FAQs
Guideline Income
Guideline income, as defined in the applicable Child Support and Spousal Support Guidelines, is used to calculate both child and spousal support.
- Initially, guideline income is the total income on a party’s last tax return, line 150
- In addition , the applicable Guidelines allow for additional guideline income to be imputed (added). An example would be excess undistributed business income, personal expenses paid by a business, different tax rates, etc.
if there are significant fluctuations in historic guideline incomes, the legislation allows for averaging
The resulting guideline income is then applied for both spousal support and child support calculations.
In complex matters, a guideline income expert with an accounting designation is retained to calculate the guideline income.