Making Sense of Arizona’s New Child Support Rules
Edit: Please refer to our 2023 blog post here for the most updated new child support rules.
In January 2022, Arizona released new child support guidelines. These changes affect calculations for new arrangements as well as any changes to existing agreements. We explain a few of the major updates below. If you're unsure how this affects your specific situation, get in touch with our experienced child care attorneys for expert advice.
Note: This article isn’t intended as legal advice, and rules regarding this may change depending on your situation. To address your business’s unique needs, talk with a divorce or family law attorney. ARTEMiS Law has decades of experience in Arizona divorce and family law and provides full-service and unbundled legal services (for those who need consultations as needed) to cater to everyone. You can contact us here to schedule a call.
Some Background on Child Support in Arizona
Arizona law requires that all parents, both custodial and non-custodial, provide “reasonable support” for their minor children. Determining the amount of child support to be paid by each parent is so important that it cannot be left up to a judge's discretion. Instead, the Arizona Supreme Court adopted child support calculation guidelines that are reviewed and revised every four years.
Arizona follows the Income Shares Model. This model calculates child support payments based on both parents' earning potential, rather than using a traditional proportionate payment system. This means both parents’ incomes are used to calculate the amount of child support that one parent will pay to the other household to financially support the children.
Changes to Basic Support Obligations
The guideline update includes changes to the Schedule of Basic Support Obligations. These obligations been increased across the board based on updated economic data. For example, the Basic Child Support Obligation for combined income of $10,000 per month was $1,181 for one child under the old guidelines and $1,274 under the new guidelines.
The maximum combined income has also been increased from $20,000 per month to $30,000 per month. This is bad news for parents who have an income of over $20,000 per month. If the combined income is more than $30,000 per month, the court must determine whether a higher amount is in the child's best interests. Under the old guidelines, the burden was on the party seeking the higher amount; the new guidelines remove that burden and replace it with a best interests test.
Another change in these updates is that “income” is now defined as “Child Support Income” rather than Gross Income or Adjusted Gross Income. This should reduce confusion because Child Support Income is often different than the Adjusted Gross Income listed on a parent's tax return. What counts as Child Support Income has stayed pretty much the same as previously, including income from all sources before any deductions or withholdings. Cash value is assigned to in-kind or other non-cash employment benefits. Income does not include benefits from means-tested public assistance programs.
Tax Benefits Changes for Minor Children
Both the old and new guidelines allow tax benefits to be allocated between parents proportionate to their income. However, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act suspended the deduction for personal exemptions for children through 2025.
Because of the changing tax landscape, the new guidelines simply state that tax benefits associated with children shall be allocated in proportion to income, with no specific directions on which benefits to divide.
If one parent needs to release tax benefits to the other parent, the IRS Form 8332 must be signed no later than January 31 of the year immediately following the tax year
Under the old and new guidelines, the court may require you to provide child support payments in order to receive tax benefits
If there is a dispute about which parent is entitled to claim the tax benefit for a given tax year, the new guidelines provide a specific procedure for parents to follow
Changes to What Defines for Parenting Time
Under previous guidelines, only time spent by a child with the non-custodial parent was considered “parenting time” and this did not include time in school or childcare. Under the new guidelines, parenting time is calculated based on the segments of time that are assigned to each parent. If exchanges occur at school or through a caregiver, the receiving parent's time commences at the end of the school day or pick up from the caregiver.
New language was added to reflect that parents may work less overtime if it helps them spend more time with the children:
“A parent who historically worked overtime when the family was intact may choose to reduce or not to work overtime hours to ensure the parent has meaningful interaction with the child during that parent’s parenting time.”
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