Tennessee Child Support Calculator (2026)

How Tennessee calculates child support

Tennessee uses the income-shares model under T.C.A. Section 36-5-101 and the Child Support Guidelines in Chapter 1240-02-04 of the Department of Human Services rules. The parents’ monthly adjusted gross incomes are added, the schedule gives a basic child support obligation for that combined income and the number of children, and each parent is assigned a share in proportion to income. The parent with less residential time, the alternate residential parent (ARP), pays their share of the basic obligation.

The current guidelines took effect October 1, 2021. They are still the version applied to orders entered in 2026; the Department’s page lists them as the most recent changes, and the 2025 review did not produce a new schedule.

This page covers the basic obligation. The official worksheet also handles parenting time, child care, health insurance, and deviations.

The schedule and the round-up rule

The schedule runs from $150 to $28,250 of combined monthly adjusted gross income in $50 steps, with columns for one, two, three, four, and five-or-more children. The first band, up to $950, carries a $100 minimum obligation for every family size.

Between two rows, the rule is explicit: round up to the next amount of combined adjusted gross income. An income of $8,010 uses the $8,050 row. Above $28,250 the schedule adds a percentage of the excess (6.81% for one child, 7.22% for two, 7.77% for three, 8.05% for four, and 8.66% for five or more), so the obligation keeps rising with income instead of stopping at a cap.

The schedule’s last column covers five or more children, so six children use the five-child amount. This calculator shows that column for both five and six.

Adjusted gross income

Tennessee starts with gross monthly income from all sources and asks for an adjusted figure. The worksheet subtracts self-employment tax actually paid and applies credits for children who live with the parent and for children the parent supports under another order. Income tax and FICA are not deducted.

Income includes wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, self-employment and business income, rent, interest, dividends, pensions, Social Security, unemployment, and workers’ compensation. The court can impute income when a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. A calculator that takes one monthly figure per parent cannot reproduce the credits or an imputation finding.

Parenting time and additional expenses

The basic obligation assumes the child lives primarily in one household. The worksheet adjusts for parenting time on lines 5 and 6: it compares the variable costs (food, transportation, some entertainment) that each parent incurs with the child, based on the number of days and the children’s ages. The adjustment reduces the paying parent’s share.

Child care needed for work, the children’s health insurance premium, and uninsured medical costs are added to the basic obligation and shared by income proportion. The court can also deviate for special needs or extraordinary circumstances. None of those amounts are included in this estimate, and the parenting-time adjustment is not applied.

For low-income obligors, Rule 1240-02-04-.04(6)(a) requires a comparison when the obligor’s income falls in the shaded area of the schedule. That comparison can produce a lower obligation based on the obligor’s income alone. This calculator shows the combined-income amount, so an estimate near the bottom of the schedule can be high.

A Tennessee example at $8,000 combined

Parent A earns $5,000 and Parent B earns $3,000 of monthly adjusted gross income, with two children. Combined income is $8,000, and the schedule gives $1,317. Parent A’s 62.5% share is $823.13 a month, or about $823.

With one earner at $10,000 and one child, the schedule gives $1,158. Parent A at $20,000 and Parent B at $15,000 with two children is above the top of the schedule: $2,803 plus 7.22% of the $6,750 over $28,250 is $3,290.35, and Parent A’s four-sevenths share is $1,880.

When the official worksheet is the better choice

The Department’s worksheet and its automated calculator handle the full calculation: the adjusted income credits, the schedule, the parenting-time adjustment, child care, health insurance, and deviations. Use them if the parents share residential time, if either parent supports children in another household, or if income must be imputed.

A Tennessee family law attorney is the right next step when the parents disagree about income or residential time. The guideline amount is the starting point; the court’s order controls.

Frequently asked questions