Child Support

It depends. Oregon uses a set of guidelines to determine how much each parent will pay in child support. The guidelines consider numerous factors, including:

• Each parent's income
• Parenting time
• The number of children
• Health insurance costs
• Childcare expenses
• Certain extraordinary medical expenses
• Other statutory adjustments that may apply

Yes, child support payments can be modified if there is a significant change in either parent’s income, changes in custody or parenting time, or if the child’s needs change. You can request a modification through the court, and it must be approved before any changes take effect.

Yes. In Oregon, modification to child support does not require a formal court hearing, but you will need to submit documentation to the Oregon Department of Justice through the Child Support Program (https://www.doj.state.or.us/child-support/). Because support calculations involve numerous variables, even relatively modest changes in circumstances may justify reviewing an existing order.

In most cases, child support continues until a child reaches 18 years of age. Support may continue longer if the child qualifies as a "child attending school" under Oregon law and meets the statutory requirements.

If a parent fails to make child support payments, you can seek enforcement through legal channels. Oregon’s Child Support Program has various tools for enforcement, including wage garnishment, property liens, and even suspension of driver’s licenses. Courts may also impose penalties for non-compliance.

No. Legal custody does not affect who owes support in Oregon. Parties with equal parenting time may still owe child support, depending on other factors.

Not often. Because child support belongs to the child— not the parents— the court must generally determine that any stipulated support arrangement complies with Oregon law and adequately protects the child's interests. Simply agreeing to waive child support is not always permitted.

In Oregon, child support generally uses each parent’s actual or potential gross income. “Actual income” refers to a parent’s gross earnings and income from any source. According to OAR 137-050-0715, It may include:

• Employment-related income including salaries, wages, commissions, advances, bonuses, dividends, recurring overtime pay, severance pay, pensions, and honoraria;
• Expense reimbursements, allowances, or in-kind payments to a parent, to the extent they reduce personal living expenses;
• Annuities, trust income, including distribution of trust assets, and return on capital, such as interest and dividends;
• Income replacement benefit payments including Social Security benefits, workers’ compensation benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, disability insurance benefits, and Department of Veterans Affairs disability benefits;
• Inheritances, gifts and prizes, including lottery winnings; and
• Income from self-employment, rent, royalties, proprietorship of a business, or joint ownership of a partnership or closely held corporation, minus costs of goods sold, minus ordinary and necessary expenses required for self-employment or business operation, including one-half of the parent’s self-employment tax, if applicable. Specifically excluded from ordinary and necessary expenses are amounts allowable by the Internal Revenue Service for the accelerated component of depreciation expenses, investment tax credits, or any other business expenses determined by the fact finder to be inappropriate or excessive for determining gross income.

A court may also use potential income when a parent is voluntarily unemployed or earning less than they reasonably could. The court may consider the parent’s work history, education, qualifications, health, available hours, and local employment opportunities.

Income generally does not include:

• Child support received
• SNAP or food-stamp benefits
• Social Security or veterans’ benefits paid on behalf of a child
• Adoption or guardianship assistance
• Foster-care subsidies

When a parent is self-employed, Oregon generally looks at the parent’s net business income, not merely the salary or “draw” the parent chooses to pay themselves. Ordinary and necessary business expenses reduce revenue and, when applicable, half of self-employment taxes. Courts may add back excessive, personal, or inappropriate expenses, including personal costs paid through the business. 

A child attending school order allows Oregon child support to continue after a child turns 18, generally until age 21. The young adult must not be married, active in the military, or legally emancipated.