Understanding Child Support in Indiana

Indiana, like all states, has a set of guidelines to calculate the amount of child support when parents get divorced or split up. These guidelines are meant to give parents and the courts a consistent starting point for child support, which can then be adjusted if necessary.

Indiana's child support guidelines can be complicated. The state does provide an online calculator and other resources to help (more below on those resources). Before you start, however, it will help to understand how child support works in Indiana and what information you'll need to use the calculator.

Who Pays Child Support in Indiana?

Usually, the parent who doesn't have the children most of the time (the "noncustodial parent") will pay child support. But in some cases, the custodial parent may pay—for example, when both parents have near-equal parenting time and the custodial parent has significantly higher income.

(Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines, Guideline 1 and Guideline 3F (2024).)

How Indiana's Child Support Guidelines Work

Indiana's child support guidelines use the "Income Shares Model." This model is based on the idea that kids of divorced or separated parents should enjoy the same standard of living they would've had if the parents were living together.

Here are the basic steps for calculating child support:

1. Add the parents' adjusted gross income together.
2. Determine each parent's share (percentage) of this total combined income.
3. Based on the number of children being supported and the parent's weekly combined income, find the total basic weekly child support obligation on the guidelines schedule.
4. Add certain expenses to the basic obligation (as discussed below).
5. Calculate each parent's share of the adjusted support obligation based on their percentage of total combined income (from Step 2). For example, if a parent makes 60% of the total income, then they would be responsible for 60% of the adjusted child support obligation.
6. Add or subtract other allowed adjustments (more on those below).

Indiana's official online child support calculator will do these calculations for you, based on the information you provide.

What Counts as Income When Calculating Child Support in Indiana?

Under the Indiana child support guidelines, income is defined as a parent's actual weekly income when working to their full potential, as well as any significant, regular, and continuing payments or benefits received through employment or from family that reduce living expenses (called "in-kind" benefits in the guidelines).

Income from self-employment, running a business, rent, and royalties is also included in determining a parent's gross income. With these types of income, though, the parent can subtract ordinary and necessary expenses to produce that income.

Other examples of income include:

• salary or wages from employment, including commissions, bonuses, and overtime
• investment income
• Social Security benefits and other income from the government, and
• spousal support.

The guidelines specifically exclude income from public assistance programs that are based on need, like Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF), Supplemental Security Income, and food stamps.

(Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines, Guideline 3A (2024).)

When Is Child Support Based on a Parent's Potential Income?

If a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed without a good reason, a judge may impute potential income to that parent when calculating child support. The judge will decide how much the parent could be earning, based on factors like the parent's employment and income history, qualifications and education, age, health, and other employment barriers, as well as job opportunities and earning levels in the local community.

(Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines, Guideline 3A (2024).)

Adjustments to Child Support in Indiana

The guidelines allow you to make adjustments for a few specific child-related expenses you may have in your household.

Income Adjustments for Other Support Payments

The Indiana child support guidelines give parents credit for:

• support they're paying for children from other relationships (as long as they have a legal duty to support those kids), and
• court-ordered spousal support they pay.

These adjustments work by reducing the income of the parent who's paying support, which then reduces the amount of the child support obligation. (Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines, Guideline 3C (2024).)

Adjustments for Child-Related Expenses

The guidelines also include adjustments for:

• work-related child care expenses, and
• the cost of health insurance for the children (which is required when available at a reasonable cost).

These costs are added to the total basic child support obligation. The parent who actually pays the expenses will then get a credit on their share of that total.

The guidelines may also include an adjustment for extraordinary educational expenses for the child, such as private or special K-12 schools, college, or other postsecondary education. But it will be up to the judge to decide whether to allow this adjustment after considering the particular circumstances, including the child's needs, the parent's ability to pay, and whether the parents have agreed to include these expenses in child support. (There's a separate worksheet for this adjustment.)

(Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines, Guideline 3G, 6, 7, and 8; Ind. Code § 31-16-6-2 (2024).)

Parenting Time Adjustment

The standard child support calculation in Indiana assumes that the children live in one household with the custodial parent, who pays directly for their daily expenses (like housing, clothing, and food). But as most divorced parents know, there are additional expenses when children spend a substantial amount of time staying with the parent who doesn't have primary physical custody—or when both parents have the kids for the same amount of time.

To account for those additional expenses, Indiana's guidelines include a parenting time adjustment. The adjustment applies only when the parent who's paying child support has the children for at least 52 overnights during the year. You'll need to know the exact number of overnights to get this adjustment, which works as a credit. (The credit is calculated on a separate parenting time worksheet.)

You should know that this parenting time credit is not automatic. The judge will decide whether the credit would jeopardize the custodial parent's ability to support the children. If so, the judge will have to consider whether it's appropriate to deviate from the guideline calculation with the credit (more below on deviations from the guideline calculations).

(Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines, Guideline 6 (2024).)

When Can Child Support Be Different Than the Standard Calculation?

Indiana's child support guidelines assume that the amount resulting from the standard calculation will be the correct amount. However, judges may order a different amount of support if:

• the guideline amount would be unfair or inappropriate, or
• the parent who's paying support wouldn't have enough income to be self-supporting at a subsistence level.

When judges are deciding whether the guideline amount would be unfair or inappropriate, they must consider all of the relevant circumstances in the case, including:

• both parents' financial resources
• the child's educational needs and physical or mental condition
• the noncustodial parent's needs, and
• the standard of living the child would've enjoyed if the parents had stayed together.

Many different reasons could warrant a deviation from the guidelines, such as when:

• either parent is supporting an elderly parent
• the parents are sharing the child's basic expenses
• the noncustodial parent has extraordinary personal medical expenses
• the military provides housing for a parent
• siblings spend a different amount of time with the noncustodial parent, or
• either parent has significant travel expenses for parenting time.

(Ind. Code § 31-16-6-1; Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines, Guideline 1 and 3F (2024).)

Can Parents Agree on an Amount of Child Support?

Parents can (and usually do) reach an agreement on child support. But they'll need to submit their agreement to the court for a judge's approval, along with the worksheet showing the standard calculation.

Also, if you and your co-parent have agreed on an amount of child support that's different than the standard calculation, you'll need to include the specific reasons why the guideline amount would be unfair or inappropriate in your case. If you've agreed to an amount below the guideline amount, the judge will take an especially close look at those reasons. And the judge won't necessarily approve your agreement if the agreed support amount wouldn't adequately meet your children's needs.

(Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines, Guideline 1 (2024).)

When Does Child Support End in Indiana?

In Indiana, parents' legal duty to support their children generally ends when the children turn 19 or are otherwise emancipated. But if parents request it, judges may end child support for 18-year-olds who haven't attended school for at least four months and can support themselves.

Also, child support may continue beyond age 19 when:

• a parent has filed a notice letting the court know that the child is still a full-time student in high school, or
• a child is incapacitated.

(Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines, Guideline 4; Ind. Code § 31-16-6-6 (2024).)

How to Apply for Child Support in Indiana

If you're filing for divorce or legal separation in Indiana, child support will be addressed as part of that legal procedure. Child support can also be established by filing with the court a petition to establish support. When filing for child support through the court, you'll include your completed child support worksheet with your other paperwork.

Outside of the context of divorce, you can apply for child support by enrolling for services with Indiana's Department of Child Services (DCS).

How to Request a Change in Child Support in Indiana

In Indiana, either parent may request a change in the amount of child support they're currently paying or receiving by filing a petition for modification with the court.

A judge may grant your request if you provide evidence demonstrating that:

• there's been a substantial and continuing change in circumstances that makes the existing order unreasonable, or
• it's been at least a year since the order was issued, and there's at least a 20% difference between the existing amount of support and the guideline calculation based on your current financial circumstances.

Some examples of changed circumstances that might qualify for a modification include when there's been a change in the parents' income, the cost of raising their children, or their parenting plan. Parents may also seek a modification of a support order in cases the oldest of their children turns 19.

(Indiana Child Support Rules and Guidelines, Guideline 4; Ind. Code § 31-16-8-1 (2024).)

Getting Help with Child Support in Indiana

In addition to helping establish child support, Indiana's DCS can also help establish your child's legal paternity, locate a missing parent, and collect child support.

If you aren't getting help from DCS with establishing child support, you should be able to figure out the guideline amount of child support by using Indiana's official calculator. The calculator will produce the worksheets that you'll need to submit to the court when you apply for child support. If you need them, you can also find links to all of the worksheets and the current guidelines schedules on the Indiana Courts forms page.

Even with these resources, however, there are some situations when you might need a lawyer's help. This is particularly true if you're going to request an amount of child support that's different from the standard calculation, or if you'll have a complicated parenting arrangement (such as split custody, when each parent will have custody of at least one of your children). An attorney can help you navigate these issues.