percentage of combined net weekly income.
- Effective 2026-08-01, the schedule was extended from a $4,000/week cap to $6,000/week. Above $6,000/week combined income, the guidelines describe a range: from the dollar amount at the $6,000 row, up to that row's percentage applied to actual combined income -- this calculator returns the upper end of that range as a presumptive ceiling; courts have discretion within it.
- This models the standard sole-custody case. Shared Physical Custody and Split Custody use different, non-prorated calculations and are not modeled here.
Connecticut Child Support Worksheet Walkthrough
Example: Parent A has net weekly income of $400, Parent B has net weekly income of $300 (combined $700/week). There is one child, who lives primarily with Parent B.
- Combined net weekly income: $600 + $300 = $900.
- Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations at $900 combined, one child: $208/week.
- Parent A's income share: $600 / $900 = 66.67%.
- Parent A pays: $208 x 66.67% = $139/week.
How This Calculator Works — Formula & Constants
Source: Connecticut Judicial Branch — Commission for Child Support Guidelines · Calcul déterministe — no AI, no arbitrary estimate.
Constants used
| Constant | Value | Source |
|---|
Formula
base_obligation = schedule_lookup(combined_income, children)
share_B = parentB_income / combined_income
total_obligation = base_obligation + childcare_cost + health_insurance_cost
obligation_B = total_obligation × share_B
Deterministic calculation based on Connecticut's official guideline schedule table. Verify against Connecticut's official calculator for a court-ready figure.
FAQ
How is child support calculated in Connecticut?
Connecticut is an income-shares state, but uniquely uses WEEKLY net income (not monthly, and not gross) as its unit throughout the guidelines. Add both parents' net weekly income to get combined net weekly income, rounded to the nearest $10. Look up the combined income and number of children in the official Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations to get the basic weekly support amount. If the noncustodial parent's OWN net weekly income (not combined) falls at or below $470/week, that parent is a 'low-income obligor' -- the schedule is looked up using their income alone, and this is their full obligation directly (no add-ons, no proration). Effective 2026-08-01, this threshold is a flat $470/week for every child count (previously it rose from $280 to $480 by number of children). Otherwise, each parent's share of the basic obligation is their percentage of combined net weekly income. Effective 2026-08-01, the schedule was extended from a $4,000/week cap to $6,000/week. Above $6,000/week combined income, the guidelines describe a range: from the dollar amount at the $6,000 row, up to that row's percentage applied to actual combined income -- this calculator returns the upper end of that range as a presumptive ceiling; courts have discretion within it. This models the standard sole-custody case. Shared Physical Custody and Split Custody use different, non-prorated calculations and are not modeled here.
Does Connecticut use weekly or monthly income for child support?
Weekly. Connecticut's guidelines and its Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations are built entirely around NET WEEKLY income -- unlike most states, there is no monthly conversion step; the worksheet, schedule, and resulting order are all denominated in dollars per week.
What is Connecticut's 'low-income obligor' provision?
If the noncustodial parent's own net weekly income falls at or below $470/week, the schedule is looked up using that parent's income alone rather than combined income, with no add-ons for childcare or health insurance -- this is the 'darker shaded area' of the official schedule. Effective 2026-08-01, this is a flat $470/week threshold for every child count, replacing the old per-child-count thresholds ($280/week for one child up to $480/week for six or more).
What changed in Connecticut's child support guidelines on August 1, 2026?
The commission extended the Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations from a $4,000/week combined-income cap to $6,000/week, raised the self-support reserve to a flat $362/week (125% of the 2024 federal poverty guideline for one person), and introduced a new worksheet for cases involving three legal parents under Connecticut's Parentage Act. This calculator reflects the guidelines as of the 2026-08-01 effective date.
Methodology & Source
Formula model: income shares. Effective 2026-08-01, guideline version 2026-CT-v2, last reviewed 2026-08-19.
Official source: Connecticut Judicial Branch — Commission for Child Support Guidelines (Regs. Conn. State Agencies § 46b-215a-2c).
Connecticut income figures in this calculator are WEEKLY net income, not monthly. Effective 2026-08-01, Connecticut's guidelines schedule was overhauled: income cap extended from $4,000/week to $6,000/week combined net income, self-support reserve raised to a flat $362/week, and a new three-parent worksheet was introduced (not modeled by this calculator). Above $6,000/week combined net income, the official guidelines describe a RANGE, not a single figure: the presumptive amount runs from the dollar figure at the $6,000 row up to that row's percentage applied to actual combined income (courts decide within that range case-by-case, General Statutes section 46b-84(d)); this calculator returns the upper end of that range, which is a presumptive ceiling, not the only correct answer above $6,000/week. Below $150/week combined net income (the schedule's lowest tabulated row), this calculator returns the $150-row amount rather than scaling down further -- the official guidelines direct courts to apply a 10%-of-obligor-income baseline formula at these very-low incomes, which this calculator does not yet implement; treat results below $150/week combined net income as approximate. This calculator models the standard (sole-custody) case only. It does not model Shared Physical Custody (Regs. Conn. State Agencies 46b-215a-1(23): when each parent has at least roughly equal time, the presumptive order equals the HIGHER-net-income parent's own calculated share, paid to the other parent, unadjusted for the specific time split), Split Custody (each parent primary for different children, calculated as an offset between two worksheets), or the new three-parent worksheet introduced 2026-08-01.
Guideline figures transcribed from the primary source above and cross-checked against Connecticut's official calculator/worksheet for multiple test scenarios — see our verification methodology.
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