Child Support Calculation Amendments

3
81-6-203
0
Child Support Calculation Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Jordan D. Teuscher
Senate Sponsor: Todd Weiler
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses the calculation of child support.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
addresses the inclusion of Social Security Disability Insurance in the calculation of the
gross income of a parent for purposes of child support.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
81-6-203
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapter 86
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
81-6-203
is amended to read:
81-6-203
. Determination of gross income for child support -- Imputing income to
a parent.
(1)
(a)
Each parent shall provide verification of current income to the court or
administrative agency.
(b)
Each parent shall provide year-to-date pay stubs or employer statements and
complete copies of tax returns from at least the most recent year, unless the court
finds the verification is not reasonably available.
(c)
Verification of income from records maintained by the Department of Workforce
Services may be substituted for pay stubs, employer statements, and income tax
returns.
(2)
(a)
To calculate gross income of a parent, the court or administrative agency may
include:
(i)
prospective income of the parent, including income from earned and nonearned
sources, such as salaries, wages, commissions, royalties, bonuses, rents, gifts from
anyone, prizes, dividends, severance pay, pensions, interest, trust income, alimony
from previous marriages, annuities, capital gains, Social Security benefits, worker
compensation benefits, unemployment compensation, income replacement
disability insurance benefits,
Social Security Disability Insurance,
and payments
from nonmeans-tested government programs; and
(ii)
income imputed to the parent as described in Subsection
(6)
.
(b)
Income from earned income sources is limited to the equivalent of one full-time
40-hour job.
(c)
If and only if during the time before the original support order, the parent normally
and consistently worked more than 40 hours at the parent's job, the court may
consider this extra time as a pattern in calculating the parent's ability to provide child
support.
(3)
(a)
The court or administrative agency shall use historical and current earnings to
determine whether an underemployment or overemployment situation exists.
(b)
When establishing or modifying a child support order for an obligor who is a parent
and incarcerated, the office shall follow the requirements of Section
81-6-211.5
.
(4)
(a)
To calculate income from self-employment or operation of a business, the court or
administrative agency:
(i)
shall calculate gross income from self-employment or operation of a business by
subtracting necessary expenses required for self-employment or business
operation from gross receipts;
(ii)
shall review income and expenses from self-employment or operation of a
business to determine an appropriate level of gross income available to the parent
to satisfy a child support award; and
(iii)
may only deduct those expenses necessary to allow the business to operate at a
reasonable level from gross receipts.
(b)
Gross income determined under this Subsection
(4)
may differ from the amount of
business income determined for tax purposes.
(5)
When possible, the court or administrative agency shall determine the average monthly
gross income for each parent by:
(a)
calculating the gross income of each parent on an annual basis; and
(b)
dividing the annual gross income for each parent by 12.
(6)
(a)
The court or administrative agency may not impute income to a parent unless the
parent stipulates to the amount imputed, the parent defaults, or, in contested cases, a
hearing is held and the court or administrative agency enters findings of fact as to the
evidentiary basis for the imputation.
(b)
If income is imputed to a parent, the court or administrative agency shall base
income upon employment potential and probable earnings considering, to the extent
known:
(i)
employment opportunities;
(ii)
work history;
(iii)
occupation qualifications;
(iv)
educational attainment;
(v)
literacy;
(vi)
age;
(vii)
health;
(viii)
criminal record;
(ix)
other employment barriers and background factors; and
(x)
prevailing earnings and job availability for persons of similar backgrounds in the
community.
(c)
If a parent has no recent work history or a parent's occupation is unknown, the court
or administrative agency may impute an income to that parent at the federal
minimum wage for a 40-hour work week.
(d)
To impute a greater or lesser income, the court or administrative agency shall enter
specific findings of fact as to the evidentiary basis for the imputation.
(e)
The court or administrative agency may not impute income to a parent if any of the
following conditions exist and the condition is not of a temporary nature:
(i)
the reasonable costs of child care for the parents' minor child approach or equal
the amount of income the custodial parent can earn;
(ii)
a parent is physically or mentally unable to earn minimum wage;
(iii)
a parent is engaged in career or occupational training to establish basic job skills;
or
(iv)
unusual emotional or physical needs of a child require the custodial parent's
presence in the home.
(7)
Notwithstanding Subsection
(2)
, the court or administrative agency may not include the
following sources of income when calculating the gross income of a parent:
(a)
cash assistance provided under Title 35A, Chapter 3, Part 3, Family Employment
Program;
(b)
benefits received under a housing subsidy program, the Job Training Partnership Act,
Supplemental Security Income,
Social Security Disability Insurance,
Medicaid,
SNAP benefits, or General Assistance;
(c)
other similar means-tested welfare benefits received by a parent;
(d)
the earned income of a child who is the subject of a child support award; or
(e)
except as otherwise provided in Subsection
(8)
, the benefits to a child in the child's
own right, such as Supplemental Security Income.
(8)
(a)
The court or administrative agency shall credit, as child support, the amount of
social security benefits received by a child due to the earnings of the parent on whose
earning record the social security benefits are based by crediting the amount against
the potential obligation of that parent.
(b)
The court or administrative agency may consider other unearned income of a child as
income of a parent depending upon the circumstances of each case.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
1-9-26 2:42 PM