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Calculate Child Support
Child Support Rules in Louisiana
In Louisiana, there are rules for how much money you have to pay or get for child support. These rules are called the Louisiana Child Support Guidelines, and they always apply when a Judge is deciding how much money you have to pay or get. The rules begin with Louisiana Revised Statutes 9:315 and continue throughout this section.
Sometimes the rules might need to be different because of special circumstances. When that happens, you can tell the Judge about your situation, and they might change the amount of money you have to pay or get based on your situation.
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- For Parents, Guardian and other Payors or Recipients of Child Support
- For Attorneys, Judges, Hearing Officers and Preparers of Guidelines Worksheets
Child Support Schedule Updates
Every now and then, the legislature must review child support guidelines to make sure they still apply to Louisiana families and that they meet federal law. DCFS, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, and the child support committee work together to collect all of the information. They have to give their report to the Legislature sixty days prior to the regular session every 4 years. LA R.S. 9:315.16
Updates to the guidelines could include everything that goes into figuring out an amount. If there have been changes to a guideline affecting you, your child support order may be eligible for a modification.
2021 Child Support Schedule Updates
The Louisiana Child Support Schedule was updated on January 1, 2021. There were changes to the guideline calculation surrounding childcare costs.
2020 Child Support Review Committee Report
The child support guideline schedule was mandated during the Regular Session of the 2016 Louisiana Legislature.
Note: The schedule defined support amounts up to $40,000 of combined monthly adjusted gross income. For cases with combined monthly adjusted gross income above $40,000, the child support obligation should be determined on a case-by-case basis.
Additional schedule information:
- The amounts set forth in the schedule in R.S. 9:315.19 presume that the custodial or domiciliary party has the right to claim the federal and state tax dependency deductions and any earned income credit. However, the claiming of dependents for federal and state income tax purposes shall be as provided in Subsection B of the state statute.
- The non-domiciliary party whose child support obligation equals or exceeds fifty percent of the total child support obligation shall be entitled to claim the federal and state tax dependency deductions if, after a contradictory motion, the judge finds both of the following:
- (a) No arrearages are owed by the obligor.
- (b) The right to claim the dependency deductions or, in the case of multiple children, a part thereof, would substantially benefit the non-domiciliary party without significantly harming the domiciliary party.
- The child support order shall:
- (a) Specify the years in which the party is entitled to claim such deductions.
- (b) Require the domiciliary party to timely execute all forms required by the Internal Revenue Service authorizing the non-domiciliary party to claim such deductions.
- The party who receives the benefit of the exemption for such tax year shall not be considered as having received payment of a thing not due if the dependency deduction allocation is not maintained by the taxing authorities.