Estimate your child support or spousal maintenance obligation under current New York law. The calculator applies the statutory formulas and the income caps effective March 1, 2026.
Based on the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA)
These are guideline estimates. Joel Yacoob can review your specific circumstances, including add-on expenses, high-income considerations, and custody arrangements.
Based on DRL §236(B)(6)
Courts weigh many factors beyond the guideline formula. Joel Yacoob can evaluate your circumstances and advise you on what to expect.
Maintenance calculated first, then child support adjusted accordingly
When both child support and maintenance are at issue, the interplay between these obligations is complex. Joel Yacoob can review the numbers and the factors that may apply in your case.
New York uses the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA) to determine guideline child support. Both parents' incomes (gross income less FICA, New York City or Yonkers income tax and certain other items the statute allows) are combined and multiplied by a percentage based on the number of children. The non-custodial parent pays their proportional share of the total obligation. The court applies these guidelines to combined income up to the statutory cap, and has discretion for income above that threshold.
New York's maintenance guidelines use one of two formulas depending on whether child support is also being paid. The court applies the formula to the payor's income up to the statutory cap. Duration of maintenance is determined by advisory guidelines based on the length of the marriage, though courts retain discretion to deviate based on numerous statutory factors.
New York uses the Child Support Standards Act (CSSA). Each parent's income (gross income less FICA, New York City or Yonkers income tax and certain other items the statute allows) is added together, and combined income up to $193,000 is multiplied by 17% for one child, 25% for two, 29% for three, 31% for four, or no less than 35% for five or more. Each parent's share is proportional to income, and the non-custodial parent pays that share. Child care and health care costs are added and shared the same way.
New York uses two formulas depending on whether the payor also pays child support. Without child support, the guideline is the lower of 30% of the payor's income minus 20% of the payee's income, or 40% of combined income minus the payee's income. With child support, the first calculation becomes 20% of the payor's income minus 25% of the payee's. The payor's income is counted up to $241,000 (effective March 1, 2026), and the payor keeps at least the $21,546 self-support reserve.
The combined parental income cap for child support in New York is $193,000, effective March 1, 2026. It is adjusted every two years, and the next adjustment is scheduled for March 1, 2028. Above the cap, the court decides how much additional income to count, considering the statutory factors and/or the percentages, and must explain its choice.
For more detail, see our guides to child support in 2026, spousal maintenance in 2026 and our child support and maintenance practice.
Every case is different. Joel Yacoob can review your circumstances and explain how the guidelines and the statutory factors may apply.