Florida Statute 61.30 provides the guideline calculations for determining the amount of financial support the parents are required to pay.
In addition to the respective incomes of the parties, health insurance costs, daycare expenses, and tax obligations, the child support amount is largely affected by the timesharing schedule ordered by the court.
Parents who exercise 20% of the overnights in a calendar year (73) will be provided with a decrease in their child support obligation. For each overnight over and above 73, the guideline amount will decrease.
It has been noted that in some cases, where the overnights are right at the cutoff, the guideline amount will actually increase due to a mathematical anomaly. This is something to make your family law attorney aware of if your timesharing schedule provides for 73 – 85 overnights in a year.
Also: be sure that your overnights are court ordered if you are involved in litigation with the Department of Revenue. Case law exists that will not permit you credit for overnights (even if you are exercising a “50/50 schedule”) that are not court-ordered in a parenting plan.