Source: http://www.joyrosenthal.com/new-york-maintenance-child-support-calculator/
Timestamp: 2019-04-19 11:25:53+00:00

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The calculator will still function; however, some browsers will erase the values entered if you refresh or revisit the page. See above.
About the Calculator. This page will help you calculate the figures a New York judge would consider in determining how much should be paid in maintenance and child support. (Maintenance – sometimes referred to as alimony – is support paid by the higher-earning spouse to the lower-earning spouse during and/or after a divorce.) Note that the statutory formulas only take income into consideration, not the specifics of any situation – for example, a child's special needs, or parents who share parenting time equally. In court, a judge would consider many more factors in making an actual determination. Or, through mediation or negotiation, you and your spouse may decide on different amounts that seem fair.
About the Calculator 4.0 update. In February 2018, we introduced several enhancements: the option to remove or adjust the caps on maintenance payor's income and combined parental income (see warnings in the sidenotes); the addition of weekly, biweekly, and semimonthly maintenance and child support results; and the addition of comparisons showing the spouses' incomes before and after payments. Also included: the FICA Tax Estimator and NYC/Yonkers Income Tax Estimator were updated for tax year 2017; and the statutory maintenance cap was updated to reflect the 2018 biannual increase.
About the new maintenance law. In 2015, the New York state legislature enacted a major revision to the maintenance law. Among the changes: the formula for determining the guideline amount of temporary maintenance – paid while a divorce is pending in court – was adjusted to reduce the guideline amount when maintenance is paid concurrently with child support; the cap on the amount of the maintenance payor's income subject to the formula was lowered from $543,000 to $175,000 (subject to biannual increases); the same formula will now also be used to determine the guideline amount of post-divorce maintenance – paid after a divorce has been granted; and an advisory schedule was created to aid in determining the duration of post-divorce maintenance. More details, as well as links to the applicable statutes, can be found below.
About the advertisements. We have been pleased to provide the Calculator to the public and the legal-services community since 2010. In order to defray the costs of development and maintenance, we have begun partnering with Google to place ads on the Calculator. We are making every effort to ensure that the ads you see are not inappropriate or offensive, and that they do not interfere with the functioning of the Calculator. We ask that you please bear with us as we experiment with ad placement and content, and we encourage you to use the Comments Form at the bottom of this page to let us know how we're doing.
Calculator 2.0 is no longer available. However, if you are attempting to calculate temporary maintenance for a divorce matter commenced prior to October 25, 2015 (the effective date of the current law as pertains to temporary maintenance), you may replicate the prior temporary maintenance formula by configuring the current Calculator for no children and adjusting the cap on maintenance payor's income to $543,000.
» Basic Instructions. A bare-bones guide, displayed in a pop-up window for quick reference.
» An Introduction to the New York State Maintenance & Child Support Calculator. A more detailed article for the general public and legal professionals, with helpful hints and examples.
» NOTE: There is additional information in the explanatory text and numbered sidenotes of each Calculator section, and in the statutes themselves, enacted by the NYS legislature, that form the basis of the Calculator and can been seen by clicking any § (section) icon.
» To ensure proper functioning the first time using the Calculator on or after the latest version date (see above), you may have to refresh/reload the page or perform a "hard refresh" by pressing Ctrl-F5 (on a PC) or clicking the reload icon while holding the shift key (on a Mac).
» All amounts entered should be annual.
» To register an amount entered, press the Tab key on your keyboard, or select a different entry box, or click one of the green Calculate buttons.
» Certain Calculator sections and options (pertaining to children, income near the poverty line, or income in excess of the various caps) are hidden if not applicable.
» The Calculator saves cookies on your computer or device so that your browser will remember your entries if you refresh or revisit the page. Clicking the Reset button clears the Calculator and deletes the cookies. Rosenthal Law & Mediation does not collect, retain, or share any information entered here. If cookies are disabled in your browser, you may have to re-enter values if you refresh or revisit the page.
» To report a problem with the Calculator, please use the form at the bottom of the page.
» Remember: This page does not provide legal advice, does not provide tax advice, and does not guarantee results. Read the disclaimer for more information.
» Please feel free to link to the Calculator from your website.
1 The Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) - codified in Section 240 of the Domestic Relations Law (DRL) - defines "income" for the purpose of determining child support payments.
The 2015 amendment to the maintenance law - codified in Section 236 of the DRL - uses the CSSA definition of income for the purpose of determining temporary maintenance and post-divorce maintenance payments (effective for divorces filed on or after October 25, 2015, and January 23, 2016, repsectively).
» Line 3 includes all other income that is not subject to Social Security and Medicare taxes (e.g., income as would be reported on Form 1040 Lines 2b-5b plus Form 1040 Schedule 1 Lines 1-11 and Lines 13-21).
§ Gross (total) income as should have been or should be reported in the most recent federal income tax return.
§ Non-income producing assets; § perquisites of employment; § fringe benefits of employment; § money/goods/services provided by relatives/friends; and/or § higher level of compensation from former employment.
1 To correctly estimate FICA taxes, income from employment and/or self-employment must be entered into the calculator as specified in Note 2 of the Income Section above.
§ The CSSA provides for the deduction of Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from employee earnings or actually paid on net income from self-employment.
§ The CSSA provides for the deduction of New York City or Yonkers income taxes actually paid.
Are there children of the marriage under 21 years of age?
For the purposes of determining maintenance and child support pursuant to the DRL, the custodial parent is the parent who has physical custody more than 50% of the time, or, when the parents share physical custody exactly 50/50, the parent who has the lower income.
» post-divorce maintenance – effective for divorces commenced on or after January 23, 2016.
Temporary maintenance is maintenance paid in the time between the commencement of a divorce action and the issuance of a judgment of divorce.
Post-divorce maintenance is maintenance paid after the parites are divorced and for a duration determined by agreement of the parties or by decision of the court.
» If child support is to be paid, and the maintenance payor is not the custodial parent (i.e., the maintenance payor is also the child support payor), 25% of payee's income is subtracted from 20% of payor's income.
» If child support is not to be paid, or, if child support is to be paid, but the maintenance payor is the custodial parent (i.e., the maintenance payor is not the child support payor), 20% of payee's income is subtracted from 30% of payor's income.
4 § § The "payor" is the spouse with the higher income.
5 In a litigated divorce, the court may deviate from the guideline amount of temporary or post-divorce maintenance at or below the income cap if it finds that, upon consideration of one or more of the factors set forth in DRL § 236(B)(5-a)(h)(1) or DRL § 236(B)(6)(e)(1), respectively, strict application of the statutory formula would be unjust or inappropriate.
6 § With or without the application of the Advisory Schedule, the court must consider any one or more of the factors set forth in DRL § 236(B)(6)(e)(1) in determining the duration of post-divorce maintenance.
7 WARNING: The maintenance law does not explicitly authorize or suggest using the formula to determine maintenance on the payor's income above the statutory cap; rather, it directs courts to consider a list of factors as a basis for such determination. However, by popular demand, version 4.0 of the Calculator introduces an option to remove or adjust the cap, thereby allowing the formula to be applied to some or all of the payor's above-cap income. This option is provided here for informational purposes only.
8 Plus additional income entered on Line 30, if any.
9 Unlike the guideline child support percentages, the nature of the guideline maintenance formula does not allow it to be applied separately to the portion of the payor's income above the cap; therefore, this result is obtained by subtracting the Guideline Amount from the total maintenance calculated on the payor's income up to and including the adjusted cap.
10 If you do not speicfy a deviation amount, the calculator assumes the amount is $0.00.
* Where there are two section icons (§ §), the first icon links to the applicable temporary maintenance statute, and the second icon links to the applicable post-divorce maintenance statute.
† Not including additional income entered on Line 30, if any.
‡ This result is obtained by subtracting the maintenance payment from the payor's CSSA income and adding it to the payee's CSSA income. It does not include child support (if any is to be paid) and does not account for any tax consequences that may result from maintenance payments.
If so, the guideline amount is $0.00.
If so, the guideline amount is the difference between the payor's income and the self-support reserve.
§ § The amount of additional temporary or post-divorce maintenance awarded, if any, shall be within the discretion of the court, which shall take into consideration any one or more of the factors set forth in DRL § 236(B)(5-a)(h)(1) or DRL § 236(B)(6)(e)(1), respectively.
Deviate from the Guideline Amount?
1 § § § § The new maintenance law (effective as noted in the above section) provides that maintenance be calculated first, so that the amount of annual maintenance can be deducted from the payor's income and added to the payee's income prior to calculating child support.
The calculator may be configured to calculate child support based on guideline maintenance, a deviation from the guideline, or no maintenance.
4 Generally, the parent who does not have physical custody pays child support to the parent who does. The "basic child support obligation" is an amount determined by applying a statutory formula; in determining actual child support payments, a judge - or parents mediating an agreement - may consider other factors as well.
Add-ons The basic child support obligation calculated here does not include "add-ons", such as expenses related to child-care services, medical care, and education. When the costs of add-ons are attributed to the parental child support obligation, the law provides that the noncustodial parent's share of add-ons be prorated "in the same proportion as each parent's income is to the combined parental income," or "paid in a manner determined by the court." § § § § The noncustodial parent's pro rata share of add-ons is then added to his or her child support obligation calculated to the right.
5 WARNING: While the child support law does authorize using the child support percentages to determine child support on combined parental income above the cap, it does not explicitly authorize or suggest adjusting the cap as a basis for such determination. This option is provided here for informational purposes only.
6 § § Whether the choice to deviate is made by agreement of the parties or by decision of the court, the parties or the court must specify the factors they considered – as set forth in DRL § 240(1-b)(f) – in determining that application of the basic child support obligation would be unjust or inappropriate.
9 If you do not speicfy a deviation amount, the calculator assumes the amount is $0.00.
* When displayed, intermediate steps in the child support calculation are rounded to the nearest cent; however, in calculating the final result, the calculator only rounds once, at the end.
† From Line 34, adjusted CSSA income, plus or minus whatever maintenance adjustment is specified on Line 33. Does not account for any tax consequences that may result from maintenance payments.
‡ This result is obtained by subtracting the child support payment from the noncustodial parent's income (adjusted for maintenance) and adding it to the custodial parent's income (adjusted for maintenance), and it is intended to show the after-payment resources available to each spouse for their own support and the support of any children in their custody. NOTE: Neither New York child support law nor federal tax law considers child support payments to be "income" or "taxable income" to the recipient.
If so, the child-support obligation is $25 per month, provided that the court may reduce this amount if the court finds it to be unjust or inappropriate.
If so, the child-support obligation is the greater of $50/month or the difference between the parent's income and the self-support reserve.
§ The court shall determine the amount of child support on combined parental income above $ through consideration of the factors set forth in DRL § 240(1-b)(f) and/or the child support percentage.
Deviate from the Basic Child Support Obligation?
1 § § The result displayed here assumes that, at the time maintenance payments cease, there is no other change of circumstances warranting a modification of the child support amount.
2 Depending on the relative incomes and custody arrangement of the parties, the guideline amount of maintenance may change when the cessation of child support occurs prior to the cessation of maintenance.
The result displayed here assumes that, at the time child support payments cease, there is no other change of circumstances warranting a modification of the maintenance amount.
3 If you click "Yes" to deviate above, but do not specify an amount, the calculator assumes the deviation amount is $0.00.
4 Since no child support deviation is specified above, the amount shown here is calculated according to the statutory forumula, but is based on the maintenance deviation specified above, not the Guideline Amount.
† This result is obtained by subtracting maintenance and/or child support payments from the payor's CSSA income and adding them to the recipient's CSSA income. It does not account for any tax consequences that may result from maintenance payments, and, with respect to child support, it is intended to show the after-payment resources available to each spouse for their own support and the support of any children in their custody. NOTE: Neither New York child support law nor federal tax law considers child support payments to be "income" or "taxable income" to the recipient.
This section displays the results obtained from a strict application of the statutory formulas for maintenance and child support, notwithstanding any adjusted-cap calculations or deviations specified above.
Disclaimer: This calculator is for informational purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice of any kind. The results obtained are only a guide, and represent no guarantee of what a judge might order. Rosenthal Law & Mediation does not guarantee that the calculator is accurate or up to date. All results should be confirmed. To get advice about your specific situation, and before signing any documents pertaining to divorce, separation or custody, we strongly recommend that you consult with a matrimonial attorney.
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References: § 236
 § 236
 § 236
 § 236
 § 236
 § 240
 § 240