Child support in Washington State is calculated using the Washington State Child Support Schedule (WSCSS) to determine how much child support must be paid to a custodial parent each month. This schedule works a lot like an income tax table. It takes the income level of each parent into account in order to calculate a support amount that meets the needs of the child(ren). The schedule also exists to make sure that parents throughout the state either receive or pay similar amounts of support.
Child Support Obligations Are Based On Income
To determine how much a parent must pay in support, that parent’s gross income (the total amount of income before any deductions) must first be determined. The Washington State Child Support Schedule explains what should be included in the gross income. The support obligation is then calculated based on net income, which is gross income minus tax deductions and other expenses.
The following can be deducted from gross income to determine net income:
Federal income tax
Mandatory union due
State industrial insurance
Social Security and Medicare
Mandatory pension contributions
Voluntary pension contributions (in some situations)
What If The Parent Is Unemployed Or Underemployed?
Alternatively, the court can impute income to an individual – in other words, decide on an income for them – which is then used to determine the support obligation. Courts impute income when they decide that a person is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. The court imputes income based on the following information in this order:
Full-time earnings at current rate of pay
Full-time earnings at historical rate of pay
Full-time earnings at a part rate of pay (where information is irregular or incomplete)
Full-time earnings at minimum wage
If none of the above information is available, the court will use the median income for a person of the same age and gender – which could end up being more than the person actually makes.
What If The Parent Can’t Pay?
If a parent cannot afford to pay the amount determined using the table, the court can lower the basic obligation. For example, an obligation may be decreased if it would put that parent below federal poverty guidelines, or if the amount of support would exceed 45 percent of that parent’s net income.
The court can also deviate from the standard and raise or lower the obligation for a variety of other reasons – for example, if the child has special needs or if a parent also has other children to support.