Beginning July 1, 2017, Illinois law changed from a percentage of net income guideline for child support to the new income share model.
The new guidelines are to apply unless the court determines that a deviation (up or down) is appropriate. In most cases, guideline support applies and will be based off both parents’ gross incomes. The gross income is normalized, or adjusted, based on certain credits. After adjusting the gross income, the parents’ respective net incomes are calculated using a standardized tax rate, or in certain cases the actual tax rate is applied, and the respective net incomes are then combined. The total support owed by both parents is then based on Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services tables. The resulting support amount is then allocated between the parents based on ratios of their combined net income, with certain adjustments based on allocation of time.
If a parent has fewer over nights than the other parent and less than 146 overnights overall, the guideline will apply and the percentage of support attributable to that parent will be paid to the other. If, however, the parent with fewer overnights has more then 146 overnights, then the table sum is multiplied by 1.5 and the amounts of support are distributed by percentage of support attributed to that parent and on percentage of both parents’ total earnings and the number of overnights each has.