North Carolina Child Support Worksheets Line by Line: AOC-CV-627, 628, and 629 Explained

If one parent has the children 243 nights or more a year, you use Worksheet A (AOC-CV-627). If the parents share custody of at least one child — meaning the child lives with each parent at least 123 nights a year and each parent covers that child’s expenses during their own time — you use Worksheet B (AOC-CV-628). If there are two or more children, none of them shared, and each parent has primary custody of at least one, you use Worksheet C (AOC-CV-629). All three run off the same North Carolina Child Support Guidelines schedule (AOC-A-162), currently the version effective January 1, 2023. Run your own numbers first with the child support calculator, then use this walkthrough to check the worksheet math by hand.

This article explains what the state’s own forms and guidelines say. It is not legal advice, and it does not replace review by a family law attorney or your local IV-D child support office.

Which worksheet applies to your custody arrangement

North Carolina’s guidelines instruct courts to pick the worksheet based on overnights, not on legal custody labels. A parent can have joint legal custody and still end up on Worksheet A if the actual overnight schedule is lopsided. The guidelines state this directly: “Primary physical custody is determined without regard to whether a parent has primary, shared, or joint legal custody of a child,” and the same disclaimer is repeated for shared custody (NC Child Support Guidelines, AOC-A-162, Rev. 1/23, p. 5). Worksheet B’s own instructions add that “Child support computations for shared and split custody are determined without regard to whether a parent has primary, shared, or joint legal custody of a child” (AOC-CV-628, Side Two, Rev. 1/23).

Worksheet A — Primary Custody (AOC-CV-627). Use this when one parent, or a third party such as a grandparent with custody, has all of the children for 243 nights or more per year. The form’s instructions put it as “more than two-thirds of the year (243 nights or more during the year).” This is the default worksheet for a standard “every other weekend” schedule (NC Guidelines, p. 5; AOC-CV-627, Side Two, Rev. 1/23).

Worksheet B — Joint or Shared Physical Custody (AOC-CV-628). Two situations send you here: the parents share custody of all the children, or one parent has primary custody of one or more children and the parents share custody of another child (NC Guidelines, p. 5). Sharing custody of a child has two conditions, and both have to be met — the child “lives with each parent for at least 123 nights during the year” and “each parent assumes financial responsibility for the child’s expenses during the time the child lives with that parent” (NC Guidelines, p. 5). Worksheet B’s instructions make the second condition explicit: the worksheet is for situations involving “a true sharing of expenses, rather than extended visitation with one parent that exceeds 122 overnights” (AOC-CV-628, Side Two, Rev. 1/23).

The 123-night floor is a hard cutoff, and the form says so in a STOP box printed before Line 1: “Stop here if the number of overnights with either parent is less than 123, in which case shared physical custody does not apply (and see Worksheet A, AOC-CV-627)” (AOC-CV-628, Rev. 1/23, STOP notice on the front of the form). A parent with, say, 100 overnights a year of generous visitation does not qualify for Worksheet B no matter how much they contribute financially during that time — the guidelines say a parent “does not have shared custody of a child when that parent has visitation rights that allow the child to spend less than 123 nights per year with the parent and the other parent has primary physical custody of the child” (NC Guidelines, p. 5).

Worksheet C — Split Custody (AOC-CV-629). Use this when there are two or more children in the case and each parent has primary physical custody of at least one of them — for example, a 14-year-old lives primarily with Dad and a 9-year-old lives primarily with Mom. If, on top of that split, the parents also share one of the children under the 123-overnight test, you don’t use Worksheet C at all. The guidelines direct: “Do not use Worksheet C when the parents share custody of one or more of the children and have primary physical custody or split custody of another child — instead, use Worksheet B” (NC Guidelines, p. 6).

One more branch point worth flagging before you pick up a pen: if the obligor’s income falls in the shaded, low-income band of the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations and you’re on Worksheet A, you stop early and calculate support off that parent’s income alone. That shortcut is Worksheet A only — the guidelines say twice, once for each form, “Do not apply the self-sufficiency reserve incorporated into the shaded area of the schedule when using Worksheet B” and the same for Worksheet C (NC Guidelines, pp. 5–6). More on this below.

Where all three worksheets start: gross income, adjusted income, and percentage share

Lines 1 through 3 are identical in form and purpose across Worksheet A, B, and C. If you understand these three lines, you understand roughly a third of the entire exercise.

Line 1 — Monthly Gross Income. Enter each parent’s monthly gross income in their own column. “Income” under the guidelines is broad: wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, dividends, severance pay, self-employment or business income (gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary business expenses), rental income, retirement and pension income, interest, trust and annuity income, capital gains, Social Security benefits, workers’ compensation, unemployment benefits, disability pay, gifts, prizes, and alimony or maintenance received from someone other than the other party to this case (NC Guidelines, p. 3, “Gross Income”). Specifically excluded are adoption assistance benefits and means-tested public assistance — TANF, SSI, Electronic Food and Nutrition Benefits, General Assistance — along with child support received on behalf of a different child (NC Guidelines, p. 3).

If a parent’s voluntary unemployment or underemployment is the result of bad faith or deliberate suppression of income, the court can impute income based on the parent’s assets, recent work history, occupational qualifications, and prevailing job opportunities in the community. Two limits: potential income “may not be imputed to a parent who is physically or mentally incapacitated,” and incarceration “may not be treated as voluntary unemployment in establishing or modifying a child support order” (NC Guidelines, p. 3, “Potential or Imputed Income”).

Between Line 1 and Line 2 — the two lettered deduction rows. All three worksheets print two subtraction rows between Line 1 and Line 2: a. Minus pre-existing child support payment and b. Minus responsibility for other children. These are the only two deductions that convert gross income into adjusted gross income. (Line 4 has no sub-lines on any of the three forms.)

Row a. captures child support that parent is actually paying under an existing court order, separation agreement, or voluntary support arrangement for other children. It does not matter whether those children were born before or after the children in this case, and payments toward arrearages do not count (NC Guidelines, p. 4). Row b. captures that parent’s financial responsibility for their own natural or adopted children who currently live with them, which the guidelines define as the basic child support obligation for those children based on that parent’s income alone (NC Guidelines, p. 4).

Line 2 — Monthly Adjusted Gross Income. Line 1 minus rows a. and b., for each parent. Add both parents’ figures together for the Combined column.

Line 3 — Percentage Share of Income. Divide each parent’s Line 2 income by the Combined Line 2 figure. This percentage becomes the ratio you’ll use later to split expenses and, in Worksheet A, to allocate the total obligation itself.

Worksheet A, line by line

Line 4 — Basic Child Support Obligation. Take the Combined adjusted gross income from Line 2 and look it up on the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations (printed as pages 7–25 of AOC-A-162), cross-referenced against the number of children in the case. If the Combined income falls between two amounts printed on the schedule, interpolate (NC Guidelines, p. 4, “Basic Child Support Obligation”). Two important edge cases live on this line:

• Low-income / self-support reserve. The guidelines build in a self-support reserve based on the 2022 federal poverty level for one person, $1,133/month. For an obligor with adjusted gross income of less than $1,150/month, the guidelines require, absent a deviation, a $50 minimum support order. For obligors above $1,150, the schedule itself carries a further adjustment that preserves the reserve, which the guidelines say “prevents disproportionate increases in the child support obligation with moderate increases in income.” If the obligor’s income falls in the shaded band and Worksheet A is used, the basic obligation and total obligation are computed using only that parent’s income, and you do not proceed further on the worksheet — child care and health insurance premiums are not used in that calculation, though payment of those costs by either parent may be a basis to ask the court to deviate (NC Guidelines, p. 2, “Self-Support Reserve; Supporting Parents With Low Incomes”; AOC-CV-627, Side Two, Rev. 1/23). Again, this shaded-band shortcut does not carry over to Worksheet B or Worksheet C.
• High income above the schedule. The printed schedule tops out at combined adjusted gross income of $40,000/month ($480,000/year); the last printed row is $3,246 for one child. Above that ceiling the guidelines state flatly that “the supporting parent’s basic child support obligation cannot be determined by using the child support schedule.” The court instead sets support in an amount to meet the child’s reasonable needs for health, education, and maintenance, with due regard to the estates, earnings, conditions, and accustomed standard of living of the child and the parties, under the first sentence of G.S. 50-13.4(c) — though the guidelines note the schedule “may be of assistance to the court in determining a minimal level of child support” (NC Guidelines, p. 2).

Line 5 — Adjustments. These are the three add-on categories, entered in each parent’s own column based on who actually pays them:

• 5a — Work-related child care costs. Reasonable child care costs a parent pays or will pay “due to employment or job search” are added to the basic obligation and prorated between the parents based on their respective incomes — not assigned entirely to the paying parent (NC Guidelines, p. 4, “Child Care Costs”). Child care for other reasons, such as while a parent attends school, is not added here; the guidelines treat it as a possible basis for deviation instead.
• 5b — Health insurance premium, child’s portion only. Only the portion of the premium actually attributable to the children in this case counts. If the child is on a family policy and the child-specific cost can’t be verified, the form prints the math: total premium ÷ number of persons covered × number of children subject to the order (AOC-CV-627, Rev. 1/23, line 5b; NC Guidelines, p. 4). Premiums an employer pays that are not deducted from the parent’s wages are not included. Separately, the guidelines note that the basic schedule amount already includes $250 per child per year for uninsured medical and dental expenses; costs above that $250 can be ordered paid by either or both parents “in such proportion as the court deems appropriate,” and that is true even in shaded-area cases (NC Guidelines, p. 5). Health insurance is “reasonable” to require if the coverage costs the parent no more than five percent of gross income, under G.S. 50-13.11(a1) (NC Guidelines, p. 5).
• 5c — Extraordinary expenses. Expenses for special or private elementary or secondary schools to meet a child’s particular educational needs, and expenses for transporting the child between the parents’ homes, may be added here and ordered paid in proportion to income “if the court determines the expenses are reasonable, necessary, and in the child’s best interest” (NC Guidelines, p. 5, “Other Extraordinary Expenses”).
• 5d — Total Adjustments. Add 5a + 5b + 5c down each parent’s column, then add both parents’ totals together for the Combined figure.

Line 6 — Total Child Support Obligation. Add Line 4 Combined and Line 5d Combined. This is the full monthly amount both parents together are expected to cover.

Line 7 — Each Parent’s Child Support Obligation. Multiply Line 6 by each parent’s Line 3 percentage.

Line 8 — Non-Custodial Parent Adjustment. Enter the non-custodial parent’s own Line 5d — the add-on expenses that parent already pays directly. The instructions are explicit: “leave the custodial parent’s column blank and do not enter any amount paid by the custodial parent” (AOC-CV-627, Side Two, Rev. 1/23).

Line 9 — Recommended Child Support Order. Subtract Line 8 from Line 7, “for the non-custodial parent only. Leave custodial parent column blank” (AOC-CV-627, Rev. 1/23, line 9). That figure is the presumptive monthly order. Worksheet A produces a number in one column only; there is no line on the form that generates a payment running the other direction.

What changes on Worksheet B (joint/shared custody)

Lines 1 through 4 on Worksheet B are calculated exactly like Worksheet A. Everything after that is different because both parents are maintaining a home for the children.

Line 5 — Shared Custody Basic Obligation. Multiply Line 4 by 1.5. In shared-custody cases “the parents’ combined basic support obligation is increased by 50% (multiplied by 1.5)” (NC Guidelines, p. 6) — a step the worksheet’s own instructions explain is “to take into account the increased cost of maintaining two primary homes for the child(ren)” (AOC-CV-628, Side Two, Rev. 1/23). This multiplier is the mathematical core of why shared-custody worksheets behave differently from Worksheet A at identical incomes.

Line 6 — Each Parent’s Portion of Shared Custody Support Obligation. Multiply Line 5 by each parent’s Line 3 income percentage.

Lines 7–8 — Overnights. Line 7 is the number of overnights the children spend with each parent; the form requires that the Combined figure “must total 365 × total number of children.” Line 8 divides each parent’s Line 7 by that same combined total to get an overnight percentage. If either parent’s overnights come in under 123, you should have stopped at the STOP box and gone to Worksheet A (AOC-CV-628, Rev. 1/23, STOP notice on the front of the form).

Line 9 — Support Obligation for Time with Other Parent. Cross-multiply: plaintiff’s Line 6 × defendant’s Line 8, entered in the plaintiff’s column; defendant’s Line 6 × plaintiff’s Line 8, entered in the defendant’s column (AOC-CV-628, Rev. 1/23, line 9). This converts each parent’s dollar obligation into what that parent owes for the time the children are at the other parent’s house.

Lines 10–12 — Adjustments and fair share. Lines 10a–10d mirror Worksheet A’s 5a–5d: child care, health insurance (child’s portion only), extraordinary expenses, totaled. Line 11 multiplies Line 10d Combined by each parent’s Line 3 percentage to get each parent’s fair share of those costs. Line 12 subtracts Line 11 from what that parent actually paid on Line 10d — and the form face says: “If negative number, enter zero.”

Line 13 — Each Parent’s Adjusted Support Obligation. Line 9 minus Line 12. The instructions warn that this can come out negative: “If the result is negative, enter it as a negative number on line 13, not as a positive number or as a zero” (AOC-CV-628, Side Two, Rev. 1/23).

Line 14 — Recommended Child Support Order. Subtract the lesser Line 13 amount from the greater and enter the difference directly under the greater amount. Only one column gets filled in. The instructions add a reminder that trips people up: “if either of the numbers on line 13 is a negative number, you must change the signs when you subtract. For example, $100 minus negative $50 equals $150.”

What changes on Worksheet C (split custody)

Lines 1 through 4 again track Worksheet A. From there:

Line 5a — Split Custody Adjustment. Enter how many children live with each parent, and under Combined, the total number of children.

Line 5b. Divide the number of children with each parent by the total. The form’s own example: with three children total and one living with the plaintiff, that’s 33.33% in the plaintiff’s column and 66.67% in the defendant’s (AOC-CV-629, Side Two, Rev. 1/23).

Line 5c. Multiply Line 4 by each parent’s Line 5b percentage.

Lines 6a/6b — Cross-support. This is the step people trip over: multiply the other parent’s Line 5c by this parent’s Line 3 income share. Line 6a is “PLAINTIFF’S SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN WITH DEFENDANT (multiply defendant’s line 5c by plaintiff’s line 3),” and Line 6b is the mirror image (AOC-CV-629, Rev. 1/23). In plain terms: each parent owes a share, proportional to their income, of the basic obligation attributable to the children who live primarily with the other parent.

Lines 7–9 — Adjustments and fair share. Same structure as Worksheet A’s 5a–5d and Worksheet B’s 10–12. Line 7a–7d is child care, health insurance (child’s portion only), and extraordinary expenses, totaled. Line 8 is each parent’s fair share, Line 7d Combined × Line 3. Line 9 is Line 7d minus Line 8, “If negative number, enter zero.”

Line 10 — Each Parent’s Adjusted Support Obligation. Line 6a or 6b minus Line 9. As on Worksheet B, a negative result stays negative on this line.

Line 11 — Recommended Child Support Order. Same offset logic as Worksheet B: subtract the lesser Line 10 amount from the greater and enter the difference under the greater amount.

A worked example

Take two parents with one child. Mom’s gross monthly income is $4,500; Dad’s is $3,000. Neither has other children or existing support obligations, so adjusted gross income equals gross income for both.

• Combined adjusted gross income: $7,500/month.
• Mom’s share: 4,500 ÷ 7,500 = 60%. Dad’s share: 3,000 ÷ 7,500 = 40%.

Looking up $7,500 of combined adjusted gross income for one child on the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations gives a basic obligation of $1,109. ($7,500 is a printed row on the schedule, so no interpolation is needed; interpolation only comes up when your combined income lands between two printed rows.) Assume no child care or extraordinary expenses, and a $150/month health insurance premium for the child, paid by Mom.

If the child lives primarily with Mom (Worksheet A applies, Dad is the non-custodial parent):

• Line 4 (Combined): $1,109
• Line 5d: Mom $150, Dad $0, Combined $150
• Line 6 (Total obligation): $1,259
• Line 7: Mom’s share = 60% × $1,259 = $755.40. Dad’s share = 40% × $1,259 = $503.60.
• Line 8: Dad’s own Line 5d = $0 (he didn’t pay the premium).
• Line 9: Dad’s recommended order = $503.60 − $0 = $503.60/month, payable to Mom.

If instead the parents split overnights so Dad has the child 150 nights a year and Mom has 215 (both over 123, so Worksheet B applies):

• Line 4 (Combined basic obligation): $1,109 (same schedule lookup)
• Line 5 (× 1.5 shared-custody multiplier): $1,663.50
• Line 6: Mom = 60% × $1,663.50 = $998.10. Dad = 40% × $1,663.50 = $665.40.
• Lines 7–8: Mom 215 ÷ 365 = 58.9%. Dad 150 ÷ 365 = 41.1%.
• Line 9: Mom = $998.10 × 41.1% = $410.18. Dad = $665.40 × 58.9% = $391.95.
• Line 10d: Mom $150, Dad $0, Combined $150.
• Line 11 (fair share of adjustments): Mom = 60% × $150 = $90. Dad = 40% × $150 = $60.
• Line 12: Mom = $150 − $90 = $60. Dad = $0 − $60 is negative, so enter $0.
• Line 13: Mom = $410.18 − $60 = $350.18. Dad = $391.95 − $0 = $391.95.
• Line 14: Dad’s Line 13 is the greater figure, so Dad pays $391.95 − $350.18 = $41.77/month to Mom.

The gap between $503.60 and $41.77 comes from these particular inputs — this income split, this overnight split, and one parent carrying the whole premium. Change any of them and the offset moves, sometimes sharply; the 1.5 multiplier can also push a shared-custody obligation above the Worksheet A figure in other configurations. These figures are illustrative, built to show the arithmetic flow. Pull the exact number for your income bracket off the current Schedule of Basic Support Obligations rather than estimating.

Deviating from the guidelines

The worksheet produces a presumptive number, not a mandatory one. Under G.S. 50-13.4(c), the court applies the guidelines, but “upon request of any party, the Court shall hear evidence” on the reasonable needs of the child and the relative ability of each parent to provide support. The court may deviate — up or down — if it finds by the greater weight of the evidence that applying the guidelines “would not meet, or would exceed, the reasonable needs of the child considering the relative ability of each parent to provide support, or would otherwise be unjust or inappropriate” (NC Guidelines, p. 1, “Applicability and Deviation”; G.S. 50-13.4(c)).

If the court deviates, it must make written findings that (1) state the presumptive guideline amount, (2) determine the child’s reasonable needs and each parent’s relative ability to provide support, (3) support the conclusion that the presumptive amount is inadequate, excessive, or otherwise unjust or inappropriate, and (4) state the basis on which it set the amount actually ordered (NC Guidelines, p. 1). The guidelines offer one illustrative example: “when one parent pays 100% of the child support obligation and 100% of the insurance premium.”

When the court does not deviate, the guideline amount is “conclusively presumed to meet the reasonable needs of a child,” and no specific findings about the child’s needs are required.

Modifying an existing order

Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 50-13.7(a), a child support order “may be modified or vacated at any time, upon motion in the cause and a showing of changed circumstances by either party or anyone interested subject to the limitations of G.S. 50-13.10.” (That cross-reference matters: G.S. 50-13.10 governs when past-due installments become vested, which limits how far back a modification can reach.)

The guidelines add a presumptive shortcut. In a proceeding to modify an order “that was entered at least three years before the pending motion to modify was filed, a difference of 15% or more between the amount of child support payable under the existing order and the amount of child support resulting from application of the guidelines based on the parents’ current incomes and circumstances shall be presumed to constitute a substantial change of circumstances warranting modification” (NC Guidelines, p. 6, “Modification”).

Two things to read carefully in that sentence. The 15% test compares the existing order against a fresh guideline calculation — it is not a test of how much anyone’s income changed. And it is a presumption, not the only route: outside the three-year window, a party can still move to modify on a case-by-case showing of changed circumstances under the statute.

The guidelines also incorporate two federal rules: incarceration may not be treated as voluntary unemployment when establishing or modifying an order (45 C.F.R. § 302.56(c)(3)), and the need to provide for a child’s health care needs is itself a substantial change of circumstances warranting modification “regardless of whether an adjustment in the amount of child support is necessary” (45 C.F.R. § 303.8(d)) (NC Guidelines, p. 6).

For a shorter, plain-English overview of how the North Carolina guideline works as a whole, see our general walkthrough of NC child support worksheets A, B and C.

Frequently asked questions

Do I automatically get Worksheet B if I have joint legal custody? No. Joint or shared legal custody has no bearing on which worksheet applies. Two conditions have to be met for shared custody: the child lives with each parent at least 123 nights a year, and each parent assumes financial responsibility for the child’s expenses during their own time (NC Guidelines, p. 5).

What happens if I fall one overnight short of 123? Worksheet B does not apply. The form’s STOP box says shared physical custody “does not apply” below 123 overnights and directs you to Worksheet A (AOC-CV-628, Rev. 1/23, STOP notice on the front of the form).

Does Worksheet C apply if we share custody of one child and split the others? No. If any child in the case is shared under the 123-overnight test, the guidelines direct you to Worksheet B instead of Worksheet C, even if the remaining children are split between primary homes (NC Guidelines, p. 6).

Does the low-income shaded-area rule apply on every worksheet? No. It applies on Worksheet A. The guidelines say expressly, once for each form, not to apply the self-sufficiency reserve built into the shaded area of the schedule when using Worksheet B or Worksheet C (NC Guidelines, pp. 5–6).

What income counts toward “gross income” on Line 1? Nearly everything — wages, self-employment income net of ordinary and necessary business expenses, bonuses, commissions, dividends, severance, rental income, retirement and Social Security benefits, workers’ compensation, unemployment, disability pay, gifts, prizes, and alimony from someone other than the other party in this case. Adoption assistance and means-tested benefits like TANF, SSI, and food and nutrition benefits are excluded, as is child support received on behalf of a different child (NC Guidelines, p. 3).

Is there a minimum child support order in North Carolina? Yes. Absent a deviation, an obligor with adjusted gross income of less than $1,150/month is presumed to owe a $50/month minimum order. That figure reflects the guidelines’ self-support reserve, built on the 2022 federal poverty level for one person of $1,133/month (NC Guidelines, p. 2).

What if our combined income is higher than the schedule covers? The Schedule of Basic Support Obligations stops at $40,000/month combined adjusted gross income ($480,000/year). Above that, the guidelines say the basic obligation “cannot be determined by using the child support schedule,” and the court sets support on the child’s reasonable needs under the first sentence of G.S. 50-13.4(c) (NC Guidelines, p. 2).

How often does North Carolina update the child support guidelines and schedule? By statute, the Conference of Chief District Judges must review the guidelines “periodically, but at least once every four years” (G.S. 50-13.4(c1)). The guidelines currently in effect took effect January 1, 2023. The Conference opened its next review in 2026: written comments were due May 25, 2026, and a public hearing was held June 4, 2026 in Raleigh. As of this article’s publication, no replacement guidelines have been adopted and no new effective date has been announced — the January 2023 version remains what courts apply, and it is the version posted on the Judicial Branch’s forms page. If a revision is adopted, the Administrative Office of the Courts must report it to the General Assembly before it takes effect, and the current version will move to the Judicial Branch’s “Previous Child Support Guidelines” page.

Related reading

If you’re comparing how other states structure their worksheets, see our line-by-line breakdowns of Florida’s Form 12.902(e) child support guidelines worksheet, Georgia’s Child Support Worksheet and Schedules A–E, Florida’s Form 12.902(c) long-form financial affidavit, and the New Jersey Case Information Statement.

Before you file

None of this is legal advice, and a worksheet calculation is only as good as the income and custody numbers you put into it. The forms themselves make the same point: “The information required to complete the worksheet is known only to the parties,” and the Clerk of Superior Court cannot obtain that information or fill out the worksheet for you. If your case involves imputed income, a business owner’s income, a high-income household above the schedule cap, or a contested custody schedule, talk to a family law attorney or apply for assistance at the IV-D agency in your county before you rely on a self-calculated number in court. Run your numbers through the child support calculator before your hearing. And for a plain-language walkthrough of the whole process, including where self-represented parents most often get tripped up, see the Navigating Child Support book.