An Overview of Child Support Percentages and Related Issues in New York State
In any divorce case, two parents can either negotiate their own child support arrangements and enter into a legally binding agreement, or the court can mandate the amount of child support one parent must pay to the other. In either scenario, a court must approve the amount of child support to be paid.
New York uses the Child Support Standards Act to determine what is an appropriate amount of child support. Under this legislation, courts use a child support formula based mostly on the income level of each parent and the number of children who need support.
After court determines each parent’s income, it reaches an applicable percentage based on the number of children. This figure is then multiplied by the combined income of both parents to determine the amount of child support to be paid.
Below are the child support percentages used as multipliers in New York:
- 17 percent of income for a single child
- 25 percent of income for two children
- 29 percent of income for three children
- 31 percent of income for four children
- 35 percent of income for five or more children
It’s important to note that this formula only applies to households with a combined income of $136,000 or under. If parental income is more than that, the court may either use these guidelines or take other factors into consideration.
For example, imagine two parents have a combined income of $100,000. If they have two children, the supporting parent would likely be responsible for $25,000 of child support per year.
To learn more about how courts determine child support arrangements, consult an experienced Long Island family law attorney with Bryan L. Salamone & Associates.