Utah Child Support Calculator

Utah uses the income shares model under the Utah Child Support Act (Utah Code Title 81, Chapter 6, recodified from Title 78B, Chapter 12 effective September 1, 2024). Both parents' monthly adjusted gross incomes are combined to find a base combined child support obligation in the statutory table (Utah Code § 81-6-304). That obligation is split based on each parent's percentage of the combined income. Under a sole physical custody worksheet, the noncustodial parent pays their income-share of the obligation. Under a joint physical custody worksheet, a statutory overnight formula reduces the obligation of the parent who has the children fewer overnights.

Gross income in Utah includes income from all sources including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, self-employment income, dividends, severance pay, pensions, interest, trust income, annuities, Social Security benefits, unemployment benefits, disability insurance, workers' compensation, and alimony received. Income from earned sources is limited to the equivalent of one full-time 40-hour job, and means-tested benefits are excluded. Under Utah Code § 81-6-203, courts may also impute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.

Utah classifies custody by overnights. If the paying parent has the children fewer than 111 overnights per year, the sole physical custody worksheet applies and that parent pays their full income-share of the base obligation. If each parent has at least 111 overnights, the joint physical custody worksheet applies: for the parent with fewer overnights, each overnight over 110 and under 131 reduces their obligation by 0.27% of the base combined obligation, and each overnight over 130 reduces it by a further 0.84% (Utah Code § 81-6-206). The low income table does not apply to joint physical custody.

Yes, either parent can petition to modify child support when there has been a substantial change in circumstances. Utah allows modification if the current order differs from the recalculated guideline amount by 15% or more, or when there is a material and substantial change such as a significant income change, a change in overnights, changes in childcare or medical costs, or a child aging out of the order.

In Utah, child support continues until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school during the child's normal and expected year of graduation, whichever is later. Support may continue beyond that for a child with a disability who is unable to be self-supporting. Utah courts generally do not order parents to pay for college as part of a child support order.

They are handled separately from the base support obligation. Under Utah Code §§ 81-6-208 and 81-6-209, parents share equally (50/50) the children's portion of medical and dental insurance premiums and reasonable work-related child care expenses. So the parent paying base support also owes the other parent half of any such costs the other parent pays. This calculator adds the other parent's 50% share of the childcare and health insurance amounts you enter on top of the base award.

This calculator provides an estimate based on the Utah child support guidelines. Actual court-ordered support may differ because judges may deviate from the guidelines based on factors including the child's needs, extraordinary expenses, the financial resources of each parent, and the relative custody arrangement. Consult a Utah family law attorney for an accurate assessment.