New North Carolina Child Support Guidelines went into effect 1/1/23. The General Assembly only updates the Child Support Guidelines every 4 years, and the new Guidelines have been updated to include 3 important changes:
- Combined gross income threshold has increased from $30k per month to $40k per month, meaning more families will be able to use the Guidelines. If the family’s combined gross income was above $30k per month before 1/1/23, they would have to go through a much more lengthy process to get a child support amount ordered.
- Health insurance premiums that parents pay and get credit for in the calculator now includes Vision Insurance – previously it only included health and dental credits.
- Parents who are caring for children under the age of 3 and not earning an income can now be imputed income in child support cases. Under prior law, Up until now, North Carolina courts have been prohibited from imputing income to a parent who is the primary custodian of a child under three years old.