Rhode Island child support guide
Rhode Island’s worksheet starts with monthly income and the basic-support schedule, then adds eligible costs and allocates the total.
Sources checked .
Open Rhode Island’s schedule and worksheet
Guideline at a glance
- Guideline model
- Monthly income-shares schedule
- Income used
- Monthly adjusted gross income on FC-78
- Current materials checked
- Administrative Order 23-02, effective July 1, 2023
- Our calculator
- Financial intake; use the official calculator for the amount
How Rhode Island child support law works
The Family Court adopted the current schedule through Administrative Order 23-02, effective July 1, 2023. The state’s Office of Child Support Services publishes that order and the FC-78 worksheet together. The guideline uses an income-shares model.
Sources: Family Court Administrative Order 23-02.
How the guideline is calculated
- List each parent’s monthly gross income and complete the required and allowed deduction lines on FC-78.
- Combine adjusted gross income and look up the basic obligation for the number of children in the current schedule.
- Add work-related child-care costs after the federal tax credit to the basic obligation, as directed by lines 7 and 8.
- Multiply total support by each parent’s income share. FC-78 records the noncustodial parent’s recommended payment and any separately ordered cash medical support.
Use the July 2023 schedule even though the blank FC-78 form has an earlier revision date. Its optional adjustments require court discretion; a listed expense is not an automatic deduction.
Sources: Family Court Administrative Order 23-02; OCSS current guideline resources; FC-78 Child Support Guideline Worksheet.
Documents that make the worksheet more useful
- Monthly income records and documents supporting claimed deductions.
- The number of children, parenting arrangements, child-care costs, and health-cost records.
- The FC-78 worksheet and Administrative Order 23-02 schedule from OCSS.
Keep the source document beside each figure you enter. If a number is uncertain, note what still needs to be confirmed before relying on an estimate.
What this site’s worksheet covers
The educational guide and official resources are available now. Our Rhode Island workflow collects both parents’ financial information and produces a printable accounting. It does not calculate a child-support amount; the official state calculator linked on this page does.
How Rhode Island cases actually get to a number
The Family Court worksheet combines the parents’ incomes as the guideline defines them, selects a basic obligation, and allocates it. Medical support and child care are explicit add-ons. Rhode Island has fewer published ‘online calculator’ shortcuts than some neighbors, so the worksheet itself matters.
Rhode Island’s child-support guideline is an income-shares worksheet administered through Family Court, using combined income and a basic-obligation schedule with add-ons. That is a different path from neighboring states that use another model, so do not import a table, percentage, or overnight credit from somewhere else.
Parenting time in Rhode Island
Shared-placement facts belong on the Rhode Island worksheet rather than as an informal discount. If placement is truly shared, say so on the form instead of editing the basic obligation.
Costs Rhode Island usually treats separately
- Work-related child-care costs
- Medical insurance for the children
- Uninsured medical expenses
- Other guideline add-ons
When Rhode Island courts leave the guideline
Best-interest and guideline deviation factors can change the result. High income and a child’s special needs should appear in findings.
Official Rhode Island forms to keep beside this guide
Rhode Island child support worksheet and Family Court financial statement. This site provides financial intake and a printable accounting; the support amount comes from the official calculator. The primary authority is the published Rhode Island source. Fill the official form from source documents. Use this page only to check that you chose the right Rhode Island path—primary versus shared, table versus percentage, add-ons versus basic support.
Where this is typically filed
Family Court hears these cases; the Office of Child Support Services handles IV-D. Use the current Rhode Island Child Support Guideline worksheet.
Questions specific to Rhode Island
Is there an official public calculator?
Family Court and OCSS materials are the authority. This site provides a sourced guide and financial intake, not a substitute order.
Gross or net?
Follow the current worksheet’s income definition; do not assume it matches a neighboring state.
Does shared placement automatically halve support?
No. Use the worksheet’s shared-placement treatment.
Use the official worksheet
Open Rhode Island’s schedule and worksheet. These resources are maintained by the state court or agency. Check the applicable version and instructions before preparing a filing.
To organize records first, open our Rhode Island financial intake. Its PDF is a record of your entries, not a calculated support order or a substitute for the state form.
Frequently asked questions
Where are the current Rhode Island forms?
The OCSS guideline page links both the July 2023 schedule and the blank Child Support Guideline Worksheet. Keep them together when preparing the calculation.
Does this guide also calculate alimony?
No. These steps concern child support. A worksheet may consider an existing spousal-support payment when its rules allow, but it does not determine a new alimony award.
Can I file the financial intake as the state worksheet?
Our intake is a preparation aid. Use the official state forms and the instructions for your court when submitting a proposed support calculation.