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In te rn al Gui del in e S uppo rt C alcul at or
W ork bo ok
_______________________
(Your Name)
Credits
Suzie Marin, Policy Analyst
Program Policy – California Department of Child Support Services
Janissa Boesch, Certified Trainer
Statewide Training – California Department of Child Support Services
Orsolya Sabado, Staff Attorney II
Child Support Services Department – County of Los Angeles
Updated on 9/23/10
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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................4
Guidelines for Setting Child Support Awards .............................................................................. 4
California's Statewide Child Support Uniform Guideline ......................................................... 4
Certification ............................................................................................................................................ 6
Integration into CSE ............................................................................................................................ 6
Ongoing Improvements ........................................................................................................................ 6
Getting Help ...............................................................................7
Public GC User Guide ............................................................................................................................ 7
Internal GC User Guide ....................................................................................................................... 7
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations ......................................................................................... 7
California Law.......................................................................................................................................... 7
Calling the Help Desk ........................................................................................................................... 8
Exercises ...................................................................................9
#1
Zero-Support Calculations.................................................................................................... 9
#2
Presumed-Income Calculations .......................................................................................... 10
#3
Applying Low-Income Adjustment .................................................................................... 11
#4
Both Parents are NCPs ........................................................................................................ 12
#5
Tax Settings ........................................................................................................................... 13
#6
Salary vs. Self-Employment – Differences in Sources of Income......................... 13
#7
“Kitchen Sink” Exercise ..................................................................................................... 14
Calculator Options ....................................................................... 15
Statewide Generation Reasons ........................................................................................................ 15
Status Options ..................................................................................................................................... 15
Cheat Sheets ............................................................................ 16
Earned Income Credit Cheat Sheet .............................................................................................. 16
Child Tax Credit Cheat Sheet ......................................................................................................... 17
Child Care Credit Cheat Sheet ........................................................................................................ 17
Common Sources of Income ............................................................. 18
Answers to Exercises ................................................................... 19
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Guidelines for Setting Child Support Awards
Federal Regulations
Federal Regulations 45 CFR 302.56
(a)
Establish Guidelines
(c)
Minimum Requirements for Guidelines
(e)
Quadrennial Review
California's Statewide Child Support Uniform Guideline
Principles
(a) A parent's first and principal obligation is to support his or her minor children
according to the parent's circumstances and station in life.
(b) Both parents are mutually responsible for the support of their children.
(c) The guideline takes into account each parent's actual income and level of
responsibility for the children.
(d) Each parent should pay for the support of the children according to his or her
ability.
(e) The guideline seeks to place the interests of children as the state's top priority.
(f) Children should share in the standard of living of both parents. Child support may
therefore appropriately improve the standard of living of the custodial household
to improve the lives of the children.
(g) Child support orders in cases in which both parents have high levels of
responsibility for the children should reflect the increased costs of raising the
children in two homes and should minimize significant disparities in the children's
living standards in the two homes.
(h) The financial needs of the children should be met through private financial
resources as much as possible.
(i) It is presumed that a parent having primary physical responsibility for the children
contributes a significant portion of available resources for the support of the
children.
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(j) The guideline seeks to encourage fair and efficient settlements of conflicts
between parents and seeks to minimize the need for litigation.
(k) The guideline is intended to be presumptively correct in all cases, and only under
special circumstances should child support orders fall below the child support
mandated by the guideline formula.
(l) Child support orders must ensure that children actually receive fair, timely, and
sufficient support reflecting the state's high standard of living and high costs of
raising children compared to other states.
Quadrennial Review
45CFR302.56(e) – The State must review, and revise, if appropriate, the guidelines
established under paragraph (a) of this section at least once every four years to
ensure that their application results in the determination of appropriate child support
award amounts.
FC Section 4054 – California Judicial Council conducts quadrennial review to comply.
Child Support Formula – Family Code Section 4055(a) & (b)(1-3)
CS = K [ HN - (H%) (TN) ]
Code
CS
K
Description
Child support amount
Amount of both parents' income to be allocated for child support as set forth
in paragraph (3).
HN
High earner's net monthly disposable income.
H%
Approximate percentage of time that the high earner has or will have primary
physical responsibility for the children compared to the other parent.
TN
Total net monthly disposable income of both parties.
K
Amount of both parent's income allocated for child support equals
1 + H% (if H% is less than or equal to 50%) or
2 - H% (if H% is greater than 50%)
times the following fraction:
$0-800 ............................ 0.20 + TN/16,000
$801-6,666 .................... 0.25
$6,667-10,000 .............. 0.10 + 1,000/TN
Over $10,000 ................ 0.12 + 800/TN
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Allocation Per Child – Family Code Section 4055(b)
(4) – For more than one child, multiply child support by:
2 children .............. 1.6
3 children .............. 2
4 children .............. 2.3
5 children .............. 2.5
6 children .............. 2.625
7 children ................. 2.75
8 children ................. 2.813
9 children ................. 2.844
10 children ............... 2.86
(8) – Unless the court orders otherwise, the order for child support shall allocate the
support amount so that the amount of support for the youngest child is the amount of
support for one child, and the amount for the next youngest child is the difference
between that amount and the amount for two children, with similar allocations for
additional children. However, this paragraph does not apply to cases in which there are
different time-sharing arrangements for different children or where the court
determines that the allocation would be inappropriate in the particular case.
Certification
Family Code Section 3830 and California Rule 5.275 – Judicial Council is responsible for
certifying any guideline child support calculator prior to its use in California.
Integration into CSE
45 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 307.10(b) and 307.11 – Require integration of a
guideline calculator in CSE.
Ongoing Improvements
Suggesting Changes for the GC
Send an email message to: CCSASGC@dcss.ca.gov
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Public GC User Guide
1. Go to www.childsup.ca.gov (California DCSS public website).
2. Click the Calculate Child Support hyperlink (left margin).
3. Save the Welcome to Guideline Calculator page as a Favorite in your web
browser.
4. Click on the Download California Guideline Child Support Calculator User Guide.
Internal GC User Guide
1. Go to https://counties.dcss.ca.gov (California Child Support Central).
Note: You must have a login to access this website.
2. Save the Home page as a Favorite in your web browser.
3. Click on the Training tab.
4. Click on the Guideline Calculator hyperlink (left margin).
5. Click on the IGSC User Guide PDF file and select Open in the File Download
dialog box.
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
1. Go to http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov.
2. Select Title 45 - Public Welfare in the drop-down box.
3. Click Go to access codes associated to Title 45.
4. Save this page as a Favorite in your web browser.
5. Click on a hyperlink for a particular range of code.
California Law
1. Go to http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html.
2. Save the California Law page as a Favorite in your web browser.
3. Select a set of codes, such as Family Code.
4. To display the Table of Contents for the selected set of codes, click Search.
5. To search for a particular code in the selected set of codes, enter the code in
the search box and click Search.
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Calling the Help Desk
Who to call … _____________________________________________________
When to call … ____________________________________________________
What information to provide …
 Your CSE Username
 Case and/or participant number
 Court case number
 If re legal action/form/guideline calculation/support order:
o
Date generated, filed, and/or entered
 If re form:
o
Include the form set number and the individual form number.
o
Include the item line and/or page number.
o
Screen shot or copy of the form.
 Screen shot of error message
 Brief explanation and/or sequence of events that occurred prior to any error
message.
For example: Clicked the Generate Form Set button on the Guideline Support
Calculator Detail page, clicked the Cancel button to return, and received error.
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Exxeerrcciisseess
#1 Zero-Support Calculations
Exercise: A referral was received for two young children, who
have been placed in foster care.
Heather (the absent mother on the referral) will be in jail for
at least six months. There is no existing order.
The father's name is Robert.
Create a zero-support calculation to establish a new
support order for Heather.
1.
Who is the NCP? ____________________________________________
2.
Who is the other parent? _____________________________________
3.
What income will you enter for the NCP? __________________________
4.
What income will you enter for the other parent? ___________________
Why? ____________________________________________________
5.
What other living conditions qualify for zero-support
when the NCP has no other source of income? ______________________
6.
What will Heather's child support obligation be? ____________________
7.
What will the Generation Reason be? _____________________________
How many characters is that, including spaces? ______________________
8.
What Status will you select for the calculation? _____________________
See page 19 for answers.
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#2 Presumed-Income Calculations
Exercise: You need to create a calculation for Robert, the
absent father of the two children, recently placed in foster care.
Robert has been located, but no current employment or
employment history has been found, and Robert did not respond
to the intake letter nor did he return your calls.
Create a presumed-income calculation to establish a new order
for the same two children.
1.
Who is the NCP? ____________________________________________
2.
Who is the other parent? ______________________________________
3.
What income will you enter for Robert? ___________________________
Why? ____________________________________________________
4.
What will the total child support amount be? _______________________
5.
What will the Generation Reason be? _____________________________
How many characters is that, including spaces? ______________________
See page 19 for answers.
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#3 Applying Low-Income Adjustment
Exercise: Robert filed an Answer with the court and attached
an Income and Expense Declaration.
Robert lives with his parents and pays no rent. He is in a
training program to become a security guard. He receives
minimum wage for 25 hours per week, and he visits both
children for 2 hours each Saturday.
Create a calculation for a Notice of Motion and see if Robert's
net disposable income qualifies for LIA.
1.
What is the percentage of visitation for each child? _________________
2.
What is the low range of the LIA? ______________________________
3.
What is the high range of the LIA? ______________________________
4.
Which range should be used? ___________________________________
5.
What will the Generation Reason be? _____________________________
How many characters is that, including spaces? ______________________
See page 19 for answers.
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#4 Both Parents are NCPs
Exercise: As soon as Heather got out of jail, she and Robert
moved into an apartment together. Neither has custody of the
children, but they are allowed to keep the children with them
overnight (24 hours) on Friday/Saturday and 3 hours
Wednesday evenings.
Heather is a receptionist, working 35 hours per week at $8.25
per hour, with no benefits.
Robert is a security guard for an Indian casino, making $16.50
per hour, 40 hours per week. Robert pays $350 for pre-tax
health insurance benefits.
Run a calculation to modify each parent's child support order.
1.
Who is the NCP? ____________________________________________
2.
Who is the other parent? _____________________________________
3.
What is the percentage of visitation for each child? _________________
4.
What amount of support will Robert as NCP pay? ____________________
5.
What amount of support will Heather as NCP pay?____________________
6.
What will the Generation Reason be? _____________________________
How many characters is that, including spaces? ______________________
See page 20 for answers.
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#5 Tax Settings
Exercise: Mom and Dad have a 15-year-old child in common. The
minor child is with Dad about 20% of the time.
Mom is employed as a private school teacher and earns $2,000 per
month. She has no other children, files taxes as Head of
Household, claims two exemptions, and pays $50 per month (posttax) in health insurance for herself and the child.
Dad is employed as a computer technician and earns $3000 per
month. Dad has full custody of another child from a different
relationship who is 9 years old.
Dad files taxes, claiming Head of Household, claims two exemptions, pays $90 per
month (post-tax) for health insurance for himself and the child, and has no other
"guideline deductions".
1.
Who is the obligor and how much is the support amount? ______________
2.
Should we care about the dependent’s age in this case? Why? ___________
3.
Should we care about Dad’s other child’s age? Why? __________________
See page 20 for the answers.
#6 Salary vs. Self-Employment – Differences in Sources of Income
Exercise: Assume the facts from the previous calculation,
except the following:
Dad is self-employed and has income of $3,000 per month
(e.g. profits).
1.
What changes were made in the GL calculator? ______________________
2.
Did the overall child support amount change? _______________________
3.
What is the reason for the change? ______________________________
See page 20 for the answers.
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#7
“Kitchen Sink” Exercise
Exercise: Claire—a non-welfare CP—applied for child support
services for David (age 2). David's father is Ned. The staff
attorney at the court hearing has ascertained the following facts:
Ned takes David every other weekend.
Claire is a 24-year-old student at a local university where she not
only attends classes but also works at the library. She earns
minimum wage and works 25 hours per week. She also lives off of
student loans. Claire pays $400 per month for child care while
attending classes and working.
Ned remarried and has one child from his current marriage (Nicholas, age 1). His wife,
Wilma, also has a child from a previous marriage (Victoria, who turned 13 in August).
Ned and Wilma pay $300 per month for after-school care for Victoria. Ned lost his job
in July and began receiving state unemployment compensation of $275 per week, and an
additional $1200 per month in private unemployment for six months. His previous salary
was $3200 per month, from which he paid $150 per month to a voluntary unemployment
insurance for the previous 18 months. Wilma stays at home and receives SSA
(Disability) of $250 per month.
1.
What are the parties’ tax settings? ______________________________
2.
Will Claire qualify for Child Care Credit? Will Ned? __________________
3.
Will Claire qualify for Child Tax Credit? Will Ned? ___________________
4.
Will Claire qualify for Earned Income Tax Credit? Will Ned? ___________
5.
How much income should be used for Claire? _______________________
Is her income taxable or nontaxable? _____________________________
6.
How much income should be used for Ned and Wilma? ________________
Is their income taxable or nontaxable? ____________________________
7.
What hardship credits should Claire receive? How about Ned? __________
8.
How much is Ned’s child support obligation? ________________________
See page 21 for the answers.
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Statewide Generation Reasons
Reason
Definition
Initial S&C
Calculation is for an initial S&C.
Amended S&C
Calculation is for an amended S&C.
Supp S&C
Calculation is for a supplemental S&C.
Amended Supp S&C
Calculation is for an amended supplemental S&C.
APJ
Calculation is for a Declaration for Amended Proposed Judgment.
R&A
Calculation is for a Review and Adjustment (R&A). For multiple versions, add a
brief deferential; for example: R&A v12% or R&A v20% when visitation varies.
Stipulation
Calculation is for a stipulated order.
NOM
Calculation is for a Notice of Motion. You may want to add reason for the NOM;
for example: NOM-R&A or NOM-Answer to S&C
Court Prep
Calculation is for a court hearing.
Hearing xx/xx/xx
Calculation is the result of a court hearing.
Status Options
Option
Definition
DRAFT
The calculation is subject to change and is not ready for official distribution to any of the
parties in the case. You can modify data, and you can change the status to ACTIVE or
INACTIVE. DRAFT calculations are deleted 30 days after they were last modified.
ACTIVE
(read only)
The calculation is final and no longer subject to change (it becomes a permanent record in
CSE). A calculation must be saved as ACTIVE to link it to a legal action in CSE, such as an
S&C or a support order. After a calculation is linked to an order, CSE changes the status to
HISTORIC. You can change the status of an ACTIVE calculation to INACTIVE if it has not
been linked to a legal action.
INACTIVE
(read only)
The calculation will not be used is deleted 30 days after the status was changed to
INACTIVE. You can change the status of an INACTIVE calculation to DRAFT or ACTIVE.
HISTORIC
(read only)
The calculation has been linked to an order in CSE, either representing a calculation attached
to the physical order or a calculation that was given to the parties or filed with the court
prior to the issuance of a court order. This status is assigned by CSE after an order has been
entered in CSE. You cannot change the status of an HISTORIC calculation.
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Earned Income Credit Cheat Sheet
Qualification: Low- to moderate-income workers may be eligible for a refundable earned income tax credit
(“EITC”) that is determined by a) the number of qualifying children and b) the adjusted gross earned income.
A) Must meet ALL of these rules
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Must have valid Social Security Number;
Filing status CANNOT be married filing separately;
Must be a US citizen or resident alien all year;
Cannot have foreign earned income (Form 2555);
Investment income must be $3,100 or less (2009);
Must have earned income1 as stated below.
B) Must meet ONE of these qualifications
If there are 3 or more
qualifying children,
then the Adjusted Gross
Income (Form 1040, line
37) must be less than
$43,279 ($48,279 if
married filing jointly).
$3,606/mo.
$$4,023/mo. (married)
If there are two
qualifying children, then
the Adjusted Gross
Income (Form 1040, line
37) must be less than
$40,295 ($45,295 if
married filing jointly).
$3,357/mo.
$3,377/mo. (married)
If there is one qualifying
child, then the Adjusted
Gross Income must be
less than $35,463
($40,463 if married filing
jointly).
If there is no
qualifying child, then
the Adjusted Gross
Income must be less
than $13,440 ($18,440
if married filing jointly).
$2,955/mo.
$3,371/mo. (married)
$1,120/mo.
$1536/mo. (married)
C) Rules for ONE OR MORE qualifying child(ren)
1)
Child is a qualifying child who was:
a)
b)
c)
Son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister,
stepsister, or a descendant of any of them; and
Under age 192 at end of the year OR under age 24 and
a full-time student OR any age and permanently and
totally disabled; and
Lived in the parent’s household for more than half of
the year.
2)
Child is not claimed by anyone else for EITC;
3)
Person claiming EITC is not a qualifying child of another
C) Rules if there is no qualifying child
1) Person claiming credit must be at
least age 25 but less than 65;3
2) Cannot be the dependent of another
person;
3) Cannot be a qualifying child of
another person;
4) Must have lived in the US for more
than half of the year.
1
Earned income generally means wages, salaries, tips, other taxable employee pay, and net earnings from self-employment. Employee pay is earned income only if it is
taxable. Nontaxable employee pay, such as certain dependent care benefits and adoption benefits, is not earned income. Income from pensions, social security,
worker's compensation, interest and dividends, unemployment benefits, child support and alimony, nontaxable workfare payments, income earned while an inmate in
prison are not considered to be earned income. See IRS Publication 596.
2
For tax year 2009, the qualifying child must be younger than the parent claiming the credit. IRS 2009 Form W-5 Instructions.
3
Advance Earned Income Tax Credit box should be unchecked when the parent is younger than 25 and older than 65 and has no qualifying child.
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person also claiming EITC.
Child Tax Credit4 Cheat Sheet
The Child Tax Credit may be claimed in addition to the Child Care Credit and the Earned Income Credit. A
qualifying child for purposes of the child tax credit is a child who:
1)
Is the parent’s son, daughter, stepchild, foster child, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, or
a descendant of any of them (for example, your grandchild, niece, or nephew); and
2)
Was under age 17 at the end of the tax year; and
3)
Did not provide over half of his or her own support for the year; and
4)
Lived with the parent for more than half of the year (except in cases of divorced or separated
children IF the custodial parent signs a statement regarding not claiming the child on his/her tax
return); and
5)
Was a U.S. citizen, a U.S. national, or a U.S. resident alien.
Child Care Credit Cheat Sheet5
1)
Parent actually pays someone to care for his/her child; and
2)
The child care expenses are necessary for the parent to work (but child care expenses incurred
so that the parent can get an education are not included); and
3)
The child is under the age of 13;6 and
4)
The parent had earned income.7
Note: The Guideline calculator will not give the child care credit unless there is a corresponding child care
amount entered under the “add-on” section.
4
See Publication 972 regarding details of the credit, including qualifying an adopted child.
5
IRS Publication 503; IRC § 21.
6
The portion of the child care expenses incurred during the tax year in which the child turn 13 may be claimed up to the child’s 13th birthday. See IRS Publication
503; IRC § 21.
7
Please see the definition of earned income in footnote 1 above. Full-time or part-time work will qualify as does a parent actively looking for work. However, there
must be earned income for the tax year in order to be able to take the credit. IRS Publication 503.
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State/federal unemployment or SDI compensation: This source of income includes unemployment benefits
paid by the state or federal government as well as disability payments that are paid under the SDI (State
Disability Insurance) program to replace a person’s income during the time they are out on disability. This is
entered under Disability in the Other Non-taxable Income section.
CA SDI and other unemployment benefits: This type of a benefit is paid to replace a person’s income during
periods of unemployment. In California, it is also paid as part of the CA SDI program, but because it’s not paid
for a disability, it is taxable under federal laws. Enter this type of income under Disability (taxable) in the
Calculate Wages/Salary section. Because this type of income is NOT taxable in California, an equal amount
must be entered under Other Taxable Income Adjustment in the Other Taxable Income section.
Paid Family Leave: This source is a type of disability insurance paid to replace wages when an employee stays
home to bond with a newborn or care for an ill family member. This is entered as taxable unemployment.
Employer-paid Disability: This type of income is paid for by the employer as part of a health or accident
insurance plan. This type of disability is entered as Disability (Taxable). If the employee also contributes to
such plan, the portion of the income attributable to the employee’s contribution is non-taxable. (E.g., the
employee pays $1,000/year toward the disability plan and the employer pays $1,000/year toward the disability
plan. When the employee receives the benefit, half of the benefit payment, up to the total amount of the
employee’s contribution, will be non-taxable. The other portion will be taxable.)
Veterans’ Disability: This type of income is paid for injury related to service in the military. This is entered
under Disability in the Other Non-taxable Income section.
Veterans’ Pension: This type of income is entered as Disability (Taxable) when the payments are received for
years of service spent in the military. This is usually given to veterans who are 65 years or older.
Social Security Benefits (SSA): These are paid as retirement, survivor or disability benefits. The amount
subject to taxes depends on the total amount of income and benefits for the taxable year.
SSA less than base Amt.
SSA more than base Amt.
Non-taxable
See Form 1040, line 20b for taxable portion.
Non-taxable
See Form 1040, line 20b for taxable portion.
Non-taxable
See Form 1040, line 20b for taxable portion.
Single, H/H, widower, MFS
$25,000
Married Filing Jointly (MFJ)
$32,000
MFS but living w/ spouse
$0
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or State Supplemental Program (SSP): This type of income is paid to
someone who is considered to be living below the poverty level and, therefore, this is not considered income.
Worker’s compensation: These are paid to individuals who are injured on the job. These are entered in the
Worker’s Compensation box in the Other Non-Taxable Income section.
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Internal Guideline Support Calculator
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#1
Zero-Support Calculations
1.
Heather
2.
Robert
3.
$0.00, because Heather is incarcerated.
4.
Nothing, because Robert is not a party in the case.
5.
SSI/SSP, public assistance, rehabilitation, institutionalized, totally disabled.
6.
$0.00
7.
Initial S&C (11 characters)
8.
Active. (The status must be Active to link the calculation to an S&C.)
#2
Presumed-Income Calculations
1.
Robert
2.
Heather, but she is not a party in the case.
3.
None. Check the Presumed Income check box instead, which bases income on
the current minimum wage at 40 hours per week. Because current income and
income history is unknown.
Note: NCP's support will be reduced if there is any visitation with the child. If
the other parent was the CP, the CP's income may be entered into the
calculation, but it may not affect calculation results.
4.
$494.00 for both children
5.
Initial S&C-Pres Inc (20 characters)
#3
Low-Income Adjustment Calculations
1.
1.0
2.
$279.00
3.
$334.00
4.
Low
5.
NOM-Answer to S&C (17 characters)
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Internal Guideline Support Calculator
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#4
Both Parents are NCPs
1.
Heather or Robert, depending in which case the calculation is run.
2.
Heather or Robert, depending in which case the calculation is run.
3.
16.0
4.
$427.00
5.
$783.00 – Note: Since neither parent has custody, all tax settings for both
parents should be as each parent is single with no dependents. The NCP's tax
settings are single/no dependents by default. The tax settings for the other
parent should be changed as follows: Federal Tax Filing Status = Single, Federal
Tax Exemptions = 1, and all federal and state child-related tax credits = 0.
6.
R&A (3 characters)
#5
Tax Settings
1.
Obligor is Dad because he only has 20% visitation with the minor child in this
case and based on the parties' income and visitation, the GL formula will require
him to pay. The support amount under these circumstances is $397/mo.
2.
Yes. Since the dependent in this case is over 13 years old, Mom does not get
child care credit. Also, if the dependent in this case turned 17 this year, it may
affect Mom's tax credits and liabilities. Higher credits usually mean less tax
liabilities, which usually mean more net disposable income left for purposes of
calculating child support. If Mom could not claim child tax credit, the support
would be $401/mo.
3.
Yes, for the same reason that Mom's tax liabilities and income may change.
Depending on which tax credits are available to Dad, his net disposable income
amount may also change.
#6
Salary vs. Self-Employment – Differences in Sources of Income
1.
Dad’s income of $3,000 per month is earned not from wages/salary but from
self-employment income. This amount is now entered in a different box.
2.
Yes, the amount of child support changed from $397/mo. To $378/mo.
3.
Self-employment income is taxed differently from wages/salary, leaving Dad
with less net disposable income from which to calculate child support. Less net
disposable income means less child support with the same amount of visitation.
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Internal Guideline Support Calculator
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#7
“Kitchen Sink” Exercise
1.
There is no indication that CP Claire is currently married, and if Ned is married
to Wilma, Ned and Clare are also presumably not married to each other. Claire
has David most of the time and he is considered her dependent. Thus, Clare is
Head of Household with 2 exemptions.
Ned is married to Wilma. They have a child together and also have Wilma's
daughter, Victoria, in their household. For tax filing purposes, Ned may claim
Victoria, his step-daughter, as an exemption. Thus, Ned files Married Filing
Jointly (not with the other parent) and claims 4 exemptions.
2.
Claire has earned income and should qualify. Ned and Wilma will not qualify for
Child Care Credit beginning in July because Ned is no longer working. Although a
married couple may qualify even if one of them is disabled or a full-time
student, the other MUST be working so that they have earned income. Victoria
is also turning 13 in August, so she will no longer be a qualifying child. Assuming
that Ned worked during the entire first-half of the year, they would be able to
claim half of the year's child care expenses. Thus, they may qualify for an
average of $150/month child care credit.
3.
Claire will qualify because David is only 2 years old and lives with Claire for more
than half of the year. Ned and Wilma will also qualify for Nicholas and for
Victoria, as both children are well under 17 years old and live with Ned and
Wilma more than half of the year.
4.
Assuming again that Claire's earnings from the library are taxable, she will
qualify for EIC because her gross earnings are only $10,400 ($8/hour x 25
hours/week x 52 weeks/year) for the year. David is only 2 years old and David
lives with her more than half of the year.
Ned and Wilma will also qualify because Ned had earned income for at least the
first part of the year, grossing less than $41,646 ($3,200 x 6 mos.=$19,200),
and both Victoria and Nicholas are under 19 years old and have lived with Ned
and Wilma more than half of the year.
5.
Claire's receipt of student loans does not qualify as income, either under tax
laws or under the California Family Code. Claire's receipt of payments for her
work at the library may or may not be taxable, depending on how her work is
structured. If Claire receives payment for her services at the library, which is
reported on a W-2, then her income is taxable. If Claire's income from the
library is in the form of scholarship, work study, grants, etc., to cover tuition,
books, supplies, etc., and is part of a financial aid program, her income would not
be taxable. Since it is not indicated by the hypothetical otherwise, Claire's
income of $867/month ($10,400 / 12 mos.) is to be treated as regular, taxable
earnings.
6.
Ned's income from state unemployment is taxable if it is paid as replacement
for income because he's out of work and not because it's a disability. State
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unemployment benefits are taxable income under federal law, but are nontaxable under California law. Therefore, when entered as unemployment
(taxable) income, there should be an equal amount entered under "Adjustment
to State Income." Ned's income paid by the private unemployment is nontaxable in an amount equal to his contribution ($150/month x 18 months =
$2,700) and is taxable for the rest.
Wilma's income of $250/month in SSA is probably going to be taxable. The
threshold for whether SSA is taxable is $32,000 gross income for the year
when Married Filing Jointly. Ned's income for the year is anticipated to be
$33,550 alone [($3,200/month x 6 = $19,200) + ($275 x 26 weeks = $7,150) +
($1200/month x 6 = $7,200) = $33,550].
7.
Claire only has David in her household and David is the subject of this guideline
calculation. Therefore, Claire does not get a hardship credit.
Ned has Nicholas in his household and should receive hardship credit because
Nicholas is his biological child. Ned will not get credit for Victoria, however,
because she is not Ned's biological or adopted child. As long as Victoria remains
a step-child to Ned, he will not get a hardship credit for her.
8.
Ned will pay Claire $743/mo. in total for support. This includes $543/mo. in
child support plus $200/mo. for half of the child care costs.
Since Victoria turned 13 in August, she is no longer a qualifying child for
purposes of child care credit. Since Ned stopped earning income in July and
Wilma never had earned income, the couple doesn’t qualify for child care credit
as of July. Thus, for the months of July through December, Ned and Wilma
would not qualify for child care credit.
However, one important point is that (unlike for child tax credit) Ned and Wilma
will not automatically disqualify for the entire year just because Victoria turns
13 during the year. Thus, they would qualify for child care credit for the first
six months of the year. Because we cannot tell the Guideline Calculator that
they qualify for the first half of the year but not the second half, we can play
with the system by telling it that there is a qualifying child and entering only
half of the year’s worth of child care for Ned and Wilma. Thus, they get
$150/mo. child care credit.
What happens if we enter it incorrectly at $300/mo. for child care credit? The
Guideline Calculator will charge Ned an additional $3/mo. in child support.
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Internal Guideline Support Calculator
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Workbook
Notes:
Prepared for the
2010 Annual Child Support Training Conference & Expo
October 5-7, 2010 in Orange County, California
Child Support Directors Association of California in partnership with
California Department of Child Support Services