How to lower child support in New York

The New York test, in plain words

Threshold: (a) substantial change in circumstances; OR (b)(i) three years since entry/last modification/last adjustment; OR (b)(ii) either party's gross income changed by >=15%. Income reduction counts only if involuntary AND diligent attempts to secure employment commensurate with education, ability, experience (FCA §451(3)(a)-(b))

Percentages of combined parental income: 17% for one child, 25% for two, 29% for three, 31% for four, at least 35% for five or more — applied up to the $193,000 combined cap (effective 2026-03-01), split pro rata by income. Above the cap, the court uses the paragraph (f) factors; no above-cap point figure is printed as exact.

Agency route: Support Collection Unit (SCU) — COLA adjustment (IV-D cases). Court route: Family Court — Modification petition, Support Magistrate hearing

One trap to know: Parties may opt out of the 3-year and 15% grounds in a valid agreement/stipulation — then only substantial change remains (FCA §451(3)(b))

Exactness: The basic obligation below the $193,000 cap is computed; the payable amount is always an ESTIMATE.

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Your stateTexasCaliforniaFloridaNew YorkIllinoisOhioAnother state

What you pay now ($ / month)

Children in this case123456

Months since the order was made or last changed

Texas

Your monthly net resources ($)Net resources as Texas defines them (Tex. Fam. Code §154.062). The $11,700 monthly cap is applied for you.

Children you support in other households01234567Uses the §154.129 multiple-family adjusted percentages.

California — ESTIMATE only, permanently

Your monthly net disposable income ($)

Other parent's monthly net disposable income ($)

Your timeshare (%)

California's formula (Fam. Code §4055) turns on actual tax liability and approximate timeshare, so no California figure on this site is ever labeled exact.

Florida

Combined monthly net income, both parents ($)

Your monthly net income ($)

Your overnights per yearAt 73 or more overnights, the §61.30(11)(b) adjustment is mandatory and is applied.

New York

Combined parental income ($ / year)

Your gross income ($ / year)

Mandatory add-ons ($ / year: health insurance, unreimbursed medical, childcare)

Change in either parent's gross income since the order (%)

The basic obligation below the $193,000 combined cap is computed. The payable amount is always labeled ESTIMATE — add-ons and above-cap discretion sit on top.

Illinois

Your monthly gross income ($)Converted with the 2026 HFS gross-to-net table (effective 2026-03-20).

Other parent's monthly gross income ($)

Your overnights per yearAt 146 overnights each, the §505(a)(3.8) shared-care formula applies and is used.

Ohio

Combined gross income, both parents ($ / year)Run through the §3119.021 bracket formula.

Your gross income ($ / year)

Run my state's test

Track B — the evidence checklist (never scored)

• Substantial change in circumstances (incarceration is expressly not voluntary unemployment and not a bar — §451(3)(a))
• For income-reduction ground: proof reduction was involuntary
• Dated job-search log: diligent attempts to secure employment commensurate with education, ability, experience (§451(3)(b))
• Termination letter / unemployment filing / final pay stub
• SSA determination / physician statement for disability
• Overnight log for custody/timeshare change
• Health-insurance / childcare / medical premium statements for add-on lines

Sources

• NY modification grounds — FCA §451(3)(a)-(b) — nysenate.gov, pulled 2026-10-27
• NY arrears bar — FCA §451(1)
• NY CSSA percentages — FCA §413(1)(c); DRL §240(1-b)
• NY cap — OTDA Child Support Standards Chart, $193,000 effective 2026-03-01 — REPRINT-CORROBORATED
• NY COLA — FCA §413-a

Rules checked October 2026.