How Is Child Support Calculated in Utah?

Utah is one of the states where child support is not a judgment call. It comes out of a published table and a statutory formula, and with your two incomes and the overnight count you can get very close to the number yourself. This page walks the calculation end to end, with a worked example using the actual table figures, and then covers the parts that most often change the result: what counts as income, when a court can impute income you are not earning, and the two separate routes to changing an order later.

The four steps

Under Utah Code Section 81-6-204(1), the calculation runs in this order:

Work out each parent’s average monthly gross income.
Adjust it by subtracting alimony and child support previously ordered and paid for that parent. Under 81-6-204(3), alimony ordered in the case you are currently litigating does not come out.
Add the two adjusted incomes together and look up the base combined child support obligation in the table at Section 81-6-304, using the combined income and the number of children the two of you have together.
Split that obligation between the parents using Section 81-6-205 for sole physical custody, 81-6-206 for joint physical custody, or 81-6-207 for split custody.

Two things about the table catch people out. Under 81-6-204(9), the figure in the table is the amount for the total number of children, not per child. And under 81-6-204(2), only the parents’ income goes into the calculation, so a new spouse’s earnings are not part of it.

A worked example, using the real table

Take two parents with two children together. One earns $5,200 a month, the other $2,800. Neither pays alimony or child support from a prior order, so the adjusted figures are the same as gross. Combined adjusted gross income is $8,000.

Section 81-6-304 has a row for combined monthly adjusted gross income from $7,901 to $8,000. For two children, that row gives a base combined child support obligation of $1,442 a month.

The higher earner’s share of the combined income is $5,200 divided by $8,000, or 65 percent. Sixty-five percent of $1,442 is $937. That figure is the starting point in every scenario below. What changes is what happens to it.

Scenario one: the other parent has sole physical custody

Under 81-6-205(2), each parent’s share is their percentage of the combined income multiplied by the base combined obligation, and under 81-6-205(7) the parent without sole physical custody is the obligor. So the higher earner pays $937 a month.

Two floors apply, and both are specific to sole physical custody, because Section 81-6-205(1) limits that section to sole custody cases. Under 81-6-205(5), a base child support award in a sole custody case may not be less than $30. And under 81-6-205(3) and (4), where a parent’s income falls within the separate low income table at Section 81-6-305, the award is the lesser of the base-table calculation and the low income table figure. There is no $30 floor in joint physical custody: under 81-6-206(2) each parent’s award is $0 if the base combined obligation is $0, and under 81-6-206(6) the calculation can go negative and flip who pays.

Scenario two: joint physical custody, 145 overnights

Now assume joint physical custody, with the higher earner having the children 145 overnights a year and the other parent 220. Section 81-6-206(4) gives the arithmetic, and it is worth seeing it run:

Overnights over 110 and under 131: that band holds 20 overnights. Multiply by 0.0027 to get 0.054. Multiply that by the $1,442 base obligation: a credit of $77.87.
Overnights over 130: 145 minus 130 is 15. Multiply by 0.0084 to get 0.126. Multiply that by $1,442: a credit of $181.69.
Subtract both credits from the $937.30 share: $677.74, or $678 a month.

Section 81-6-204(10) rounds income and child support figures to the nearest dollar. The example above carries the unrounded share through the subtraction and rounds once at the end, which is how the Office of Recovery Services calculator behaves. Rounding at every step instead gives $677.

The same incomes and the same children, and the order drops by $259 a month because of the overnight count. Notice how much more each overnight is worth once you pass 130: the coefficient roughly triples, from 0.0027 to 0.0084.

Scenario three: equal parent-time

With an equal schedule, the higher earner has 182 overnights. Running the same formula: the 111-to-130 band still yields a $77.87 credit, while 182 minus 130 leaves 52 overnights at 0.0084, which against $1,442 is a credit of $629.87. Subtracting both from $937.30 leaves $229.57, or $230 a month.

Under 81-6-206(7), where the parents have an equal parent-time schedule under Section 81-9-305, the parent with the lower adjusted gross income is treated as having 183 overnights whether the schedule actually gives them 182 or 183.

One more feature of the joint custody formula is worth knowing. Under 81-6-206(6), if the calculation comes out below zero, the roles flip: the parent with more overnights becomes the obligor. A parent can have the children most of the time and still owe support, if the income gap is wide enough.

What the three scenarios show

Same two incomes, same two children: $937, $678, or $230 a month. What moves the number is the custody classification under Sections 81-6-205 through 81-6-207, which is a legal determination rather than a simple tally, and then the overnight count within it. That is why parent-time and child support cannot be negotiated separately. Every overnight above 110 has a price, and every overnight above 130 has roughly three times that price.

These figures cover base support only. Medical expenses under Section 81-6-208 and child care expenses under Section 81-6-209 are handled separately and added on, so the total a parent pays is generally higher than the base award.

What counts as income

Section 81-6-203(2)(a) casts a wide net. Gross income may include salaries, wages, commissions, royalties, bonuses, rents, gifts from anyone, prizes, dividends, severance pay, pensions, interest, trust income, alimony from previous marriages, annuities, capital gains, Social Security benefits, workers compensation, unemployment compensation, income replacement disability benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance, and payments from government programs that are not means-tested.

There is an important limit. Under 81-6-203(2)(b), income from earned sources is limited to the equivalent of one full-time 40-hour job. A parent working sixty hours a week, or holding a second job, is generally not charged with all of it. The exception in 81-6-203(2)(c) is narrow: if, before the original support order, the parent normally and consistently worked more than 40 hours, the court may treat that as a pattern.

Under 81-6-203(7), several categories are excluded outright: cash assistance under the Family Employment Program, housing subsidies, Job Training Partnership Act benefits, Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid, SNAP, General Assistance and similar means-tested welfare benefits, the earned income of the child, and benefits paid to the child in the child’s own right.

For the self-employed, 81-6-203(4) computes gross income by subtracting from gross receipts only those expenses necessary to let the business operate at a reasonable level, and 81-6-203(4)(b) says plainly that this figure may differ from the business income shown on a tax return. Depreciation and similar deductions that reduce taxable income often do not reduce child support income.

On paperwork, 81-6-203(1)(b) requires each parent to provide year-to-date pay stubs or employer statements and complete copies of tax returns from at least the most recent year, unless the court finds that verification is not reasonably available.

When a court can impute income you are not earning

This is the most contested issue in Utah child support, and the statute constrains it more than most people expect.

Under 81-6-203(6)(a), a court may not impute income at all unless the parent stipulates to the amount, the parent defaults, or, in a contested case, a hearing is held and the court enters findings of fact on the evidentiary basis for the imputation. Imputation cannot simply be asserted in a filing.

Where imputation is proper, 81-6-203(6)(b) requires the figure to rest on employment potential and probable earnings, considering employment opportunities, work history, occupation qualifications, educational attainment, literacy, age, health, criminal record, other employment barriers, and prevailing earnings and job availability for people of similar background in the community.

Under 81-6-203(6)(c), where a parent has no recent work history or their occupation is unknown, the court may impute income at the federal minimum wage for a 40-hour week. To go above or below that, 81-6-203(6)(d) requires specific findings.

And under 81-6-203(6)(e), income may not be imputed at all, where the condition is not temporary, if any of these apply:

the reasonable cost of child care for the parents’ minor child approaches or equals what the custodial parent could earn;
the parent is physically or mentally unable to earn minimum wage;
the parent is engaged in career or occupational training to establish basic job skills; or
unusual emotional or physical needs of a child require the custodial parent to be in the home.

Changing a child support order later

Utah gives you two separate routes, and most people only know about the first one.

Route one: a substantial change in circumstances

Under Section 81-6-212(3)(a), a parent, guardian or the Office of Recovery Services may petition at any time if there has been a substantial change in circumstances. Under 81-6-212(3)(c), that may include material changes in custody, in the relative wealth or assets of the parties, material changes of 30 percent or more in a parent’s income, in a parent’s employment potential and ability to earn, in the medical needs of the child, or in either parent’s legal responsibilities to support others.

Clearing that bar is not enough on its own. Under 81-6-212(4), the court then asks whether the change produces a difference of 15 percent or more between the ordered amount and what the guidelines would now require, and adjusts only if the difference is that large and is not temporary.

Note the trap in 81-6-212(3)(b): a change in the child support tables is not a substantial change in circumstances. The tables being updated does not by itself entitle anyone to a new number.

Route two: the three-year rule

Under 81-6-212(5), if a child support order has not been issued or modified within the previous three years, a parent, guardian or the office may move to adjust it, and under 81-6-212(5)(c) no substantial change in circumstances is required. The court compares the ordered amount to the guideline amount and adjusts if the difference is 10 percent or more, the difference is not temporary, and the resulting order does not deviate from the guidelines.

This is the route parents most often miss. A ten percent gap and a three-year-old order is a much lower bar than a thirty percent income change plus a fifteen percent difference, and plenty of orders qualify without anything dramatic having happened.

Other provisions worth knowing

A change in physical custody does not always require a new order. Under 81-6-205(8), when physical custody changes after the original order, the parent without physical custody is required to pay support calculated under that section to the parent who now has the child, without the order being modified first. That applies even if only one parent was named as the payor in the original order.

The table has a ceiling and a floor. Under 81-6-204(8)(a), where combined adjusted gross income exceeds the top of the table, the court sets an appropriate and just amount case by case but may not go below the highest figure in the table for that number of children. Under 81-6-204(8)(b), there is no maximum. Under 81-6-204(4), if there is no amount listed for the combined income, the base combined obligation is $0.

More than six children. The table runs to six children. Under 81-6-204(7)(b) a court may add amounts beyond that, and under 81-6-204(7)(c) it generally may not order less than the six-child figure.

A child’s Social Security benefits. Under 81-6-203(8)(a), benefits a child receives based on a parent’s earnings record are credited as child support against that parent’s obligation.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a child support calculator for Utah?

Yes, unlike alimony. Utah child support comes from the base combined child support obligation table at Utah Code Section 81-6-304 and the formulas in Sections 81-6-204 through 81-6-207, and the Office of Recovery Services publishes a calculator. The number is still only as good as the income figures and overnight count that go into it.

How is child support calculated in Utah?

Each parent’s average monthly gross income is adjusted by subtracting alimony and child support previously ordered and paid, the two adjusted incomes are combined, and that combined figure and the number of children are looked up in the table at Section 81-6-304 to give the base combined obligation. That obligation is then divided between the parents in proportion to income, with credits applied for overnights in joint physical custody cases under Section 81-6-206.

Does the amount in the Utah child support table apply per child?

No. Section 81-6-204(9) states that the amount shown in a child support table is the amount for the total number of children, not an amount per child.

Does overtime or a second job count toward Utah child support?

Usually not. Section 81-6-203(2)(b) limits income from earned sources to the equivalent of one full-time 40-hour job. Under 81-6-203(2)(c), the court may consider more only if the parent normally and consistently worked beyond 40 hours during the period before the original support order.

Does 50/50 custody mean no child support in Utah?

No. Equal parent-time reduces the obligation, but it does not eliminate it simply because the time is equal, and where incomes differ an obligation usually remains. In the example on this page, equal time reduced the higher earner’s payment from $937 to about $230 a month rather than to zero. Under Section 81-6-206(6), a parent with more overnights can even be the one who pays, if the income gap is large enough.

Can the court order support based on income I do not actually earn?

It can impute income, but only within limits. Section 81-6-203(6)(a) bars imputation unless the parent stipulates, defaults, or a hearing is held and the court enters findings on the evidentiary basis. Section 81-6-203(6)(e) bars imputation entirely, where the condition is not temporary, if child care costs approach what the parent could earn, the parent cannot earn minimum wage, the parent is in occupational training for basic job skills, or a child’s unusual needs require the parent at home.

How much does my income need to change to modify child support in Utah?

Under Section 81-6-212(3)(c)(iii), a material change of 30 percent or more in a parent’s income may be a substantial change in circumstances, and under 81-6-212(4) the court adjusts only if that produces a difference of 15 percent or more from the guideline amount. Separately, under 81-6-212(5), if the order has not been issued or modified in three years, no substantial change is needed and a difference of 10 percent or more is enough.

Does a new spouse’s income affect child support in Utah?

No. Section 81-6-204(2) provides that only the income of the child’s parents may be used to determine the base child support award.

Is there a minimum child support payment in Utah?

In sole physical custody cases, yes: Section 81-6-205(5) provides that a base child support award may not be less than $30. Do not read that alongside Section 81-6-204(4), which says the base combined obligation is $0 where the combined income produces no listed amount in the main table, and conclude that a low earner owes nothing. Under Section 81-6-205(3) and (4), those cases are routed to the low income table at Section 81-6-305, and that table governs. In joint physical custody there is no $30 floor at all.

Does child support cover daycare and medical costs?

Not within the base award. Medical expenses are addressed separately under Section 81-6-208 and child care expenses under Section 81-6-209, and are ordered in addition to base support.

Talk with a Utah child support attorney

Most child support disputes are really disputes about two numbers: what a parent actually earns, and how many overnights the schedule produces. Bring your pay stubs, your most recent tax return and your current order, and we will run the guideline calculation on your facts and show you where the realistic room to move is.

This article is general information about Utah law, not legal advice for your situation. Table figures and statutory provisions described here are current as of the date below, and the child support tables are periodically updated.

Utah data: Utah Divorce Statistics (2026 Update), with yearly divorce counts, rates and court filings for every Utah county.

Reviewed by Jill L. Coil, founder of CoilLaw, LLC. Last reviewed September 22, 2026.