How Is Income Calculated For Child Support in Arizona?

Calculating Income for Child Support in Arizona

How is Income Calculated for Child Support in Arizona?

The Arizona Child Support Guidelines requires the Court to base child support upon the gross incomes of the parties. Income can be earned from a job, but it may also come from additional revenue earned from investments and other recurring sources, such as gifts, bonuses, stock options and any other form of compensation.

Even employment benefits such as a military housing allowance, the employer’s cost of providing health insurance to employees and other benefits may be included in a parent’s gross income to calculate a parent’s gross income.

You may want to read our article on the decision from the Arizona Court of Appeals in the Patterson v. Patterson case for a discussion on the inclusion of employment benefits in a parent’s income to calculate child support. You may also want to read our article on the decision from the Arizona Court of Appeals in the Engel v. Landman case to learn about the treatment of employee stock options when calculating child support in Arizona.

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In some situations, but certainly not all cases, the judge may include overtime income as a part of a parent’s gross income to establish or modifying a child support order. You should read our summary of the Arizona Court of Appeals decision in the McNutt v. McNutt case for more information on whether a court will include overtime when calculating child support in Arizona.

Although interest income from investments may also be included in income, the Arizona Court of Appeals in the Jenkins v. Jenkins case held that an increase in the value of property owned by a parent would not “normally” be included in the gross income of that parent to calculate child support.

Chris Hildebrand

Chris Hildebrand wrote this article about how income is calculated for child support in Arizona to ensure everyone has access to information about child support laws in Arizona. Chris is a family law attorney at Hildebrand Law, PC. He has over 24 years of Arizona family law experience and has received multiple awards, including US News and World Report “Top Arizona Divorce Attorneys”, Phoenix Magazine “Top Divorce Law Firms”, and Arizona Foothills Magazine “Best of the Valley” award. He believes the policies and procedures he uses to get his clients through a child support case should all be guided by the principles of honesty, integrity, and actually caring about what his clients are going through.