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Notes from CleanCalc
Engineer-first writing on California child-support math: the statute, the cases that shape it, and the calculator we built to make the formula visible.
By The CleanCalc Team · RSS
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Quit your job to lower child support? How Texas courts use earning potential (§154.066)
Under Tex. Fam. Code §154.066 a court may set support on earning potential, not actual pay. The statute, Iliff v. Iliff, and the arithmetic, worked.
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- California 14 min read
Lost your job? California child support, unemployment benefits as income, and the §3653 retroactivity rule
Unemployment benefits count as income under §4058, but a lower support order reaches back only so far under §3653. Here is the statute and the math.
- Florida 22 min read
Florida's 73-overnight rule: how §61.30(11)(b) changes child support, and why it can go up
At 73 overnights a year, Florida child support switches to the §61.30(11)(b) gross-up. The statute text, the Form 12.902(e) lines, and the arithmetic, worked.
- Texas 14 min read
More than $11,700 a month in net resources in Texas: how child support above the cap is calculated (§154.126)
Texas guideline percentages stop at $11,700 of monthly net resources. Above it, §154.126 turns on the child's proven needs. The statute and arithmetic, worked.
- Texas 14 min read
Do I qualify for spousal maintenance in Texas? The §8.051 gates, and why no calculator can answer that
Texas maintenance has one threshold and four alternative paths. Three turn on court findings. The full gate, the ceilings past it, and the ten-year presumption.
- Texas 11 min read
Is the Texas OAG child support calculator accurate? The current one is. An old copy still online is not.
The OAG's current calculator applies the $11,700 cap in effect since 2025-09-01. A legacy copy still online applies $9,200. What changes, and what doesn't.
- Texas 9 min read
How a second family lowers Texas child support: the §154.128 and §154.129 methods, side by side
Texas has two lawful ways to account for children in another household: a four-step computation and a chart that pre-computes it. Both worked through.
- Texas 10 min read
Why the Texas calculator says you owe more than your take-home pay suggests
Texas support runs on net resources, not take-home pay. 401(k), car payments and your own health premium are not deducted. Here is the arithmetic, line by line.
- California 10 min read
How custody timeshare gets counted in California, and why hours vs. nights changes the support number
§4055 uses H%, the higher earner's custody timeshare. How that gets measured (hours? nights? days?) can swing the support number by hundreds of dollars.
- California 18 min read
§3600 temporary spousal support: what the statute says, and what every county actually does
§3600 lets the court order temporary spousal support during dissolution. Local guideline formulas do the math, here is how, and why §4320 is different.
- California 13 min read
§4062 mandatory add-ons: childcare and uninsured medical, apportioned the right way
California guideline support stops at §4055. §4062 adds childcare and uninsured medical on top, apportioned per §4061. Here is the math, with the gotchas.
- California 11 min read
§4058(b) imputation: when a California court treats a parent as earning what they could earn
California's §4058(b) lets a court substitute earning capacity for actual income, but only on specific findings. Here's the test, the case law, and the math.
- California 11 min read
California child support when you're self-employed: the §4058 math that incumbents skip
Most CA guideline calculators treat 1099, sole-prop, and S-corp income like a W-2. The result is wrong. Here is what §4058 actually says, with the math.
- California 11 min read
Post-SB 343: why your 2023 California child-support calculator is wrong
§4055 K-factor table changed September 1, 2024, and so did the low-income presumption. If your calculator predates that, the number is wrong.
- California 10 min read
DissoMaster is dead. Here's what to use instead, and what's actually 'certified.'
DissoMaster, the bench-tool standard for CA child support, was discontinued in 2025. The post-DissoMaster landscape, and what 'certified' actually means.
- California 11 min read
When the §4055 guideline isn't the answer: §4057 deviation, in plain English
California courts treat §4055 as presumed correct, but §4057 lets them deviate. Here's what triggers deviation, what §4056 requires, and the math.