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How Day Care Impacts Child Support Calculations

by Aaron Makofka on Nov. 16, 2015

Divorce & Family Law Divorce & Family Law  Child Support Divorce & Family Law  Divorce 

Summary: How day care affects child support calculations

Did you know that one of the major components to many Florida child support orders is the inclusion of day care expenses?  

Florida Statutes section 61.30(7) provides that child care costs incurred due to employment, job search, or education calculated to result in employment or to enhance income of current employment of either parent shall be added to the basic obligation.  This means that if you are employed, searching for a job, or pursuing education so as to increase your income, and have to place your child in day care as a result, then you are entitled to have your child support increased by the amount of the day care cost.   Given the ever rising costs of child care, this is a very important consideration.  Oftentimes, child support can even double in amount as a result of including the cost of child care.  

If this is a situation that has arisen since your child support order was established, feel free to contact one of our attorneys and we will be happy to re-calculate your child support right in our office.  Since we use the same software that the judge’s use, we can attempt to provide an accurate estimate of what you might be entitled to.  

Conversely, if you are paying child support and your child support was established when your child was in day care, it is quite possible that you are entitled to a reduction if your child is no longer in day care.  If your child is no longer in day care, then your child support obligation might drop by as much as one half, maybe even more.  If you would like to get an accurate estimate as to what your child support should be, then call one of our attorneys and we will be happy to assist you.  

Important to note, regardless of whether or not you are trying to reduce or increase your existing child support, waiting to file does not benefit you.  Any increases or decreases can ONLY be applied retroactively to the date that the supplemental petition to modify your child support is actually filed with the clerk of court, and not when the change in day care occurred.  So every month that goes by after your situation has changed, is another month that you are either paying too much or receiving too little, depending upon your situation. 

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