How Child Support Is Calculated in Alabama (Rule 32 Guidelines)

In Alabama, child support is worked out under Rule 32 of the Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration — the Child Support Guidelines set by the Alabama Supreme Court. The current guidelines were revised for cases filed on or after May 1, 2022, and amended again for cases filed on or after June 1, 2023, when an adjustment for shared (50/50) custody was added.

Step 1: both parents' income

The starting point is the parents' combined adjusted gross income. Adjusted gross income is gross income less any child support already being paid for other children and any periodic alimony already being paid. If a court finds a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, it can treat them as earning income they could have earned.

Step 2: the support schedule

The combined income is looked up in the Schedule of Basic Child-Support Obligations, which covers combined monthly gross income from $0 to $30,000 and one to six children. If the income falls between two amounts on the schedule, the lower one is used unless the income is at least halfway to the next amount. Where combined income is above the top of the schedule, the amount is up to the court, and the guidelines say it should not simply be extrapolated from the schedule.

Step 3: each parent's share

Each parent's share of the total is their percentage of the combined income. The calculation is set out on the court's Child-Support Guidelines worksheet (Form CS-42).

Health insurance and child care

• The cost of health care coverage for the children and work-related child-care costs are added to the basic obligation.
• Child care is added only if it is needed because of a parent's job or job search, and it can't be more than the amount for licensed care in the Department of Human Resources schedule.
• The parent who actually pays these costs has them taken off their share.
• The schedule already assumes unreimbursed medical costs of up to $250 per child per year.

Low incomes

• A self-support reserve of $981 is taken off the paying parent's monthly adjusted gross income, and 85% of what is left is the income available for support. The recommended order is the lower of that figure and the calculated support.
• If the income available for support is below $50, there is a presumption that a $50 minimum order should be made.
• There is a presumption of a zero-dollar order where the paying parent has no gross income and receives only means-tested assistance, or has no gross income and is incarcerated or institutionalized for more than 180 consecutive days.

Shared (50/50) custody

For cases filed on or after June 1, 2023, where a court order gives each parent physical custody about 50% of the time, a shared physical-custody adjustment applies. It uses a separate worksheet (Form CS-42-S), and the basic obligation is multiplied by 150% before it is split between the parents. The self-support reserve, the $50 minimum and the zero-dollar presumption don't apply when that worksheet is used.

Getting an order

Divorce, custody and child support cases are heard by the circuit court of the county. The court's child support forms are published by the Alabama Administrative Office of Courts. A family lawyer can check the figures and explain when a court might order a different amount.