Utah Child Support: How It's Calculated

Short answer: Utah calculates child support using the income shares model — combining both parents' gross monthly incomes, finding the base support obligation on a statutory table, and dividing it proportionally based on each parent's share of the combined income. Which specific worksheet applies depends heavily on the custody arrangement, especially how many overnights each parent has.

Who this guide is for

Parents in Utah trying to understand how a child support amount actually gets calculated — whether you're establishing it for the first time or trying to understand an existing order.

The basic formula

1. Combine both parents' gross monthly income — Utah defines this broadly, including wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, rental income, dividends, pensions, Social Security, workers' compensation, unemployment, and trust income.
2. Look up the base combined support obligation on Utah's statutory guidelines table, which covers combined incomes from $726 to $100,000 per month (courts use discretion for combined incomes above that).
3. Divide the obligation proportionally based on each parent's share of the combined income — the parent earning a larger share of the combined income generally pays a larger share of the support obligation.

Why the custody arrangement changes everything

Utah uses different worksheets depending on physical custody:

• Sole physical custody worksheet — used when one parent has the child the significant majority of the time.
• Joint physical custody worksheet — used only when each parent has at least 111 overnights per year with the child. Below that threshold, the sole-custody calculation applies instead, even if custody is otherwise described as "joint" in other respects.

This 111-overnight line is a specific, numeric threshold worth knowing if a parenting schedule is close to that boundary — small schedule changes near that line can meaningfully affect which worksheet, and therefore what support amount, applies.

The minimum order

Utah sets a minimum child support order of $30 per month, even in situations where the calculated amount might otherwise be lower.

What isn't captured by the basic formula

The guidelines address the base obligation, but real cases often involve additional considerations — childcare costs, medical/health insurance costs, extraordinary expenses, and specific income situations (self-employment, seasonal work, imputed income for an underemployed parent). These can adjust the final number beyond the base guideline table amount.

Where to actually calculate your number

Rather than trying to manually apply the guidelines table and worksheets yourself, Utah Courts' self-help resources and the Office of Recovery Services can help you use the correct current worksheet for your situation — this is a calculation worth getting right the first time rather than estimating.

Frequently asked questions

Does remarriage affect child support calculations? A new spouse's income generally isn't directly included in the child support calculation for a prior relationship's children, but overall household financial changes can sometimes be relevant in other ways — this is worth confirming for your situation.

What if a parent is unemployed or underemployed? Courts can sometimes "impute" income — estimating what a parent could reasonably earn — rather than using an artificially low actual income, particularly if underemployment appears voluntary.

How is this different from modifying an existing order? This page covers the calculation itself. See How to Modify Utah Child Support for the separate process of changing an existing order.