Opinion ID: 2582200
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Court's Calculation of Byers's Income

Text: Byers's final argument is that the superior court erred in calculating his income. But his claim that the trial court should not have imputed income to him based on estimated expenses because it erred in finding that Byers was uncooperative lacks merit. As discussed above, the court's finding that Byers was uncooperative, and that he had not provided the requested documentation of his 2003 income, was amply supported by the record. In spite of repeated requests from the court, Byers did not submit a complete and final 2003 tax return. Moreover, he actively obstructed the fact-finding process by submitting four incomplete, and mutually inconsistent tax returns. As in Benson v. Benson , Byers's recalcitrance forced [the trial court] to impute income for purposes of calculating child support. [24] For this reason, we hold that imputing income to Byers based on his estimated expenses was not an abuse of discretion. But Byers's argument that the court abused its discretion by refusing to grant him deductions for his federal income tax payments and contributions to a voluntary retirement program is more persuasive. Rule 90.3(a)(1) provides that adjusted annual income for the purposes of child support means the parent's total income from all sources minus ... mandatory deductions such as ... federal, state, and local income tax . . . [and] voluntary contributions to a retirement or pension plan. [25] The total deducted for voluntary contributions to retirement plans may not exceed 7.5% of the parent's gross wages and self-employment income. [26] As this court has emphasized, [c]ourts must follow the legal standards set forth in Rule 90.3 in determining awards of child support. [27] The superior court imputed income to Byers based on the amounts spent by Byers during the year. Sherwin's expense-based method of estimating income totaled Byers's expenditures for a year and the resulting figure  $29,176  was Byers's imputed income. Yet Sherwin's calculation of Byers's expenses included Byers's payment of federal taxes and his voluntary contribution to a retirement account. Although the superior court used these estimated federal tax and voluntary retirement contributions as expenses to impute income to Byers, it appears not to have deducted taxes or voluntary retirement contributions when determining Byers's income for child support purposes as required by Rule 90.3(a)(1)(B). Specifically, the superior court did not deduct from the imputed gross income the $2,919 which it found Byers paid in income taxes or the allowable voluntary retirement contribution of $2,188.20 (7.5% of the $29,176 imputed gross income), despite the fact that these expenditures were used to calculate the imputed gross income. As Byers correctly argues, these allowable deductions would have significantly reduced the income available to him for the purposes of child support. For that reason, we vacate the modified child support order and remand for a determination of Byers's income tax and retirement contributions for 2003. The superior court may impute income based on the expenditures-based method that it used or it may use another recognized method of imputation. [28] If better documentation (such as the 2003 tax returns actually submitted to the IRS) is now available, the superior court may also recalculate Byers's actual gross income for 2003. But whatever method it uses to impute or determine Byers's income for Rule 90.3 purposes, the court should deduct Byers's federal income taxes, as well as voluntary retirement contributions up to 7.5% of his gross income.