Child Support Schedule

Child Support Schedule Updates - 2021

The Louisiana Child Support Schedule was updated on January 1, 2021, in accordance with Federal and State law that requires the State’s Child Support Guidelines to be reviewed every four years. The next quadrennial review is due 60 days before the regular session begins in 2024. The Child Support Program also has the power to re-examine a child support order every 3 years to see if it still meets Louisiana guidelines, even if there has not been a substantial change of circumstance.

In addition, there were changes to the guidelines including a change to the guideline calculation surrounding childcare costs. Your child support order may be eligible for a modification.

2020 Louisiana Child Support Review Committee Report - Explanation of Revisions

The committee thoroughly reviewed various sources of recent data on child-rearing expenditures, various methods for adjusting national data to be more appropriate for Louisiana’s cost of living, and the appropriate self-support reserve. The committee consists of 11 members that meet every four years to revise the guidelines. 

The child support guideline schedule was mandated during the Regular Session of the 2016 Louisiana Legislature.

Note: The schedule defined support amounts up to $40,000 of combined monthly adjusted gross income.  For cases with combined monthly adjusted gross income above $40,000, the child support obligation should be determined on a case-by-case basis.

Additional schedule information:

• The amounts set forth in the schedule in R.S. 9:315.19 presume that the custodial or domiciliary party has the right to claim the federal and state tax dependency deductions and any earned income credit. However, the claiming of dependents for federal and state income tax purposes shall be as provided in Subsection B of the state statute.
• The non-domiciliary party whose child support obligation equals or exceeds fifty percent of the total child support obligation shall be entitled to claim the federal and state tax dependency deductions if, after a contradictory motion, the judge finds both of the following:
  • (a) No arrearages are owed by the obligor.
  • (b) The right to claim the dependency deductions or, in the case of multiple children, a part thereof, would substantially benefit the non-domiciliary party without significantly harming the domiciliary party.
• The child support order shall:
  • (a) Specify the years in which the party is entitled to claim such deductions.
  • (b) Require the domiciliary party to timely execute all forms required by the Internal Revenue Service authorizing the non-domiciliary party to claim such deductions.
• The party who receives the benefit of the exemption for such tax year shall not be considered as having received payment of a thing not due if the dependency deduction allocation is not maintained by the taxing authorities.