How Florida Child Support Works: A Single Mom's Guide

A single mom in Florida raising two kids on $2,800 a month after taxes, whose ex nets $4,200, is looking at about $1,431 a month in Florida child support once child care and the kids' health insurance are counted. That figure is not a guess. It falls out of a schedule printed in the state statute, a few lines of arithmetic, and the overnights each parent has with the children.

This guide follows Florida child support in the order a case moves: the math, the add-ons, the overnight adjustment, getting an order, getting paid and changing it later. Every rule was read on the Florida Statutes, Department of Revenue or court page linked beside it on October 21, 2026. It is general information written by a researcher, not a lawyer, and not legal advice.

The short version

• Both parents' net incomes are added together and run through the schedule in section 61.30
• Child care and the kids' health insurance are added on top, then split by income share
• If the other parent has the kids 73 or more nights a year, a different formula applies
• The Department of Revenue opens a case at no charge to you
• An order can be changed when the guideline amount moves by 15% or $50, whichever is greater

Florida child support starts with one schedule

Florida uses an income shares model. The court, or the Department of Revenue in an agency case, adds both parents' monthly net incomes together and looks up that combined figure in the guidelines schedule written into section 61.30, Florida Statutes. The schedule gives a "minimum child support need" for one to six children. Each parent then owes a slice of that need equal to their share of the combined income.

The schedule runs from $800 to $10,000 of combined net income a month. A few rows show how it climbs:

Combined monthly net income	One child	Two children	Three children
$1,000	$235	$365	$397
$2,000	$442	$686	$859
$3,000	$644	$1,001	$1,252
$5,000	$1,000	$1,551	$1,939
$7,000	$1,212	$1,885	$2,362
$10,000	$1,437	$2,228	$2,795
Each dollar above $10,000	plus 5%	plus 7.5%	plus 9.5%

From paycheck to "net income": what goes into the math

For Florida child support, gross income is broad. Section 61.30(2) lists wages, overtime, tips, bonuses, business profits, unemployment, disability and workers' compensation benefits, Social Security, pensions, rental income, interest and alimony. Public assistance, such as temporary cash assistance, is left out.

Each parent then subtracts income taxes, FICA, mandatory union dues and retirement, their own health insurance, and court-ordered support actually paid for other children or a former spouse. What remains is net income.

If the father quits a job or works less by choice, the court can impute income based on his work history and local pay. When a parent refuses to share financial information, the statute presumes income equal to the Census median for year-round full-time workers. The court may decline to impute income to a parent who needs to stay home with the child.

Each side proves income with a Family Law Financial Affidavit, Form 12.902(b) or (c), which Florida's court rules require in most family cases along with mandatory disclosure of pay stubs and tax returns (Florida Courts, General Information for Self-Represented Litigants).

A worked example: a single mom with two kids

Here is the opening Florida child support example run line by line, the way the Child Support Guidelines Worksheet, Form 12.902(e), lays it out. The court instructions say to file the worksheet with your financial affidavit when child support is requested (Form 12.902(e) instructions, Collier County Clerk copy). The mom pays a licensed day care $600 a month so she can work, and the dad's employer plan covers both kids for an extra $150 a month.

Worksheet step	Mom	Dad	Combined
Monthly net income	$2,800	$4,200	$7,000
Share of combined income	40%	60%	100%
Schedule amount, two children			$1,885
Child care paid by mom	$600		$600
Kids' health insurance paid by dad		$150	$150
Total need			$2,635
Each parent's share of the total	$1,054	$1,581
Minus what each already pays out	minus $600	minus $150
Monthly support dad pays mom		$1,431

The single mom's $454 share is never transferred. Under the income shares model, she is treated as spending it on the children in her home, on top of the day care bill she already pays.

Child care and the kids' health insurance ride on top

Child care counts when it is needed for a parent's job, job search or schooling that leads to work, and it is capped at the cost of quality care from a licensed provider. Whatever one parent already pays the provider is credited back to that parent, which is why the single mom in the example subtracts her $600.

Health insurance follows section 61.13. A court must order coverage for the kids when it is reasonable in cost and usable in the child's county. Coverage is presumed reasonable when adding the children costs no more than 5% of the gross income of the parent who carries it. Uncovered medical, dental and prescription bills are split by the same percentages, unless the order says otherwise.

Overnights: the 73-night line

Florida switches to a different formula once the other parent has the children for at least 20% of the overnights in a year, which works out to 73 nights. Under 61.30(11)(b), the court multiplies the basic schedule amount by 1.5, splits it by income share, weights each parent's share by the other parent's overnights, and nets the two figures. Child care and insurance are then credited or debited separately.

For the example single mom, the dad's basic payment does not move at exactly 73 nights, then drops steadily as his nights go up:

At 110 overnights, his basic payment of $844 plus his $300 net share of the child care and insurance bills comes to about $1,144 a month, down from $1,431. That is why time-sharing schedules get argued over in Florida child support cases. A 50/50 custody schedule can bring the transfer close to zero when incomes are similar.

The adjustment is tied to nights actually used. If a parent got the lower amount but does not regularly exercise the time-sharing, section 61.30(11)(c) treats that as a substantial change, and the modification can reach back to the date he first stopped showing up. Keep a calendar of the nights the kids actually spend with him.

The 5% band and other deviations

In Florida child support cases, the guideline amount is presumed correct. A judge may move it up or down by 5% after weighing the children's needs and both parents' finances. Going further than 5% requires a written finding that the guideline amount would be unjust or inappropriate.

The statute lists the grounds, including extraordinary medical or educational costs, a child's special needs, older children's higher costs, seasonal income swings, a time-sharing arrangement just under 20% of overnights, and a guideline result above 55% of the paying parent's gross income. Florida's court forms include a motion to deviate for parents who want to ask.

A low-income payer is treated differently. When his net income is below the schedule, the amount is set case by case and limited by a formula tied to the federal poverty guideline for one person, which is $15,960 a year in 2026 (HHS poverty guidelines). The goal written into the law is to establish the habit of paying.

Two routes to an order: the Department of Revenue or a court case

Most single mothers seeking Florida child support use the Child Support Program at the Department of Revenue. It handles cases in every county except Miami-Dade, where the State Attorney's Office runs services, and Manatee, where the Clerk of Court does (Florida DOR, About the Child Support Program). The program serves more than 879,000 children.

The service costs you nothing. Federal law sets a $1 application fee and an annual fee for families who never received cash assistance, and section 409.2567 has the department waive the first and pay the second itself.

The program sets support, establishes paternity and adds medical support, but not divorce, custody or alimony (Florida DOR, establishing support orders). It can issue an administrative support order without a judge under section 409.2563, folding in a parenting time plan both parents signed, though a later circuit court order supersedes it. Expect roughly four to nine months.

The other route is a petition in circuit court, on your own or with a lawyer, often as part of a divorce or paternity case where custody is also being decided. Free civil help is listed in this site's guide to legal aid for single mothers.

What to gather before you sign up

Documents that speed up a Florida child support case

1. Each child's birth certificate, plus any paternity acknowledgment
2. The father's full name, birth date, last known address, phone and employer
3. Any existing court order on custody, time-sharing or support
4. Your last few pay stubs and last year's tax return
5. Receipts for day care and the kids' insurance premiums
6. A record of any payments he has made and the nights the kids spent with him

If he was violent, tell the program when you sign up; it does not give the other parent your address, though an address in a court file can become visible. A plan for leaving safely with little money covers the first steps.

Never married? Paternity comes first

A child born to an unmarried mother has no legal father until paternity is set, and no father means no support order. There are three ways (Florida DOR, establish paternity): both parents sign an acknowledgment, at the hospital or later before a notary or two witnesses; a judge decides it; or the program orders genetic tests, at no cost, and issues an administrative order of paternity.

If you get temporary cash assistance

If you are a single mom applying for temporary cash assistance, DCF may send your details to the program, but the program says that does not always open a case, so complete the online sign-up too.

While you receive cash assistance, the state keeps support it collects only up to what it paid your family, under section 409.2561. You must cooperate in naming and finding the father, or the cash benefit can be cut off. The program decides whether you have good cause not to cooperate (section 409.2572).

Medicaid alone does not open a case. If you get Medicaid but no cash or SNAP, sign up yourself (Florida DOR, sign up for child support). Other help for single moms in Florida is collected in a separate guide.

Back support for the months before you filed

A first Florida child support order can reach back to the date the parents stopped living together with the child, but no further than 24 months before the petition was filed. This applies to a first order in a paternity, divorce or support case.

The court uses the current schedule and the father's actual income during those months, if he proves it; if he does not, his income at the time of the hearing is used. Money he already paid for the children during that stretch is credited, and the court should consider an installment plan. Waiting to file can cost a single mom months of support.

Getting paid: withholding, the SDU and your card

Every final court order for support comes with a separate income deduction order under section 61.1301, so support is usually taken from his paycheck. The program sends a withholding notice to any employer it can find, and it can take 30 to 60 days before deductions begin (Florida DOR, income withholding). Until then, he is responsible for paying directly.

Florida child support payments flow through the State Disbursement Unit. Florida law requires electronic payment, so after a first paper check you get the money by direct deposit or on a smiONE Visa prepaid card, usually within two days of processing. You can track payments in the program's eServices portal (Florida DOR, receive payments).

Cash or gifts he hands a single mom outside the order are generally not credited as support unless a court says so. Ask him to pay through the order, and keep your monthly budget built on what actually arrives.

If he stops paying

A missed Florida child support payment does not just sit there. Under section 61.14, an unpaid installment can become a final judgment by operation of law after notice to him. The program then has several tools:

• Driver license and registration. Once he is 15 days behind, the program can mail a notice; he has 20 days to pay, sign a payment agreement or prove an exemption, or the state suspends his license (section 61.13016).
• Federal tax refund. His refund can be taken when he owes at least $500, or $150 when the debt is owed to the state (Florida DOR, tax refund offset).
• Passport. Owing more than $2,500 blocks a new or renewed passport, and since May 8, 2026 the State Department has also been revoking passports for unpaid support (Florida DOR, passport denial).

The exemptions, such as unemployment benefits or SSI, are listed on the program's license suspension page.

When Florida child support ends

Orders entered since October 2010 must say that support ends on the child's 18th birthday, unless the child is still in high school, performing in good faith and expected to graduate before 19. In that case support can continue until graduation. The program asks you to contact it six months before your child turns 18 with proof of the graduation date.

Under section 743.07, a court can also order support past 18 for an adult child whose physical or mental disability began before adulthood. In a program case, section 61.14(10) says that if he still owes back support when current support ends, he keeps paying the same monthly rate until the debt is cleared. Closing your case with the program does not end the order itself (Florida DOR, case closure).

Raising or lowering the amount later

A Florida child support order stays at its set amount until it is changed, even after a job loss. To use the guidelines as proof of a change, the new amount must differ from the current one by at least 15% or $50, whichever is greater. When the Department of Revenue reviews an order more than three years old, the bar drops to 10% or $25.

The program also looks for a change that is substantial, permanent and involuntary (Florida DOR, changing a support order). Quitting a job does not count; a layoff that lasts more than a year usually can. Either parent can ask for a review, which tends to take about six months when a change is needed, or file a petition in circuit court. A court can make the new amount retroactive to the filing date.

The rule runs both ways. Section 61.14 lets either parent ask when the other's financial ability changes, so a single mom whose ex lands a lasting raise can ask for a review too.

Frequently asked questions

Can he and I agree to skip child support?

Not by a private deal alone. The guideline amount presumptively sets what the court must order, and a judge can depart only within the 5% band or with a written finding. The program also notes that signing away parental rights does not end a parent's duty to pay; only a court order terminating those rights does.

What if the father is in jail?

Florida law says incarceration cannot be treated as voluntary unemployment when support is set or changed, so jail alone is not a reason to impute income to him. A judge may still deviate from the guideline under 61.30(1)(a). The program lists a parent going to or leaving jail as a change you should report on an open case.

Does the child support program help with custody?

No. The Department of Revenue handles support, paternity and medical coverage, not custody, visitation or divorce. It can fold a parenting time plan that both parents signed into an administrative order. For a contested schedule, a circuit court decides, often after custody mediation, and a family lawyer or legal aid office can help.

I moved out of Florida. Can I still get support from him?

Yes. If he lives in Florida, a single mom living elsewhere can sign up in her own state or directly with Florida. The program suggests your home state, since a Florida court date would mean traveling back. If you receive public assistance where you live, you must apply through that state's agency.

Can I get support for the time before the order?

Yes, within limits. On a first order, the judge may award retroactive support back to when you and the children stopped living with him, capped at 24 months before you filed. Gifts and payments he made for the children in that period are subtracted, and the court may let him pay the balance in installments.

Sources

• The Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 61.30, Child support guidelines; retroactive child support. flsenate.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• The Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 61.13, Support of children; parenting and time-sharing. flsenate.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• The Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 61.1301, Income deduction orders. flsenate.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• The Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 61.13016, Suspension of driver licenses and motor vehicle registrations. flsenate.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• The Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 61.14, Enforcement and modification of support. flsenate.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• The Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 743.07, Rights, privileges and obligations of persons 18 years of age or older. flsenate.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• The Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 409.2561, Support obligations when public assistance is paid. flsenate.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• The Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 409.2563, Administrative establishment of child support obligations. flsenate.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• The Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 409.2567, Services to individuals not otherwise eligible. flsenate.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• The Florida Senate. 2026 Florida Statutes, section 409.2572, Cooperation. flsenate.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. About the Child Support Program. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. Establishing orders for child and medical support. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. Sign up for child support services. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. Establish paternity. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. Receive payments. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. Income withholding. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. Driver license and registration suspension. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. Federal income tax refunds. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. Passport application denial and revocation. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. Changing a support order. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Department of Revenue. Case closure. floridarevenue.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Florida Courts. General information for self-represented litigants (02/18). flcourts-media.flcourts.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• Collier County Clerk of Courts. Instructions for Florida Family Law Rules of Procedure Form 12.902(e), Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (11/20). collierclerk.com (retrieved October 21, 2026)
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ASPE. HHS poverty guidelines for 2026. aspe.hhs.gov (retrieved October 21, 2026)