Quick answer: Delaware uses the Melson Formula, set out in Family Court Civil Rules 500 to 510 and revised effective February 1, 2026. It protects a self-support allowance for each parent ($1,600 a month), meets the children’s primary needs (a Primary Support Allowance of $800 for one child, $420 more for each additional child, plus child care, tuition and insurance) in proportion to each parent’s net available income, then adds a Standard of Living Adjustment of 12% of the income left for one child, 17% for two and 21% for three. Credits for the parent’s own household and for parenting time are subtracted, and the obligation cannot exceed 50% of net available income.
How the Melson Formula works
The calculator follows the Family Court’s instructions and its calculator spreadsheet, line by line:
- Lines 1–9: net available income. Gross income plus 25% of nontaxable income, less deductions and the self-support allowance, reduced to 70% for a parent who supports other minor children. See what income counts in Delaware.
- Lines 10–14: primary support. The Primary Support Allowance for the children in each household plus child care, tuition and insurance, divided by each parent’s share of net available income.
- Lines 15–19: SOLA. A percentage of the income each parent has left after primary support, with a high-income offset above $16,000.
- Lines 20–24: credits and the result. What a parent keeps for the children in his or her household, expenses paid and the parenting time adjustment are subtracted, up to the self-support protection cap. See the parenting time adjustment.
The full walk-through, with a worked example, is in how the Melson Formula works.
Minimum orders and caps
Unless the children are in shared or split placement or the obligated parent is disabled, the court imposes at least $160 a month for one child and $240 for more than one. In shared or split placement, no obligation is assessed when the calculation is under $50. The obligation cannot exceed 50% of the parent’s net available income (35% for a parent who supports children in three or more households). The allowances are adjusted no later than February 1 each year to follow the federal poverty guidelines, and the self-support allowance field above is editable.
Child support across Delaware
The formula is a rebuttable presumption applied by the Family Court in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties, from Wilmington, Dover, Newark, Middletown, Georgetown or Rehoboth Beach. Every support order, including a consent order, must have a support calculation attached. A modification within two and a half years of the last order must allege a substantial change of circumstances and show a change of more than 10%; a change caused solely by a revision of the formula is not a ground.
Frequently asked questions
How is child support calculated in Delaware?
Delaware uses the Melson Formula in Family Court Civil Rules 500 to 510. It protects a self-support allowance for each parent, meets the children's primary needs in proportion to net available income, adds a Standard of Living Adjustment and subtracts credits for each parent's own household and parenting time.
What is the self-support allowance in Delaware?
$1,600 a month for each parent under the formula revised effective February 1, 2026. It is subtracted from gross income before support is shared and is adjusted each February.
What is the minimum child support order in Delaware?
$160 a month for one child and $240 for more than one, unless the children are in shared or split placement or the obligated parent is disabled.
How does parenting time affect Delaware child support?
A parent with 80 to 124 overnights retains 10% of the other parent's retained primary support and SOLA, 125 to 163 overnights retains 30%, and 164 or more overnights is treated as shared placement.
Is the Delaware formula amount mandatory?
It is a rebuttable presumption. The court can deviate if it finds the result contrary to the child's best interest or unfair to the parties, and every order must state the calculation.