Ky Child Support Calculator (Kentucky) | Guidelines – 2024

A parent pays average child support every month to assist with the expenses of parenting a child. This is calculated by the Kentucky Child Support Calculator. 

In KY, both parents are financially liable for their children (or children), however, the non-custodial parent is usually the one who pays. This is because the law assumes that child support is paid directly to the child by the custodial parent who spends the most time with the child. The amount of child support ordered in your case will be decided by each parent’s income and the number of children in need.

For determining support, child support guidelines, or standards, have been created in KY. You can use Kentucky’s child support calculator to assess your fair share of support. Parents must share the child’s health and childcare costs, in addition to the amount established by the standards, and may be expected to fund other expenses, such as those related to the child’s schooling.

Child support payments in KY will resume until the child reaches the age of 18 or until the child reaches the age of 19 if the child is still in high school. These funds are proportionately divided between parents depending on their individual wages.

While parents may agree to pay a different amount than the recommendations or split the payment in another way, they must have a court’s permission to do so. Similarly, if the guideline amount is unjust to the parent or does not satisfy the kid’s financial requirements, a court might reduce or enhance average child support.

How To Calculate Child Support In Kentucky

The government offers worksheets and an online  Kentucky child support calculator to assist you in calculating support payments. To begin, you’ll need to know the gross salaries of both parents. “Gross income” refers to all sources of revenue. A parent’s income, earnings, bonuses, and commissions from a job, as well as any military pension or severance compensation, are all included. It also includes funds derived from copyrights, annuities, or a foundation, among other sources.

Even if a parent is jobless, social security, workers’ compensation, unemployment, or disability benefits are potential sources of income for average child support reasons. Gifts, rewards, and spousal support or alimony payments are all taken into account. However, some benefits should be excluded, such as means-tested government benefits, such as food stamps.

Unless a parent has a compelling cause for working less or not at all, a court might award income potential to a deadbeat parent who is intentionally jobless or unemployed. For example, if a parent is unable to work due to a handicap, the court will not make this parent liable for additional income. A court will also not attribute income to a parent who is responsible for a young child.

You’ll also need to understand if either parent pays spousal support to a former spouse, child support under any prior child support order, or payments in support of subsequent children who aren’t encompassed by an initial support order.

These components make up the exclusions that culminate in the parents’ gross revenue, which is the formula to calculate a standard amount of child support per kid when combined together.

Challenging the Amount of Support

Guideline child support might be unjust to a parent or a kid at times. Either parent might seek the court to alter the amount of child support before it is issued. The court will next consider the following considerations in determining whether support payments should be increased or lowered from the guideline amount:

• A child’s unique medical or dental requirements.
• Exceptional educational, vocational programs, or special requirements of a youngster.
• Either parent’s unique need, such as medical expenditures.
• The child’s or children’s autonomous economic ability, if any.
• Parental gross income is in surplus with the Kentucky child support guidelines on a monthly basis.
• If the child does not obtain government benefits, the parents may consent to a child support amount that differs from the guideline level.
• Any other unique circumstance designated by the court as making implementation of the guidelines improper

Modifying the Amount of Child Support

After a child support order is in place, any parent may request to review the amount. Suppose either parent has suffered a major change in behavior that results in a 15% increase or reduction in the level of assistance owed every month. In that case, the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, a state body, can modify the amount due.

When a parent moves, loses a job, remarries, or has another child, there is a significant change in opinion. A parent may also request that a support order be modified to include healthcare coverage or other medical services.

Collecting Child Support in Kentucky

Once you’ve obtained a child support order, you’ll need to receive cash on a monthly basis which is computed by the Kentucky child support calculator. It’s simpler than ever to contribute and collect child support in our digital era.

Payments can be made in cash, cheque, bank transfer, direct deposit, or through a payment app like Venmo or Zelle by the obligor parent (the person who is responsible for paying average child support).

Many obligor parents pay average child support on time and without reminders, while some, referred to as deadbeat parents, go to tremendous measures to avoid paying it. Contact Kentucky’s Child Support Enforcement Department if you’re having trouble collecting child support payments from your ex.

How does having 50/50 custody of the child affect child support in KY?

In circumstances when the custody agreement allows for joint or 50/50 custody of a child between both parents, all states provide a mechanism of adjusting the amount of child support payable.

The child support formula to calculate in Kentucky takes joint custody of a child into consideration when calculating payment amounts. This implies that in circumstances where custody is 50/50, the paying parent’s child support payment will be decreased in proportion to the length of time they have custody of the child.

How are child care costs treated by child support in Kentucky?

KY has unique standards that assess child care expenditures independently from the ordinary costs of bringing up a child to determine child support payments due to the high costs of child care for a single payment.

Child care fees are treated as a “permissive deduction” for basic child support in Kentucky. Suppose the non-custodial parent pays child care costs. In that case, the judge may order that the amount of the total monthly child care expenditures assigned to the custodial spouse be withheld from the non-custodial parent’s monthly child support payment.

If the custodial parent pays for child care, the non-custodial parent may be ordered to pay a share of the costs in addition to standard child support.

How are child support payments taxed in Kentucky?

According to IRS standards, child support recipients are not required to pay federal tax on their payments, and child support payers are not permitted to deduct their payments. This is in contrast to the federal income tax of alimony and child support, which the receiver treats as taxable income and the payor deducts. The taxation of child support in Kentucky may vary.

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