Connecticut sets child support by combining both parents’ net weekly income — gross pay minus taxes and a defined list of allowable deductions — looking that combined figure up on the state’s Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations for the number of children, then dividing the result in proportion to what each parent contributes to the combined income. The arithmetic is done on worksheet CCSG-1. You can run your own figures through our free child support calculator before sitting down with the official worksheet.
The rules are the Connecticut Child Support and Arrearage Guidelines, issued as regulations by the Commission for Child Support Guidelines under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-215a and codified at sections 46b-215a-1 through 46b-215a-6 of the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies. A revised version took effect August 1, 2026. What follows is an orientation, not a substitute for reading the guidelines or talking to a lawyer.
What changed on August 1, 2026
Section 46b-215a directs the commission to “review and issue updated guidelines every four years.” The commission filed its revised regulation with the Secretary of the State, and the April 2, 2026 commission minutes record that the filing was accepted “and that it will become effective August 1, 2026.” A great deal of published material still describes the July 1, 2015 guidelines, which governed only through July 31, 2026. The changes worth knowing:
- The schedule now runs to $6,000 in combined net weekly income, up from $4,000 — roughly $208,000 a year to roughly $312,000 a year. Families who used to fall off the top of the table now have a guideline number.
- A second worksheet, CCSG-1A, covers cases where a child has more than two legally recognized parents. “Worksheet” in the regulations now means forms CCSG-1 and CCSG-1A, aligning the guidelines with the Connecticut Parentage Act.
- There are written criteria for imputing income. Where a deviation would result in income being imputed to the obligor, new subsection 46b-215a-5c(c) requires the court to consider, to the extent known, that parent’s assets, residence, employment and earnings history, job skills, education, age, health, criminal record and other employment barriers, and record of seeking work, plus the local job market and prevailing local earnings. It also treats full-time employment as 32 hours per week for this purpose.
- Mandatory Connecticut Paid Leave contributions are subtracted. Contributions to the family and medical leave insurance program established by Public Act 19-25 go on the worksheet’s state and local income tax line — they reduce net income rather than count as income.
- Union dues no longer have to be mandatory to be deducted, reflecting the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Janus. Court-ordered support for other children is now deductible whether or not payments are currently being made on those non-arrearage amounts.
- Arrearage rules were reworked, including how Social Security Disability dependency benefits received by a custodial parent credit against arrears.
One change people expect and will not find: the commission considered adopting a shared parenting formula and chose not to. Shared physical custody remains a deviation criterion, not a built-in calculation.
Why Connecticut starts with net income
Most income-shares states build the formula on gross income and let the schedule absorb taxes. Connecticut is in the smaller group that works from net. Gross weekly income is reduced by income taxes, Social Security and Medicare (or mandatory retirement contributions in place of Social Security), health and dental premiums for the parent and the parent’s legal dependents, court-ordered life and disability insurance, union dues, mandatory uniforms and tools, and court-ordered alimony and child support for people outside this case. What is left is net weekly income — the detail that trips people up when they compare a Connecticut worksheet against a calculator built for a gross-income state.
The formula, step by step
- Subtract each parent’s allowable deductions from gross weekly income to get net weekly income.
- Add the two net figures to get combined net weekly income.
- Look up the basic child support obligation on the schedule, using combined net weekly income and the number of children.
- Multiply the basic obligation by each parent’s percentage share of the combined income. That is each parent’s share.
- Work out the health care coverage and child care contribution components, which are separate parts of the award.
- Apply the low-income obligor rules if they fit, and test whether the total presumptive award exceeds 55% of the obligor’s net income.
- Consider whether any deviation criterion applies. If none does, the calculated figures are the presumptive order.
If one parent nets $1,500 a week and the other nets $500, combined net weekly income is $2,000 and the shares are 75% and 25%. Whatever basic obligation the current schedule shows at $2,000 for that number of children, the higher earner carries 75% of it and the other parent 25%, and the same percentages run through the other components.
Get an estimate before you file. Our free child support calculator uses the same income-shares inputs Connecticut’s worksheet does, so you can see roughly where you would land.
Incomes above the top of the schedule
Where combined net weekly income exceeds the top of the table, the regulation says awards are set case by case, consistent with statutory criteria including those in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-84(d). The dollar amount at the top income level becomes the minimum presumptive obligation; the maximum is combined net weekly income multiplied by the applicable percentage shown at that level.
Low-income obligors and the 55% ceiling
Connecticut does not use a “self-support reserve” the way some states do. The protection sits in the shaded portion of the schedule and in a set of special rules. A “low-income obligor” is one whose basic obligation is determined without considering the other parent’s income, using the darker shaded area of the schedule. That obligor’s weekly arrearage payment is the greater of 10% of the weekly current support order or $1 per week. Where the child the arrearage is owed for lives with the obligor, the payment is $1 per week if the obligor’s gross income is at or below 250% of the federal poverty guideline for the household size, and 20% of an imputed support obligation above that line.
Separately, section 46b-215a-4b tests whether the total presumptive award exceeds 55% of the obligor’s net weekly income. If it does, the guidelines allow a downward deviation on components other than current support, to bring the total to not less than 55%.
Modifying an order: the 15% rule
Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-86, an order can be modified on a showing of a substantial change in the circumstances of either party, or on a showing that the order substantially deviates from the guidelines. The statute puts a number on “substantially”: there is a rebuttable presumption that a deviation of less than 15% from the guidelines is not substantial, and that a deviation of 15% or more is substantial.
There is also a review right, but it is narrower than it is often described. Under Conn. Gen. Stat. § 46b-231(s)(4), a parent or custodial party in a IV-D case — one with Office of Child Support Services involvement — can request a review every three years without proving a substantial change, and more frequent reviews require showing one. If your case is not a IV-D case, that review is not available to you and § 46b-86 is your route.
Deviating from the calculated number
The amounts the worksheet produces are presumed correct. The presumption can be rebutted only by a specific finding on the record that the calculated amount would be inequitable or inappropriate, and the finding has to state what the guidelines amount would have been plus a factual justification for the variance. Section 46b-215a-5c closes the list: only the criteria stated there, and checked off in section VIII of the worksheet, will support a deviation. They are other financial resources available to a parent; extraordinary expenses for the child’s care, limited to education, unreimbursable medical and special-needs expenses; extraordinary parental expenses; the needs of a parent’s other dependents; coordination of total family support; and special circumstances, which include shared physical custody, an extraordinary disparity in parental income, and a total award over 55% of net income.
The worksheet and the official text
Orders are calculated on the CCSG-1 worksheet published by the Judicial Branch, which also publishes the guidelines booklet containing the regulation text, preamble and full schedule. At the time of writing the posted booklet is still the July 1, 2015 edition; the revised booklet had not yet replaced it. The Department of Social Services keeps the commission’s record — agendas, minutes, meeting documents and the regulation drafts — on its Commission for Child Support Guidelines page.
FAQ
Does Connecticut use gross or net income for child support?
Net. Each parent’s gross weekly income is reduced by taxes and a defined list of allowable deductions, and the two net figures are what get combined and run against the schedule.
What is the top of the Connecticut child support schedule?
$6,000 in combined net weekly income under the guidelines effective August 1, 2026, up from $4,000 under the July 1, 2015 guidelines. Above the top of the schedule, awards are set case by case, with the amount at the top level acting as the minimum presumptive obligation.
Did the August 1, 2026 guidelines change my existing order?
Not by themselves. An existing order stays in effect until a court modifies it. What the new guidelines can change is the number a recalculation produces, and under § 46b-86 a gap of 15% or more between your order and the current guidelines figure is presumed substantial.
How do I modify a Connecticut child support order?
File a motion to modify and show either a substantial change in circumstances or that the order substantially deviates from the guidelines. In IV-D cases a parent can also request a review every three years without proving a change.
What if the other parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed?
Imputing income runs through the deviation criteria. The guidelines effective August 1, 2026 added factors a court must consider before setting an imputed figure, including employment and earnings history, job skills and education, health, employment barriers, record of seeking work, and the local job market. Full-time employment is treated as 32 hours per week for this purpose.
Where the book fits in
Getting the formula right is only part of doing this yourself — you also need income documentation, a correctly completed worksheet, and a sense of what a court expects before it will grant a deviation or a modification. The Navigating Child Support book covers the process state by state, including Connecticut, and comes with a code for a free forms packet.
This article is for general information only and isn’t legal advice. Child support law changes, and how it applies to your situation depends on facts a website can’t account for. For anything beyond a rough estimate, talk to a licensed Connecticut family law attorney or your local court’s self-help center.
