Connecticut Child Support — Calculator, Laws & Guide (2026)

Understanding Connecticut child support laws helps both custodial and non-custodial parents know their rights and obligations. This comprehensive Connecticut child support guide covers how payments are calculated, what income counts, when support can be modified, and how orders are enforced. Whether you are going through a divorce, seeking a modification, or dealing with non-payment, this guide explains Connecticut’s child support system in plain language.

Verified against Connecticut statutes and federal OCSE guidelines as of May 2026.

Connecticut Child Support Overview

Connecticut uses the income shares model for calculating child support. This model is based on the principle that children should receive the same proportion of parental income they would have received if the family were intact. Both parents’ incomes are combined, and the support obligation is divided proportionally.

Connecticut uses the Income Shares Model, adopted in 1994. Both parents’ net weekly incomes are combined and applied to a schedule that determines the basic child support obligation based on combined income and number of children. Each parent’s share is proportional to their percentage of the combined net income. The noncustodial parent’s share becomes the support order. When combined net weekly income exceeds 4000 per week, support is determined on a case-by-case basis with the amount at 4000 as the minimum presumptive obligation.

How Connecticut Calculates Child Support

The Connecticut child support calculation considers multiple factors:

1. Determine each parent’s gross income — wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, self-employment income, investment income, and other sources.
2. Calculate combined parental income — add both parents’ adjusted gross incomes together.
3. Apply the guideline schedule — Connecticut’s guidelines provide a base support amount based on combined income and number of children.
4. Prorate between parents — each parent’s share is proportional to their percentage of the combined income.
5. Add healthcare and childcare costs — these are added to the base amount and divided proportionally.
6. Apply adjustments — parenting time credits, other child obligations, and special circumstances may adjust the final amount.

Online calculator: Use our child support estimator below to calculate your estimated obligation.

What Counts as Income in Connecticut

Net income (gross income minus allowable deductions). Gross income includes wages for regular, overtime, and additional employment (capped at 45 total paid hours per week), self-employment earnings (after reasonable business expenses), workers compensation benefits, unemployment insurance, strike pay, disability insurance, lottery and gambling winnings, prizes, regularly recurring gifts, employment perquisites, and in-kind compensation (food, shelter, transportation provided in lieu of wages). Allowable deductions include federal/state/local income taxes, Social Security taxes or mandatory retirement contributions (up to Social Security maximum), medical/hospital/dental/health insurance premiums for the parent and legal dependents, and court-ordered life insurance for the benefit of the child.

Imputed income: YES. Connecticut courts may attribute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. The court considers the parent’s earning capacity based on education, training, work experience, and available job opportunities. Income may be imputed at a level consistent with what the parent could reasonably earn.

Deviation factors: Other financial resources available to the parent; extraordinary expenses for care and maintenance of the child (including special needs); extraordinary parental expenses; needs of a parent’s other dependents; coordination of total family expenses; special circumstances; and shared physical custody arrangements where each parent exercises physical care substantially in excess of alternate weekends (no bright-line test or formula — determined case-by-case). In shared custody, the higher-income parent’s presumptive amount is payable to the lower-income parent.

Healthcare & Childcare in Connecticut Child Support

Health insurance: The court may order either parent to name the child as a beneficiary of any medical or dental insurance available at reasonable cost. If private insurance is unavailable, the court may order a parent to apply for the HUSKY Plan (state/federally funded). Unreimbursed medical and dental expenses not covered by insurance must be paid and are allocated between parents proportionally based on their income shares. Health insurance costs are factored into the support worksheet as a separate line item.

Childcare costs: Childcare costs (work-related or education-related) are added to the basic child support obligation as a separate component on the guidelines worksheet. Each parent’s share of childcare costs is calculated proportionally based on their respective percentage of combined net weekly income.

When Does Connecticut Child Support End?

In Connecticut, child support generally ends when the child reaches 18, with exceptions: extends to 19 if the child is an unmarried full-time high school student living with a parent; extends to 21 for a child who is mentally, physically, or intellectually disabled and primarily dependent on a parent for maintenance.. However, support may continue or end earlier based on:

• The child graduates from high school (if still a minor)
• The child becomes emancipated (marriage, military service, self-supporting)
• The child has special needs requiring ongoing support
• College support: YES. Under CGS Section 46b-56c, courts may order educational support for a child under age 23 to attend a higher education institution or private occupational school for up to 4 full academic years toward a bachelor’s or undergraduate degree or vocational instruction. Unless parents agree otherwise, expenses cannot exceed the amount charged by the University of Connecticut for a full-time in-state student at the time of matriculation. The order must terminate by the child’s 23rd birthday.

Modifying Connecticut Child Support

When to modify: A support order is at least 15 percent higher or lower than the current guideline amount due to changes in either parent’s income or the cost of caring for the child; or any other substantial change in circumstances that would impact the support order (e.g., significant income change up or down, job loss, disability, change in custody arrangement). Parties cannot request more than one review every 3 years without demonstrating a substantial change in circumstances.

How to modify: File a Motion for Modification (form FM-174) with the Connecticut Superior Court (Family Division) that issued the original order. Alternatively, parties receiving IV-D services can request a review through the Department of Social Services, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement, which can initiate administrative or court-based modification proceedings. The modification takes effect from the date of service of the motion on the opposing party.

Either parent can request a modification. Changes are typically not retroactive to before the date of filing the modification request.

Connecticut Child Support Enforcement

Connecticut has multiple tools to enforce child support orders when a parent fails to pay:

• Income withholding (wage garnishment — mandatory upon order establishment; also applied to unemployment
• workers’ comp
• and retirement); federal and state tax refund intercept (150 threshold for TFA cases
• 500 for non-TFA cases); license suspension (driver’s
• professional
• and recreational licenses); liens on real and personal property (500 arrearage threshold); credit bureau reporting (1000 arrearage threshold
• with 60-day notice to obligor); contempt of court and civil arrest (30+ days delinquent); lottery winnings offset; passport denial (5000 arrearage threshold
• certified through federal OCSE to State Department); seizure and attachment of assets and benefits; work requirements; wanted posters.

Contact Connecticut Department of Social Services, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement (Office of Child Support Services) at https://portal.ct.gov/dss/child-support/child-support/overview for enforcement assistance.

Additional Connecticut rules: Combined net weekly income cap of 4000 — above this threshold, guidelines are advisory and support is determined case-by-case. Overtime/additional employment income is capped at 45 total paid hours per week. Shared physical custody requires parenting time substantially in excess of alternate weekends, holidays, and short visits — Connecticut explicitly rejects a bright-line day count or formula, requiring case-by-case analysis. Connecticut’s schedule percentages are set higher than national averages to reflect the state’s higher cost of living. The arrearage guidelines (Section 46b-215a-3a) provide a separate framework for calculating payment on past-due support. Self-support reserve: if the noncustodial parent’s net income minus the support order would fall below the federal poverty level, a low-income adjustment may apply.

Official Sources & Resources

• Connecticut Department of Social Services, Bureau of Child Support Enforcement (Office of Child Support Services): https://portal.ct.gov/dss/child-support/child-support/overview
• Federal OCSE: acf.hhs.gov/css
• Cornell LII — Child Support: law.cornell.edu
• Connecticut Guidelines Statute: Connecticut General Statutes Section 46b-215a; Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies Sections 46b-215a-1 through 46b-215a-6 (definitions, guidelines schedule, deviation criteria, arrearage guidelines, and worksheets)

Last verified May 2026. Contact us if you notice outdated information.

Estimate Your Child Support

Use our free child support estimator to calculate estimated monthly payments. Enter both parents’ incomes, number of children, and custody arrangement to see a personalized breakdown based on your state’s formula.

Related Guides

• Connecticut Divorce Process Guide
• Connecticut Child Custody Guide
• Connecticut Alimony Guide
• All Child Support Guides