How to Calculate Child Support in Colorado
Child support is essential to the person paying it and the recipient. This money is meant to help support a former couple's children, and it also has a real impact on each parent's finances.
If you are going to pay or receive child support in Colorado, it's important to know how it will be calculated so you can ensure the ordered amount is reasonable and fair.
Child Support Guidelines in Colorado
In Colorado, there are child support guidelines regarding the awarding and calculation of support. There are two different worksheets used to calculate support, depending on how parenting time is divided. Worksheet A covers cases where the non-custodial parent has less than 92 overnights per year, and Worksheet B calculates support for cases where each parent has more than 92 overnights per year. This is done to recognize the expense of having the children for a significant amount of time.
One example of Worksheet A in action involves using two primary factors in a support calculation: (1) the number of children they support is for and (2) the parents' combined incomes. A parent with 92 overnight visits with the children or fewer per year generally pays. In contrast, the other parent - the person with "primary physical care" - is presumed to spend his or her share of the support on the children directly and therefore doesn't pay it to the other parent.
If, for example, Parent A and Parent B have a combined income of $9,200 per month and there are three children involved, the tables set out in state law list the basic support obligation as $2,065 per month. This figure is not the support that will be owed; it's the starting point for both parents' total obligation. From here, the support share percentage of each parent is decided by their incomes.
In this example, Parent A has a monthly income before taxes of $5,000, and Parent B has a monthly income before taxes of $4,200. Since Parent A's income is 54.3 percent of the total income between both parents ($5,000 divided by $9,200), their obligation is $1,121 per month, while Parent B's 45.7 percent share is $944 per month.
Once the baseline obligation is determined, the court will add any other applicable costs related to the children, such as childcare and health insurance.
Parents with Lower Incomes
Suppose the combined income of both parents is under $1,100. In that case, Colorado sets a minimum support obligation based on the number of children (unless both parents will have the children for at least 93 overnights). This minimum obligation starts at $50 for one child and increases with each additional child. This may apply in situations where a parent is a full-time student or cannot work for medical reasons. The court will not allow one parent to avoid child support payments by purposely limiting work. If the judge feels this may be the case, they can impute, or assign, an income to the under-employed parent to determine support.
Parents with Higher Incomes
In Colorado, child support guidelines end at a combined income of $30,000 per month. Parents making more than this amount could have the $30,000 income standard applied or see a higher amount set by the judge, depending on the situation.
The Additions for Child Care and Health Insurance
Child-care costs are added to the basic support obligation and divided between the parents in proportion to their incomes before taxes. However, the court uses the net childcare costs for this, which is the amount paid by the parents after the federal child-care tax credit is considered.
The term "child-care costs" applies to more than just full-time daycare. It can also apply to part-time care, such as before or after school and when school is out for older children, such as the summer or winter vacation. Child-care centers and care providers, such as nannies, are considered child-costs. Child-care costs are added to the basic support obligation, but the parent who pays them will receive a credit for that cost.
The court will usually order the parents to provide dental and medical insurance coverage for the children. These costs are also added to the basic support obligation in proportion to the parties' incomes.
Any "extraordinary" medical expenses, which are defined as exceeding $250 a year per child, are divided by the parents according to their incomes. Because these expenses are rarely fixed, the parents typically handle this on their own, and it's not added into the child support calculation. The paying parent submits proof of cost and payment to the other parent, and the other parent pays his or her proportional percentage to the paying parent. If a child has a fixed extraordinary medical expense, such as a special monthly medication, it can be added into the support obligation calculation.
Is Child Support Flexible?
In most cases, the courts will not deviate from the guidelines. If they do, they must give a reason for doing so. Reasons a court may deviate from the child support guidelines include one parent having far more parenting time than reflected in the child support calculation; extraordinary medical costs incurred by one parent or his or her current spouse; and a large disparity in the parents' incomes. Parents may also agree to deviate from the guidelines, but the judge still must approve any arrangement for it to be upheld in court later.