Oregon child support & parenting time calculations
Child support payments are made by one divorced or separated parent to the other, ensuring you both contribute fairly to meet your child's needs.
Support is paid until a child turns 18 and sometimes, if they stay in school, until they turn 21.
If you have a child together, you have to calculate support as part of your divorce or parenting time case. You can also apply for child support by contacting the Oregon Child Support Program without having a divorce or parenting time case.
The basics of calculating child support
The support amount is based on your gross incomes, how many children you have, their ages and circumstances, and your overnights with them. You'll also factor in health care and other types of expenses.
Income
Your gross income is your income before taxes and before any retirement or health insurance contributions. Disability and unemployment benefits, as well as employment allowances for housing, car or phone, are forms of income.
Number of children
How many children you have — together or with anyone else — affects your support amount.
Their ages and circumstances
Each child's age and circumstances affect their eligibility for support:
- The support obligation ends as each child turns 18 if they're not attending high school or college.
- The support obligation continues to their 21st birthday if they stay in high school or college at least half time (and aren't married or in the military).
Though child support may continue for an adult student, the support amount may change. (See "Overnight parenting time" below.)
Overnight parenting time
If you formally have parenting time — by written agreement, a pending court case, or a court order — your average annual overnights with your minor child are factored into your support amount.
Oregon provides an online tool to estimate your overnights. Enter the overnights you expect to have your child over a two-year period. This calculator only gives your average annual overnights. It won't keep your data for you to use as an ongoing calendar.
Many parents use Custody X Change instead. Not only does it calculate your overnights exactly, it saves your calendar, reminds you of upcoming exchanges and lets you make adjustments as you go.
Overnights no longer matter when an 18-year-old child is out of high school (or else when they turn 19), though support continues until they're 21 if they stay in school.
Medical costs
Every support order considers the child's medical needs. One or both parents are usually ordered to pay for the child's health insurance plus a percentage of any reasonable expenses not paid by insurance. If the child has no health insurance, an amount called cash medical is ordered.
Other factors
If any of these apply, they'll affect the support amount:
- Child care expenses
- Spousal support
- Union dues
- Your child's Social Security or veteran's benefits
How to calculate child support
To roughly estimate the support you'll pay or receive, use the Custody X Change quick calculator at the top of this page.
For a more precise estimation, use the detailed Oregon child support calculator.
When a different amount may be ordered
If you have a reason for a different support amount, fill out a Rebuttal Worksheet and submit your evidence to the court. Relevant facts could include:
- Debts
- Taxes
- Hardships
- A partner's income
- Your child living with a third party
- Information the other parent omits accidentally or intentionally
The court or the child support agency may propose a revised amount, which becomes your new personalized guideline for any ongoing negotiations. (See "If both of you agree on an amount" below.)
How to seek child support
Through the court
As part of a divorce or custody case involving a child under 21, a judge considers child support. You may be asked for basic information when you first file your case. As your case progresses, the court may accept the child support forms provided by the Oregon Department of Justice, or it may prefer that you use local forms.
If you have a lawyer, they'll guide you through child support paperwork. If you don't, ask your local circuit court clerk for information.
Through the state
You can apply for child support services even without a divorce or custody case. Complete the online application or paper application. Note that Oregon provides a number of child support forms that might be relevant to your application.
The application process usually takes one to four months (depending on whether both parents cooperate). The state usually takes a little over a month to review an application, and then it may take three more months to serve you both with a proposed order. If either of you objects to the proposed order, you can request a hearing. Otherwise, it's finalized 30 days after it's served.
If you aren't sure who the father is, it may take a few extra months for the state to help you establish paternity.
If you're pregnant, wait until your child is born to apply for child support.
If both of you agree on an amount
The court officially encourages parents to agree on a support amount. Submit your proposal to the Division of Child Support in the Oregon Department of Justice. You won't need a hearing as long as your agreement is within 15 percent of the state guideline — or, if you've already submitted rebuttals, within 15 percent of the court's revised suggestion.
Any adult child 18–20 must provide their consent too, as they're a party to the case.
Paying and receiving support
A support order specifies who is owed, when payment is due, and how payment must be made.
Usually, one parent pays by income withholding, meaning funds are taken out of their paycheck and sent to the Oregon Division of Child Support. The state sends a check to the parent who's owed. Money given directly from one parent to the other might not be counted toward the obligation.
If you receive Oregon TANF (public assistance)
If the parent who receives support has ever received public assistance like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) or Oregon Health Plan (OHP), the state opens a child support case, and payments go through the Oregon Division of Child Support. Parents don't have a choice in this. The state may keep some of the money it collects.
If you don't receive public assistance
Some parents prefer to send payments through the Oregon Division of Child Support. The state knows what's paid in and paid out, so there's less for parents to track.
Others prefer to set up a recurring bank transfer from one parent directly to the other. This is a speedier way to send funds, and it can feel more private. However, if you do this, you're responsible for your own accounting.
When a child becomes an adult
To prevent the parent who sends support from ending their obligation when the child turns 18, the child submits a School Status form (ideally before their 18th birthday). On this form, they provide their expected high school graduation date and the name of their next school (if any). Complete the form any time the information changes.
The school status affects who receives the money:
- Until the child turns 19, if they continue to attend high school and live at home, a parent continues to receive support on their behalf.
- Once the child turns 19 — or starts college at 18 — support is owed directly to them. A parent can submit a Redirection of Payments to Obligee form to change the payee.
Changing a support order
In Oregon, some parents receive a nonmodifiable support order. But this is uncommon; generally, it's only given if both parents waive their right to future changes. If your order is nonmodifiable, it says so.
Most child support orders can be changed when either parent has a substantial change of circumstances, like a job loss. You're also entitled to a review every three years.
Changing the order only affects future support. (If not all past support was paid, it's still owed.)
If your existing support goes through Oregon's state system, complete a Request for Review. If a judge ordered one of you to pay the other privately, you may need to return to that court.
If you're struggling to pay
If you're having trouble affording child support, speak to the support office. You may find out that the support order can be reduced so it's within your means to pay it. Or, if you don't already have income withholding, the support office can help you set it up.
If you believe your obligation has ended, notify the state agency or the court, as it may not end automatically.
Calculating parenting time accurately
Parenting time is an important factor in Oregon child support calculations.
Merely estimating your overnights can affect your support order by thousands of dollars a year. The Custody X Change app lets you quickly and accurately calculate your exact overnights.
Don't guess at your parenting time. Calculate it exactly to get a fair child support payment.