What are the latest changes to child support calculations?

If you pay child support in Ohio or receive it, you should make sure you are up-to-date on the current changes to the system. Recent changes went into effect early in 2019 and make some significant adjustments that could affect how much you pay or receive in support. If you are unaware of the changes in the law, you cannot request a modification or update to your account that would allow you to take advantage of such changes.

WKYC Studios explains lawmakers made the recent changes to child support to help make it easier for the Ohio Department of Job and Family services to adjust payment calculations without having to wait for a new law. In addition, these changes help to ease the burden on those who pay so much child support that they end up with no money left to pay their own expenses. Of course, there are some opposing the changes who feel it will hurt children whose parent only pays the minimum amount of support.

As for the minimum support payment, it did go up to $80 from the previous $50. However, more payers will qualify to pay only the minimum because anyone making under $8,400 a year will only pay the minimum. If you make under $14,000 a year, special considerations are in place to help ensure your support payments will leave you money to handle your own expenses.

If you pay health insurance for your children, it will affect the calculations for how much support you pay. The DFS will now reduce your income by the amount of your insurance payments before calculating how much support you will pay.

There is also now a cap on childcare expenses that a parent can deduct for support calculation, and if you have multiple child support accounts where you pay for different children with different partners, you may see an increase in your payments. The old method of calculation gave the first parent to receive support the largest amount of support, but the new rules mean all the accounts you pay will get a standard amount.

Finally, if you are a higher earner, your payments will likely increase. However, if you split parenting time, you may get a decrease in how much you pay because the time spent with your children, if significant, will count during calculations.

Remember that to apply any changes to your existing account, you need to make sure you update your account. This information is for education and is not legal advice.