Key takeaways:
- Indiana uses an income shares model: both parents’ weekly gross incomes are combined, and the basic obligation comes from the Guideline Schedules for Weekly Support Payments.
- The Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines were significantly updated in 2024, with new schedules and changes to parenting time credit and health care rules.
- The parenting time credit starts at 52 overnights a year and grows as overnights increase.
- The old “6% rule” for uninsured medical costs is gone. Uninsured health care expenses are now shared in proportion to income.
- An order can be modified for a substantial and continuing change, or if the order is at least 12 months old and the new guideline amount differs by more than 20%.
Last reviewed: October 22, 2026. This article is general information about Indiana law, not legal advice. Laws change and every situation is different, so talk to a licensed attorney in your state about your own case.
If you are trying to work out child support in Indiana, the official online calculator is the right place to finish. It is easier to use, and to spot mistakes, once you know what each line of the worksheet means. This guide explains the Indiana guidelines step by step, with a worked example using the current schedules.
Contents
- What you need before you start
- How the Indiana calculation works
- Worked example
- The parenting time credit
- Child care, insurance and uninsured costs
- Modifying an order
- FAQ
What you need before you start
Indiana’s calculation is based on weekly gross income, not take-home pay. Under Guideline 3A, that includes income from any source, such as wages, commissions, bonuses, overtime, self-employment, pensions, unemployment and disability benefits, and alimony received. Means-tested benefits like TANF, SSI and food stamps are excluded.
Gather:
- Recent pay stubs or employer statements, and tax returns to show past income
- For self-employment: receipts and expenses. Self-employment income is gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary business expenses, and it can differ from what your tax return shows.
- The weekly cost of health insurance premiums for the child only
- Weekly work-related child care costs (annual cost divided by 52)
- Your parenting time schedule, so you can count annual overnights
- Any existing support orders for other children
Potential income: if a court finds a parent voluntarily unemployed or underemployed without just cause, support is based on potential income, considering work history, qualifications, education, health, job opportunities and local earnings. The guidelines also caution that support must not deny a parent a means of self-support at a subsistence level.
How the Indiana calculation works
The Child Support Obligation Worksheet follows these steps:
- Weekly adjusted income for each parent: weekly gross income, minus allowed adjustments such as support for other children and alimony paid under a prior order (Guideline 3C).
- Combine the two weekly adjusted incomes and work out each parent’s percentage share.
- Basic Child Support Obligation: look up the combined income and number of children in the Guideline Schedules. The schedule accounts for economies of scale, so two children cost less than double one child.
- Add weekly work-related child care and the child’s health insurance premiums.
- Split the total by each parent’s income share.
- Subtract credits for the paying parent: the parenting time credit, plus any child care or insurance premiums that parent pays directly.
The parent who receives support is presumed to spend their share directly on the child. When combined weekly adjusted income is under $100, support is decided case by case.
Worked example
Parent A earns $1,000 a week and Parent B earns $700 a week, with no other adjustments. They have one child, who lives mainly with Parent B. Parent A pays $40 a week for the child’s health insurance, Parent B pays $100 a week for work-related child care, and Parent A has 98 overnights a year.
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Combined weekly adjusted income | $1,000 + $700 | $1,700 |
| Parent A’s share | $1,000 / $1,700 | 58.82% |
| Basic obligation (schedule, 1 child) | Row for $1,700 | $253 |
| Add child care and insurance | $253 + $100 + $40 | $393 |
| Parent A’s share of total | $393 x 58.82% | $231.18 |
| Credit: insurance Parent A pays | – $40.00 | |
| Credit: parenting time (98 overnights) | $253 x (0.253 – 58.82% x 0.158) | – $40.49 |
| Parent A pays | about $150.69 a week |
The 0.253 and 0.158 figures come from the Parenting Time Table for 96 to 100 overnights, explained below. This example is for illustration only. Your figures will depend on your exact incomes and schedule.
Use the official tool: the Indiana courts’ Child Support Calculator produces the worksheets. When you ask a court to order support, the worksheet must be completed, filed, and signed by both parties under penalties for perjury, even for agreed orders (Guideline 3B).
The parenting time credit
Guideline 6 gives the parent who pays support a credit for the overnights the child spends with them each year. The Parenting Time Table starts at 52 overnights, roughly alternate weekends. Following the Indiana Parenting Time Guidelines without extending weeknight visits into overnights usually means about 96 to 100 overnights.
The credit is calculated as:
Credit = Basic Obligation x (Total factor – paying parent’s income share x Duplicated factor)
| Annual overnights | Total | Duplicated |
|---|---|---|
| 1 to 51 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| 52 to 55 | 0.063 | 0.011 |
| 96 to 100 | 0.253 | 0.158 |
| 146 to 150 | 0.615 | 0.472 |
| 181 to 183 | 0.682 | 0.505 |
These are selected rows. The full table in Guideline 6 has a row for every five overnights. Only real overnights count, meaning time that includes feeding, transporting and caring for the child. Providing a place to sleep just to earn a credit is prohibited. The credit is not automatic, and a parent who does not exercise scheduled parenting time can lose some or all of it.
Parenting time is treated as equally shared at 181 to 183 overnights. In that case, the court decides which parent pays the “controlled expenses” such as clothing and school costs, and the other parent receives the credit. When time is nearly equal and the custodial parent earns much more, the result can be support paid by the custodial parent.
Child care, insurance and uninsured costs
- Work-related child care: reasonable costs for work or job searching are added to the basic obligation, and the parent who pays them gets a credit.
- Health insurance: the court orders one or both parents to provide coverage when it is accessible at a reasonable cost. There is a presumption it is, which can be rebutted if the lowest cost of insuring the children is more than 5% of the parents’ combined gross incomes. The child’s share of the premium is added to the obligation and credited to the parent who pays it.
- Uninsured health care expenses: since the 2024 update, these are shared in proportion to the parents’ incomes. The former “6% rule,” where the custodial parent paid a first slice each year, is no longer used. Routine over-the-counter items kept in one home are paid by the parent who buys them.
- College and extraordinary education costs: handled separately under Guideline 8. Indiana support generally ends at 19, and a request for post-secondary educational support must be filed before the child turns 19.
Modifying an order
Under Guideline 4, a support order can be modified in either of two situations:
- A substantial and continuing change in circumstances makes the current order unreasonable, such as involuntary job loss, disability or a major change in parenting time; or
- The current order was entered at least 12 months ago and the amount calculated under the guidelines today differs from it by more than 20%.
You only need one of these. Run a new calculation first to see whether the 20% test is met. Temporary changes usually do not qualify, and the order stays in effect until a court changes it, so file promptly. Many county clerks and court self-help centers offer forms for parents filing on their own, and county prosecutors’ Title IV-D child support offices can help establish, modify and enforce orders.
FAQ
Does Indiana use gross or net income for child support?
Gross. Indiana starts with each parent’s weekly gross income, then subtracts limited adjustments such as support for other children and prior alimony to reach weekly adjusted income.
How many overnights do you need for a parenting time credit in Indiana?
The Parenting Time Table starts at 52 overnights a year. Below that, there is generally no credit, although a court may consider one for an infant or toddler schedule or a long-distance arrangement.
What is the 20% rule for modifying child support in Indiana?
If your order is at least 12 months old and the guideline amount calculated today differs by more than 20%, you can ask to modify it. You can also seek a modification at any time for a substantial and continuing change in circumstances.
Does Indiana still use the 6% rule for medical expenses?
No. Since the 2024 update, uninsured health care expenses are shared in proportion to the parents’ incomes as shown on the worksheet.
Sources: Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines (Guidelines 2, 3A to 3G, 4, 6, 7 and 8, updated effective May 14, 2024); Guideline Schedules for Weekly Support Payments; Indiana Courts Child Support Calculator; Indiana DCS Child Support Manual, Emancipation (IC 31-16-6-6).
