New York calculates child support and spousal maintenance using formulas set out in the Child Support Standards Act (Domestic Relations Law § 240(1-b)) and the maintenance guidelines in DRL § 236(B)(6). This free New York child support calculator walks through both formulas step by step — computing each parent’s income for support purposes, the presumptive child support obligation, and the presumptive maintenance amount and advisory duration. The result is a starting point, not a substitute for legal advice: read more on our child support and spousal maintenance pages, or contact our Westchester and Nassau County matrimonial attorneys to discuss how these numbers apply to your case.

New York Presumptive Child Support & Spousal Maintenance Worksheet

Based on the formulas in Domestic Relations Law §§ 236(B) and 240(1-b) (CSSA)

Most & Schneid, P.C. | mostandschneid.com
Matrimonial and Family Law Attorneys

Not legal advice. This worksheet calculates the presumptive statutory amounts only. Courts may deviate from these figures after considering the factors listed in DRL §236(B)(6)(e) (maintenance) and §240(1-b)(f) (child support). Statutory income caps, the Social Security wage base, and NYC/NYS/Yonkers tax rates are adjusted periodically — the defaults below are labeled with the year they were last known to be accurate and must be verified against current published figures (NYS Office of Court Administration / NYS DTF / IRS) before relying on this worksheet. Where you know the parties’ actual FICA, self-employment, or local tax paid (e.g., from a tax return), enter it directly below using either a percentage rate or a fixed dollar amount — the statute uses actual amounts paid, not estimates.

Parties and Income

Case Information

Number of children of the marriage

Custodial / residential parent (for child support)

Date of marriage

Date of commencement of action (filing date)

Length of marriage override (years)

Auto-calculated from the dates above under DRL §236(B)(6)(f); enter a value here only to override.

Statutory Assumptions (edit if current figures differ)

CSSA combined-income cap ($) — current: $193,000

Maintenance payor income cap ($) — current: $241,000

Social Security wage base ($) — last known: $168,600 (2024)

Yonkers resident surcharge (% of NYS tax) — last known: 16.75%

Yonkers non-resident earnings tax rate (%) — last known: 0.50%

Self-support reserve ($) — approx. last known: $20,331 (135% of one-person federal poverty guideline)

Federal poverty guideline, one person ($) — approx. last known: $15,060

NYC tax rate — bracket 1 (%)

NYC tax rate — bracket 2 (%)

NYC tax rate — bracket 3 (%)

NYC tax rate — bracket 4 / top rate (%)

The four NYC rates above apply progressively (income thresholds for each bracket are fixed by filing status and not editable here). FICA (6.2%/1.45%), self-employment tax (12.4%/2.9%), the 0.9% Additional Medicare Tax, NYS tax brackets, and the CSSA percentages by number of children (17%/25%/29%/31%, and not less than 35% for five or more children) are fixed by federal/state statute and are built in.

Step 1Income for Support Purposes

Calculates each parent’s gross income under DRL §240(1-b)(b)(5)(i), less FICA/Medicare, self-employment tax, and NYC/Yonkers tax, and the deductions under DRL §240(1-b)(b)(5)(vii). Use the Taxes fields in Parties and Income above to override any auto-calculated tax with either a percentage rate or a fixed dollar amount.

Step 2Spousal Maintenance

Maintenance payor

Will the maintenance payor also pay child support to the payee?

Additional discretionary maintenance ($/yr, above guideline)

Only if court exercises discretion under DRL 236(B)(6)(e) re: income above the cap.

Manual override — total maintenance amount ($/yr)

If filled in, this figure is used directly as the presumptive maintenance amount (e.g. a stipulated or pendente lite figure), instead of the guideline formula.

Maintenance income cap treatment

A court may apply the guidelines above the presumptive cap (DRL §236(B)(6)(e)), or the parties may stipulate to a different cap.

Equitable distribution income addition (post-divorce maintenance only)

Income from income-producing property distributed to a spouse in equitable distribution is added to that spouse’s income for post-divorce maintenance purposes only (DRL §236(B)(6)). Leave at $0 for temporary/pendente lite maintenance.

Parent A — income from distributed property ($/yr)

Parent B — income from distributed property ($/yr)

Step 3Child Support

Maintenance amount to apply to this calculation ($/yr)

Auto-filled with the presumptive maintenance amount once you calculate maintenance above (Step 2). Edit this value directly to use a different figure for child support purposes, or clear it / leave at 0 if no maintenance applies to this calculation.

Child support combined-income cap

Add-On Child Expenses (annual, shared per statute)

Child care costs (to enable a parent to work/attend education)

Children’s share of health insurance premium

Unreimbursed medical / education expenses

Step 4Summary & Comparison

Recalculates maintenance and child support using a strict application of the statutory formulas — the presumptive statutory caps (not any custom/uncapped cap settings from Steps 2–3) and no manual overrides or additional discretionary amounts — for comparison purposes. Equitable distribution income additions and add-on child expenses are still applied, since those are part of the statutory calculation itself, not a deviation.