How it works · official guideline
How child support is calculated in Louisiana
Louisiana’s child support guidelines (La. R.S. 9:315 et seq.) set a basic obligation from a statutory schedule based on the parents' combined adjusted monthly gross income and number of children, and the obligation is divided between the parents in proportion to their incomes. In shared custody (roughly equal time), the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5, split by income and cross-multiplied by time with the other parent.[1]
Key facts: child support in Louisiana
| Guideline model | Income shares[1] |
|---|---|
| Shared parenting time | Approximately equal time: basic obligation × 1.5, split by income, cross-multiplied by time[2] |
| Top of the guidelines | Schedule runs to $50,000 combined adjusted monthly gross income[1] |
| Shared parenting time | Shared-custody payer never owes more than as a non-domiciliary parent[2] |
| Guideline last checked | October 26, 2026 |
Louisiana’s model
Income shares
Income shares: combined adjusted monthly gross income, then statutory schedule (La. R.S. 9:315.19), divided in proportion to adjusted gross incomes.
No official calculator confirmed yet
Read the guideline: La. R.S. 9:315.19, Schedule for support (Louisiana State Legislature), as amended by Acts 2024, No. 86, eff. Jan. 1, 2025The state child support agency or your court clerk can run the official numbers.
Why no calculator here? We publish a calculator only after it reproduces the state’s official numbers exactly. We haven’t matched Louisiana’s yet.
From the official text
The rules behind Louisiana’s numbers
The guideline is La. R.S. 9:315.19, Schedule for support (Louisiana State Legislature), as amended by Acts 2024, No. 86, eff. Jan. 1, 2025. Open each rule to read the exact words.
- Shared parenting time
Approximately equal time: basic obligation × 1.5, split by income, cross-multiplied by time
Shared custody means each parent has physical custody for about equal time; the basic obligation is then multiplied by 1.5, divided by income share and cross-multiplied by the share of time with the other parent, and the higher payer owes the difference.[2]
Official text · La. R.S. 9:315.9(A)
“If there is a joint custody order or joint plan for implementation providing for shared custody, or if the court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that shared custody exists, the basic child support obligation shall first be multiplied by one and one-half and then divided between the parents in proportion to their respective adjusted gross incomes.”
- Top of the guidelines
Schedule runs to $50,000 combined adjusted monthly gross income
The statutory schedule (effective Jan. 1, 2025) covers combined adjusted monthly gross income from $1,050 to $50,000 for one to six children.[1]
Official text · La. R.S. 9:315.19 (schedule)
“50000 3737 5563 6576 7346 8080 8783”
- Shared parenting time
Shared-custody payer never owes more than as a non-domiciliary parent
Under shared custody, the amount owed may not exceed what that parent would owe if the other parent were the domiciliary parent.[2]
Official text · La. R.S. 9:315.9(A)(7)
“The parent owing the greater amount of child support shall owe to the other parent the difference between the two amounts as a child support obligation. The amount owed shall not be higher than the amount which that parent would have owed if he or she were a domiciliary parent.”
Guideline: La. R.S. 9:315.19, Schedule for support (Louisiana State Legislature), as amended by Acts 2024, No. 86, eff. Jan. 1, 2025, checked October 26, 2026.
Estimate and general information only — not legal advice. MediationList is a directory, not a law firm, and doesn’t endorse any mediator. Guidelines change; confirm with the state child support agency or your court (sources checked October 26, 2026). See also divorce laws in Louisiana and child support in every state.
Sources
Louisiana’s child support guideline, rules and official tools, read on the official sites, with the date we checked each.