Divorces and breakups are especially difficult for parents. Your child spent their early years under your roof where you could directly meet their needs. Child support is a way for parents who don’t have primary custody to continue to provide for their children.
Many forms of income factor into the calculation of child support. For example, salespeople working on commission and bonuses must report these incomes in addition to base pay. Incomes such as royalties, severance and interests are among other forms that should count towards gross income.
Yet, not every source of income counts toward gross income. There are certain forms of income received that shouldn’t cause you to stress over reporting or not:
- Certain public assistance and social service programs: Foster parents and other parents receiving government benefits such as food stamps, disability and other programs do not have to report this as gross income.
- Social Security income: The state of Virginia does not count personal retirement income from Social Security as gross income.
- Child support received: If you happen to receive child support yourself do not include this in your gross monthly income.
- Secondary income: This criterion has stipulations. If a secondary source of income arises after an agreement, you do not have to include this in your gross income if you’re making your child support payments. If you get a weekend job or some other secondary form of employment, you might not have to report this as additional gross income.
Keeping it honest
If you’ve recently added a second job or receive government benefits, you may not have to worry about reporting your additional income. No parent wants to come off as avoiding child support, but Virginia does not include these forms of income in the calculation of child support.
