What Income Counts for Alabama Child Support

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

Alabama counts gross income from any source, including wages, bonuses, benefits, gifts and prizes. For a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the court uses the income that parent has the ability to earn, and it deducts child support and periodic alimony the parent already pays.

Gross income is defined broadly

Rule 32(B)(2) says gross income includes income from any source. The list in the rule includes salaries, wages, commissions, bonuses, dividends, severance pay, pensions, interest, trust income, annuities, capital gains, Social Security benefits, veteran’s benefits, workers’ compensation, unemployment-insurance and disability-insurance benefits, gifts, prizes and preexisting periodic alimony. The list is introduced by the words “includes, but is not limited to,” so other income can count too.

What is not counted

Gross income does not include child support received for other children or benefits from means-tested public-assistance programs, such as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, Supplemental Security Income, food stamps and general assistance (Rule 32(B)(2)(b)).

Self-employment, rent and business income

For income from self-employment, rent, royalties, a business or an interest in a partnership or closely held corporation, gross income is gross receipts minus the ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce the income, as allowed by the Internal Revenue Service. The expenses do not include the accelerated component of depreciation, investment tax credits or other business expenses the court finds inappropriate for child support (Rule 32(B)(3)). Expense reimbursements and in-kind payments received through work count as income if they are significant and reduce personal living expenses (Rule 32(B)(4)).

Imputed income for a parent who could earn more

Rule 32(B)(1) uses actual gross income if a parent is employed to full capacity, and the income a parent has the ability to earn if the parent is unemployed or underemployed. If the court finds a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, it must estimate the income that parent would otherwise have and calculate support on it (Rule 32(B)(5)). The court is to consider the parent’s specific circumstances, including assets, residence, employment and earnings history, job skills, educational attainment, literacy, age, health, criminal record and other employment barriers, and record of seeking work, as well as the local job market, the availability of employers willing to hire the parent and prevailing local earnings. It may also take into account a young or disabled child who needs the parent at home. Incarceration may not be treated as voluntary unemployment.

Deductions: other children and alimony

Adjusted gross income is gross income less preexisting child support and preexisting periodic alimony actually paid (Rule 32(C)(1)). Child support a parent actually pays under an order for other children is deducted from gross income. If a parent is legally responsible for and is actually providing support for other children without an order, the court may deduct an “imputed” amount taken from the schedule using that parent’s unadjusted gross income and the number of other children. In a modification case, no deduction is made for children born or adopted after the original order unless support for them is paid under another order (Rule 32(B)(6)). For example, a parent with $4,000 of gross income who pays $500 of existing child support and $300 of existing periodic alimony has an adjusted gross income of $3,200. If you pay alimony, the Alabama alimony calculator shows how long Alabama law lets it last.

Low income, zero-dollar orders and the $50 minimum

Because the schedule now starts at $0, the court no longer has discretion for incomes below the schedule. Instead, Rule 32(C)(5)(d) presumes a minimum order of $50 when the amount available for support is under $50, and Rule 32(C)(6) presumes a zero-dollar order when the obligor has no gross income and receives only means-tested assistance, or has no gross income and is incarcerated or institutionalized for more than 180 consecutive days. Both presumptions are rebuttable, and neither limits the court’s power to impute income to a parent who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed.

Proving income

Rule 32(F) requires income statements verified with documentation of current and past earnings, such as pay stubs, employer statements or receipts and expenses for the self-employed, supplemented by the most recent tax return. Intentional falsification of the Income Statement/Affidavit (Form CS-41) is treated as contempt of court. Once income is settled, use the Alabama child support calculator to see the recommended order, or read how Rule 32 calculates the amount for the full worksheet.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• Rule 32, Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration
• Alabama court child support forms, including CS-41 and CS-42
• 45 CFR 302.56, federal guideline requirements

This is general information, not legal advice. It is based on the cited Alabama statutes, rules and court opinions, and every case turns on its own facts. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed Alabama attorney.