SOURCES, ASSUMPTIONS & COVERAGE
See where the numbers come from.
Guideline Calculator is an independent educational estimate. It is not court software, a law firm or a substitute for advice about your circumstances. This public beta has a working New York module, lists all 50 states in scope and links to California's free official resources.
New York: the supported scenario
The current module illustrates a new post-divorce guideline calculation under the 2026 worksheets for cases commenced on or after January 25, 2016. It accepts the two annual income totals from Form UD-8(1). It does not determine income from tax returns, eligibility for support, which parent is non-custodial, custody disputes, existing-order modifications, unusual family arrangements or a different maintenance agreement.
Select a non-custodial parent only when that classification is established. An unusual or disputed parenting schedule needs clarification. Use the official resources for broader cases; no estimate is shown here when you select an uncertain arrangement.
Maintenance and child support are calculated separately
The maintenance module follows Appendix B of the current maintenance worksheet. It compares the applicable income formulas and applies the self-support reserve. If maintenance is selected, its annual amount adjusts the parties' incomes before basic child support is calculated. The higher-income maintenance payor can be a different person from the child-support payor.
The child-support module applies the child-count percentage, the non-custodial parent's income share, the combined-income cap and the worksheet's low-income provisions. The exact poverty-boundary equality case is left unresolved in this preview because the worksheet wording does not specify it. It is flagged rather than assigned an invented result.
Childcare, insurance, medical, education and other add-ons are not included. Amounts above income caps and court deviations are not estimated. No maintenance duration is predicted. A displayed zero is a formula result within the selected assumptions, not a finding that no support is owed.
Rule version and primary sources
Version ny-2026-03-01-v1, checked September 5, 2026. The calculator pauses estimates at its next review deadline, December 1, 2026. This is an operational review deadline, not a claim that the law expires then.
- NY maintenance worksheet UD-8(2), effective March 1, 2026
- NY child support worksheet UD-8(3), effective March 1, 2026
- NY Courts' current cap and reserve changes
- Official income worksheets and broader calculators
The code is independently written from public rules. Neither the courts nor any commercial calculator provider has endorsed or certified this site. Calculated values are rounded for display only.
50-state scope and state expansion
All 50 states are in product scope. The selector lists every state now so users can see coverage status, but a state's calculator is enabled only after current primary sources, effective dates, boundary cases, supported scenarios and review notes are recorded. We will not apply New York's rules to another state or publish an invented nationwide alimony formula.
The release standard for each state is statute-specific calculation: current statutes, rules, worksheets, administrative guidance and official examples for that jurisdiction. Court-presentable worksheet-style reports are a target for reviewed modules where the jurisdiction allows them. The site does not invent discretionary deviations, substitute another state's formula or output a dollar result for a state still in source review.
Financial intake
Each state module must define the full money picture from primary sources: wages, self-employment, benefits, rental or investment income, retirement income, taxes, mandatory payroll deductions, health insurance, childcare, medical costs, other support obligations, extraordinary expenses, debts and liabilities. Some items affect child support, some affect spousal support, and some may only belong in court-context reporting. The report must label those differences.
California's official child support calculator is free. Its courts explain that long-term spousal support has no single mathematical formula. Temporary support, long-term support and child support need distinct treatment. California is the next implementation priority.
Free access, privacy and advertising
Calculations and printable summaries remain free, without account registration. The business is designed to earn from labeled advertisements on useful editorial guides. This public beta contains no live advertising, analytics or cookies. Third-party advertising code will remain outside calculator pages to keep financial entries separate from advertising systems.