Calculation is client-side, income figures are never transmitted or stored.
How Louisiana Child Support Is Calculated
- Combine both parents' adjusted gross income (gross income minus preexisting child support or spousal support paid) to get combined adjusted gross income.
- Look up the basic child support obligation from the official Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations for that combined income and number of children (R.S. 9:315.19).
- Each parent's share equals their income divided by the combined income, applied to the basic obligation.
- Net childcare costs, health insurance premiums, and extraordinary medical/other extraordinary expenses are added to the basic obligation before proration (R.S. 9:315.8(A)).
- Courts have discretion (not an automatic formula) to grant a credit when a parent exercises more than 73 days/year of physical custody.
- Below $1,050/month or above $50,000/month combined income, courts determine support case-by-case.
Louisiana Child Support Worksheet Walkthrough
Example: combined adjusted gross income $3,000/month, 2 children, Parent A earns $1,800/mo (60% share), Parent B earns $1,200/mo (40% share) and has primary custody.
- Basic child support obligation for $3,000 combined, 2 children: $894/month.
- Parent A's share: 60% × $894 = $536/month guideline child support paid by Parent A.
How This Calculator Works — Formula & Constants
Source: Louisiana Revised Statutes (Legislature) · 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 Louisiana's official guideline schedule table. Verify against Louisiana's official calculator for a court-ready figure.
FAQ
How is child support calculated in Louisiana?
Combine both parents' adjusted gross income (gross income minus preexisting child support or spousal support paid) to get combined adjusted gross income. Look up the basic child support obligation from the official Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations for that combined income and number of children (R.S. 9:315.19). Each parent's share equals their income divided by the combined income, applied to the basic obligation. Net childcare costs, health insurance premiums, and extraordinary medical/other extraordinary expenses are added to the basic obligation before proration (R.S. 9:315.8(A)). Courts have discretion (not an automatic formula) to grant a credit when a parent exercises more than 73 days/year of physical custody. Below $1,050/month or above $50,000/month combined income, courts determine support case-by-case.
Does Louisiana reduce child support for shared custody?
Not automatically. Louisiana courts have discretion — not an automatic formula credit — to grant an adjustment when a parent exercises more than 73 days per year of physical custody. Unlike states with a graduated overnight table, Louisiana's statute leaves the exact amount of any such credit to the court's judgment.
What counts as adjusted gross income in Louisiana?
Adjusted gross income in Louisiana is each parent's gross income minus any preexisting child support or spousal support they actually pay for other cases — not simply their paycheck gross. Both parents' adjusted gross incomes are then combined to look up the basic obligation on the official schedule.
What happens if combined income is above $50,000/month?
Louisiana's official schedule covers combined adjusted gross income from $1,050 up to $50,000/month. Below $1,050 or above $50,000, the schedule doesn't provide a table value, and courts determine support case-by-case rather than extrapolating the formula automatically.
Methodology & Source
Formula model: income shares. Effective 2025-01-01, guideline version 2025-LA-v1, last reviewed 2026-07-11.
Official source: Louisiana Revised Statutes (Legislature) (La. R.S. 9:315.8 (worksheet); 9:315.19 (schedule)).
Courts have discretion to grant a credit against the support obligation when a parent exercises more than 73 days per year of physical custody (R.S. 9:315.8(E)(2)) — this is a discretionary credit, not an automatic formula reduction, so this calculator does not apply it automatically. Below $1,050/month combined income or above $50,000/month, courts determine support on a case-by-case basis. This calculator shows the presumptive guideline amount only, not a court order.
Guideline figures transcribed from the primary source above and cross-checked against Louisiana's official calculator/worksheet for multiple test scenarios — see our verification methodology.
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