Commissioned income and child support calc

I am a massage therapist and I work several different jobs to make ends meet. My ex is a registered nurse and he pays child support. We have 50/50 custody of our two kids. When we calculated child support in our separation agreement, he insisted that my income was low by choice while we were married ( because I took care of the home and homeschooled our kids at the time) and he decided how much I should be able to make in this first year of us being divorced based on numbers and averages that he found and decided we’re reasonable. I have worked as full time as I can this whole year - as massage is a commissioned and booking-reliant industry my income fluctuates a great deal- and I still have not made as much as he decided I should be able to.

So my question is , when calculating child support , would the court use my ACTUAL income numbers from this year or industry averages like my ex husband is insisting ?
He wanted to reduce his child support recently because of a credit card bill increase as well, and I told him he could not do that because he already owes me more based on the fact I’m not making what he thought I could.
Can a credit card bill increase constitute as a condition to reduce child support? He has the ability to work more to pay this card himself.
Thanks for the help.

Child support is calculated using the parents’ gross (before taxes) income. A judge will use each parent’s actual income and wages and will not use industry averages. Income can also not be imputed to you (i.e. the judge determines that you should be able to make at least a certain amount) unless the judge finds that you are underemployed in bad faith.

A credit card bill increase is not sufficient grounds to ask for a reduction in child support.


Anna Ayscue

Attorney with Rosen Law Firm Cary • Chapel Hill • Durham • Raleigh • Wake Forest

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