How Louisiana Calculates Child Support
Louisiana uses the Income Shares model for child support. The governing law is Louisiana Revised Statutes Sections 9:315 through 9:315.15. Louisiana's guidelines combine both parents' monthly gross incomes to establish the total obligation and then split that obligation proportionally by income. The guidelines apply in all child support proceedings throughout the state regardless of whether the parents were married.
Louisiana uses gross income as its starting point, income before taxes and mandatory deductions. This is consistent with the majority of Income Shares states.
The Louisiana Child Support Formula
Louisiana's calculation follows four steps.
Step one is identifying each parent's monthly gross income. Step two is combining both gross incomes into the combined monthly gross income. Step three is finding the total monthly child support obligation in Louisiana's schedule using the combined income and number of children. Step four is calculating each parent's income share percentage and applying it to the total obligation.
A practical example: Parent A earns $4,000 per month. Parent B earns $2,500 per month. Combined monthly gross income is $6,500. Parent A's income share is 61.5 percent. Parent B's income share is 38.5 percent. If Louisiana's schedule shows a total obligation of $1,150 for two children at $6,500 combined income, Parent A's base obligation is $707 per month. Healthcare and childcare add-ons are allocated on top of that figure.
Louisiana's schedule covers a range of combined income levels. When combined income exceeds the top of the schedule, courts use the maximum table amount as a baseline and may order additional support based on the children's demonstrated needs.
What Counts as Income in Louisiana
Louisiana courts include wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, overtime, self-employment income, rental income, pension and retirement distributions, Social Security benefits, SSDI payments, unemployment compensation, workers' compensation, and income from any regular source.
For self-employed parents, Louisiana allows a deduction for ordinary and necessary business expenses before calculating gross income. Net business profit, after legitimate expenses, is the income figure used for self-employed parents.
Louisiana courts can impute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed based on work history, skills, and local job market conditions.
Louisiana also allows each parent to deduct the cost of their own health insurance premium from gross income before entering the formula. This is separate from the add-on for the children's health insurance costs.
Step-by-Step: How to Use This Calculator
Step 1. Determine your gross monthly income. For wage earners, use income before taxes. For self-employed parents, use net profit after legitimate business expenses.
Step 2. Subtract your own health insurance premium if you pay for your own coverage. Louisiana allows this deduction from gross income before the combined income is calculated.
Step 3. Estimate the other parent's gross monthly income using the same approach.
Step 4. Enter the number of children covered by this order.
Step 5. Enter your parenting time percentage. Count actual days of physical custody per year and divide by 365. Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 9:315.8 applies a specific shared custody calculation when the non-custodial parent has 73 or more days of physical custody per year, approximately 20 percent.
Step 6. Add healthcare costs. Enter the monthly premium for the children's health insurance.
Step 7. Add childcare costs. Enter monthly work-related childcare expenses.
Step 8. Review the full breakdown before accepting the result.
Parenting Time Adjustments in Louisiana
Louisiana applies a specific shared custody calculation when the non-custodial parent has 73 or more days of physical custody per year. Below 73 days, the standard Income Shares formula applies with no parenting time credit. At 73 days and above, Louisiana's shared custody formula under RS 9:315.8 accounts for both parents' direct spending during their respective custody periods and reduces the net obligation accordingly.
At near-equal physical custody time, both parents' obligations are calculated using the shared custody formula. The parent with the higher net obligation pays the difference.
The 73-day threshold is a hard line in Louisiana. Moving across it triggers a fundamentally different calculation. If your custody time is close to that mark, an accurate day count matters.
Add-On Expenses in Louisiana
Louisiana adds net childcare costs and health insurance premiums for the children to the base obligation, allocated proportionally by income share. RS 9:315.3 covers the specific add-on categories. Courts may also address extraordinary medical expenses, educational costs, and other necessary child-specific expenses through the order.
Reading Your Results
The results display shows the combined monthly gross income, the total obligation from Louisiana's schedule, each parent's income share percentage, the shared custody adjustment if applicable at 73 or more days, add-on costs, and the final monthly obligation.
Confirm your income entry reflects Louisiana's rules for self-employment income and that you applied the self-insurance deduction if you pay for your own health coverage. Both adjustments can meaningfully shift the final result.
After You Get Your Estimate
Louisiana courts follow the RS 9:315 guidelines in all standard cases. Deviation is permitted when a party proves by a preponderance of evidence that applying the guidelines would be inequitable. Courts consider the child's needs, both parents' financial resources, and any extraordinary circumstances.
Louisiana allows modification when there has been a material change in circumstances. A commonly referenced threshold is a 25 percent or more change in the calculated obligation. Louisiana also permits modification when three years have passed and the current order differs from the current guideline amount by 25 percent or more, regardless of whether a specific change in circumstances has occurred. If three years have passed since your last order, a new calculation is worth running.
A licensed Louisiana family law attorney can advise on shared custody calculations and whether the three-year review provision applies to your situation. Many offer a free initial consultation.