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

Understanding Virginia child support laws helps both custodial and non-custodial parents know their rights and obligations. This comprehensive Virginia 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 Virginia’s child support system in plain language.

Verified against Virginia statutes and federal OCSE guidelines as of April 2026.

Virginia Child Support Overview

Virginia 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.

Virginia uses the Income Shares Model under Va. Code § 20-108.2. Both parents’ monthly gross incomes are combined and looked up on a statutory schedule to determine the basic child support obligation based on combined income and number of children. That obligation is then divided proportionally based on each parent’s percentage of combined gross income. Healthcare coverage costs and work-related childcare costs are added to the basic obligation before the proportional split. As of July 1, 2025, the guidelines cover combined gross monthly incomes up to 42500. For shared custody, the guideline amount is multiplied by 1.4. The minimum monthly support order is 68. The guideline amount is a rebuttable presumption — courts must make written findings to deviate.

How Virginia Calculates Child Support

The Virginia 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 — Virginia’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 Virginia

Gross income from all sources. Virginia Code § 20-108.2 defines gross income broadly to include: salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, dividends, pensions, Social Security benefits, workers compensation, disability payments, veterans benefits, spousal support received, rental income, capital gains, trust income, annuities, severance pay, royalties, interest income, and virtually all other recurring monetary receipts from any source.

Imputed income: YES. Under Va. Code § 20-108.1(B)(3), courts may impute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or voluntarily underemployed. The court considers the good faith and reasonableness of employment decisions, including decisions to attend educational or vocational programs likely to maintain or increase earning potential. Income shall not be imputed to a custodial parent when a child is not in school, childcare services are not available, and childcare costs are not included in the calculation. A parent’s incarceration for 180 or more consecutive days shall not be deemed voluntary unemployment or underemployment. The court may order a vocational evaluation by a vocational expert upon motion of any party and for good cause shown.

Deviation factors: Virginia Code § 20-108.1 lists 15 factors permitting deviation when the presumptive amount would be unjust or inappropriate. These include: (1) actual monetary support for other family members or former family members; (2) custody arrangements including cost of visitation travel; (3) imputed income to a party who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed; (4) childcare costs incurred due to custodial parent attending educational or vocational program; (5) debts of either party arising during the marriage for the benefit of the child; (6) direct payments ordered by court for life insurance, education expenses, or other court-ordered payments for child’s benefit; (7) independent financial resources of the child; (8) special needs of a child resulting from physical, emotional, or medical condition; (9) standard of living for the child established during the marriage; (10) earning capacity, obligations, financial resources, and special needs of each parent; (11) provisions regarding marital property with income or income-earning potential; (12) tax consequences including exemptions, child tax credit, and childcare credit; (13) written agreement or stipulation between the parties; (14) such other factors as are necessary to consider the equities for the parents and children. The court must make written findings to support any deviation.

Healthcare & Childcare in Virginia Child Support

Health insurance: Healthcare coverage costs for the children subject to the support order are added to the basic child support obligation before the proportional split between parents. Under Va. Code § 20-108.2(E), the cost of health care coverage, vision care coverage, and dental care coverage being paid by a parent or that parent’s spouse is added to the obligation. To determine per-child cost: if the insurer provides per-child cost, that figure is used; otherwise, the cost of individual coverage for the policyholder is subtracted from total coverage cost, and the remainder is divided by the number of remaining covered persons. The court may also order either or both parents to maintain health insurance for the children.

Childcare costs: Work-related childcare costs incurred on behalf of the children due to employment of the custodial parent are added to the basic child support obligation before the proportional split. Childcare costs shall not exceed the amount required to provide quality care from a licensed source. Childcare costs incurred due to attendance of a custodial parent in an educational or vocational program may also be considered as a deviation factor.

When Does Virginia Child Support End?

In Virginia, child support generally ends when the child reaches 18, but extends to 19 if the child is (i) a full-time high school student, (ii) not self-supporting, and (iii) living in the home of the party seeking or receiving child support — until the child reaches 19 or graduates from high school, whichever occurs first. Support may also continue indefinitely for a child over 18 who is severely and permanently mentally or physically disabled (disability existed before age 18 or 19), is unable to live independently and support themselves, and resides in the home of the parent seeking support. Emancipation events that end support: reaching age 18, entering a valid marriage, active military duty, or living separately with parental consent and being self-supporting.. 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: NO. Virginia law does not require parents to pay for college expenses as part of a child support order. Child support obligations end at 18 (or 19 if still in high school). However, parents may voluntarily agree to contribute to college costs, and such agreements can be incorporated into a divorce decree or separation agreement and enforced by the court. Without a written agreement, there is no legal obligation to pay college expenses.

Modifying Virginia Child Support

When to modify: Virginia does not specify an exact statutory percentage or dollar threshold for modification. A parent must demonstrate a material change in circumstances that is significant, continuing, and was not foreseeable when the original order was entered. Examples include: significant increase or decrease in either parent’s income, substantial change in childcare or health insurance costs, changes in medical expenses or special needs of the child, relocation that substantially changes parenting time or travel expenses. In practice, a change of approximately 25 percent or more in a parent’s income is generally considered sufficient. Parents may also request a review after 3 years have passed since the original order or last modification, but may file immediately upon a substantial change.

How to modify: Either parent may petition the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court or Circuit Court for a modification. Parents receiving DCSE services may also request a review and adjustment through the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE) by contacting the agency. DCSE can administratively review the order and, if a material change is found, petition the court for modification. Parents can contact DCSE at 1-800-468-8894 or through the MyChildSupport online portal at mychildsupport.dss.virginia.gov.

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

Virginia Child Support Enforcement

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

• Wage withholding/garnishment (income withholding orders to employers
• up to 50-65% of disposable income depending on circumstances); federal and state tax refund intercept; driver’s license suspension; professional license suspension; recreational license suspension (license suspension triggered when 90+ days delinquent or arrears exceed 5000); property liens; seizure of lump-sum payments; contempt of court (fines
• attorney fees
• jail time up to 12 months for misdemeanor conviction); credit bureau reporting; passport denial (federal
• for arrears over 2500); bank account levy/seizure; interest accrual at 6% per annum on amounts unpaid after 30 days.

Contact Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE), a division of the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) at https://www.dss.virginia.gov/family/dcse/index.cgi for enforcement assistance.

Additional Virginia rules: As of July 1, 2025, Senate Bill 805 raised the combined monthly gross income cap from 35000 to 42500 and increased guideline amounts across all income levels for the first time since 2014. The shared custody formula multiplies the basic obligation by 1.4 to account for increased costs when both parents have significant custodial time. Virginia imposes a 6% annual interest rate on child support arrears unpaid after 30 days. The Child Support Guidelines Review Panel conducts a quadrennial review of the guidelines as required by federal law. For incomes above the guideline cap of 42500 combined monthly gross, the court has discretion to set an appropriate amount considering the factors in § 20-108.1. The minimum monthly child support obligation is 68.

Official Sources & Resources

• Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE), a division of the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS): https://www.dss.virginia.gov/family/dcse/index.cgi
• Federal OCSE: acf.hhs.gov/css
• Cornell LII — Child Support: law.cornell.edu
• Virginia Guidelines Statute: Virginia Code § 20-108.2 (guideline schedule and calculation) and § 20-108.1 (determination of support, deviation factors, income definition). Full text at https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title20/chapter6/section20-108.2/ and https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacode/title20/chapter6/section20-108.1/

Last verified April 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

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