Menu
These instructions will guide you through completion of the Georgia Child Support Worksheet (CSW).
You will find the CSW here. https://csconlinecalc.georgiacourts.gov/frontend/web/index.php. Click on the Getting Started Manual at the bottom of the homepage and follow the instructions in section 2 to set up your user account.
You have the ability to name and save your CSW and to reopen and change it. You can also create multiple worksheets to evaluate different options.
The CSW contains information about how to complete each section. You can click on the Help Button which is a question mark icon (?) to read requirements or additional information about certain sections including descriptions of possible deviations.
Below is some additional instruction. Completing your CSW will be quicker and easier if you and your spouse have already completed the MDO Divorce Settlement Tool because almost all of the information required for the CSW is also captured there. Simply refer back to MDO Divorce Settlement Tool as you work on your CSW. If only you have completed the MDO Divorce Settlement Tool but can reasonably estimate your spouse’s information, the CSW will still provide useful information.
Below are step-by-step instructions for completing the Basic Information for the CSW. You cannot save your CSW or proceed past the first page without completing the required lines.
| 1. Court Name: | Choose Superior Court. |
| 2. County Name: | Choose the county in which you are filing your divorce or separation action. |
| 3. Plaintiff Name: | Full name of the spouse who will be the Plaintiff/Petitioner. (You can change this designation at any time without affecting the CSW calculation.) |
| 4. Defendant Name: | Full name of the spouse who will be the Defendant/Respondent. (You can change this designation at any time without affecting the CSW calculation.) |
| 5. Nonparent Custodian Name: | Full name of any NONPARENT individual with legal custody of child, or who has legal right to seek, modify, or enforce child support. |
| 6. Civil Action Case No.: | Leave this blank. The court assigns the case number. |
| 7. DHS/DCSS IV-D Case No. (Only used for DCSS cases): | If you have a Division of Child Support Services (DCSS) case you should have a lawyer help you complete the CSW. If you do not, leave this blank. |
| 8. Type of Action: | Choose Initial Action. If you believe this is a modification you should have a lawyer help you complete the CSW. |
| 9. Initial Child Support Order Date: Use Date Format mm/dd/yyyy | Not applicable because this is an initial action. |
| 10. Comments for the Court: | Leave this blank. |
| Parent Name Instructions Parent’s names entered on Lines 11 and 12 are alphabetized and used as column headings in the calculator and on the printed forms. |
|
| 11. Parent’s Name: | Name of one biological or adoptive parent. |
| 12. Parent’s Name: | Name of other biological or adoptive parent. |
| 13. Noncustodial Parent: | The noncustodial parent is the parent with whom the child(ren) spends less than 50% of their time OR, in cases of true 50/50 parenting time, it is the parent who will be paying child support (the parent with the higher income). This box must be checked for the CSW to function correctly. If you later switch the noncustodial parent and you have entered a deviation for Parenting Time or Low Income you must go back and adjust those deviations, as necessary. |
| 14(a). Add Child to Worksheet 14(b). Edit/Remove Child from Worksheet | Click “Add Child to Worksheet” and input one child’s first name and year of birth. Do this once for each child. If you make a mistake you can click “Edit/Remove Child from Worksheet” and make any necessary changes. |
| 15(a). Name of Person Preparing Worksheet: | You can enter this information or leave blank. |
| 15(b). Person Making Worksheet Available to the Court: | You can leave this blank. |
| 16. Social Security Retirement/Disability payments: | In the column for the higher earning spouse, enter disability benefits (RSDI or SSD) paid to a child in the current case who is either unmarried and not yet age 18, still in secondary (high) school and under 19 years of age, or under disability that began before age 22. These benefits count as child support payments and are applied against the final child support amount to be paid by the higher earning spouse. Do not enter SSI payments. Child must be dependent on insured parent in the current case. Payments made on behalf of a child are not income for a parent in this action. |
| 17. Uninsured Health Care Expenses: | Enter the desired percentage for future Uninsured Health Expenses to be paid by each parent. (Example: expenses may include copayments, deductibles, reasonable necessities for dental, medical treatment, physical therapy, vision, etc., not covered by insurance.) |
Refer to the information you provided in the Gross Income Tab of the MDO Divorce Settlement Tool. Transfer that information to the corresponding item in the CSW. The categories of income are exactly the same for both tools and all amounts input should be monthly amounts. Do the same for your spouse’s information or provide a reasonable estimate of his or her items of gross income.
LINE 21 – With respect to Self-Employment Income – If you or your spouse have self-employment income it will be found either on Line 8 of Gross Income Tab or line 86 of the Self-Employment Income Tab of the MDO Divorce Settlement Tool.
Certain expenses are deducted from a parent’s gross income for purposes of determining the presumptive amount of child support. Line 42 contains instructions for filling out Lines 42, 43, and 44.
LINE 42: Enter monthly self-employment income on which the parent paid self-employment taxes for FICA and Medicare. This amount can be obtained from line 4 of Schedule SE of the parent’s federal income tax return for the previous year. If the parent reported less than $400 self-employment income that tax year, do not enter an amount here.
LINE 43: To be completed if the spouse paying child support is also paying child support for another child in another case.
LINE 44: To be completed if either spouse is caring for other children.
Schedule D is where you enter information about mandatory deviations to the presumptive amount of child support.
The amount of child support ordered to be paid must be adjusted to account for health insurance and work-related child care costs.
LINE 46: The cost of health insurance premiums should be entered under the name of the parent paying those costs. This information is found on Line 7 of the Children’s Insurance Expense Tab of the MDO Divorce Settlement Tool. This amount covers only health insurance and not dental, vision, or any other insurance coverage. The amounts paid for those coverages would be included as a deviation for Extraordinary Medical Expenses discussed below and entered on Schedule E of the CSW.
LINE 47: Work related child care costs are expenses for the care of the child for whom support is being determined which are due to employment of either parent. Basically, if you have to put your child in daycare in order to go to work you have work related child care expenses. The amount paid by each parent should be entered here.
Below is a list of the non-mandatory deviations (parents can agree to them, but the court does not have to allow them) which can operate to increase or decrease the amount of the child support obligation. If you have a complex situation which might require several different types of deviation you should discuss those with a lawyer.
The instructions on the CSW are straightforward as to how to input the information. Some additional information is provided below about the most common deviations. Most of the deviations are related to expenses, but some are related to income. All deviations are entered on lines 49 through 55 of the CSW.
LINE 49 Deviation
Low income (presumptive award creates financial hardship)
LINE 51 Deviations
High income (combined monthly adjusted gross income exceeds $30,000
Other health related insurance (dental and vision insurance)
Life insurance (for the benefit of the child)
Child and dependent care tax credit (as an offset to the child care expenses)
Travel expenses (for a noncustodial parent’s cost of travel to exercise parenting time)
Alimony Paid
Mortgage (payment of custodial parent’s mortgage might be an offset to the cash child support amount to the custodial parent)
Permanency plan or foster care plan (this is related to when the child is in the legal custody of a foster care or elated agency)
Nonspecific deviations (this means any non-listed deviation can be considered by the court if it is reasonable and the proper procedure has been followed to support the deviation).
LINE 52 Deviation
Parenting time (to take into account expenses incurred by the noncustodial parent when the child is in the noncustodial parent’s care)
LINE 53 Deviation
Extraordinary Educational Expenses for Children (Extraordinary educational expenses include, but are not limited to, tuition, room and board, lab fees, books, fees, and other reasonable and necessary expenses associated with special needs education or private elementary and secondary schooling that are appropriate to the parent’s financial abilities and to the lifestyle of the child if the parents and the child were living together)
LINE 54 Deviation
Extraordinary Medical Expenses for Children or Parent (Extraordinary medical expenses may include, but are not limited to, extraordinary medical expenses of the child or a parent of the child; provided, however, that any such deviation shall not act to leave a child unsupported and may be ordered for a specific period of time measured in months. When extraordinary medical expenses are claimed, the court or the jury shall consider the resources available for meeting such needs, including sources available from agencies and other adults)
LINE 55 Deviation
Special Expenses for Child Rearing (Special expenses incurred for child-rearing, including, but not limited to, quantifiable expense variations related to the food, clothing, and hygiene costs of children at different age levels, may be a basis for a deviation from the presumptive amount of child support. Such expenses include, but are not limited to, summer camp; music or art lessons; travel; school sponsored extracurricular activities, such as band, clubs, and athletics; and other activities intended to enhance the athletic, social, or cultural development of a child but not otherwise required to be used in calculating the presumptive amount of child support as are health insurance premiums and work related child care costs. A portion of the basic child support obligation is intended to cover average amounts of special expenses incurred in the rearing of a child. In order to determine if a deviation for special expenses is warranted, the court or the jury shall consider the full amount of the special expenses as described in this division; and when such special expenses exceed 7% of the basic child support obligation, then the additional amount of special expenses shall be considered as a deviation to cover the full amount of the special expenses)
Click on Display Worksheet Results at the bottom of any page in order to see the Child Support Worksheet. Follow the instructions for saving and naming your worksheet.
A Modern Divorce by Taylor & Weber LLC can help.