Georgia’s SB 454 Is Now “Live” in the Child Support Calculator: What Parents Need to Know About the New Parenting Time Adjustment and Low-Income Adjustment

February 4, 2026

This article is for general information only and is not legal advice.


Georgia’s child support math just took a meaningful step toward a more standardized process. Senate Bill 454 (SB 454) has now been implemented in the Georgia Child Support Calculator, introducing two major changes that parents are already seeing reflected in worksheet outputs: the Parenting Time Adjustment and the Low-Income Adjustment.


If you are establishing child support for the first time after a recent divorce, negotiating a settlement, or considering a modification, this update matters because it can change the presumptive number people have become used to seeing, especially in cases involving significant parenting time or a lower-income parent.


The Georgia Child Support Calculator has been updated for SB 454


The official online calculator posted a maintenance window tied directly to SB 454 implementation, noting it would be unavailable temporarily to implement these updates.


And the legal “switch” was not just a tech rollout. SB 454 sets the effective date of the Parenting Time Adjustment provisions and the Low-Income Adjustment (and its table) as January 1, 2026.


Update #1: The new Parenting Time Adjustment is built into the calculation


Historically, parenting time often showed up in Georgia child support as a deviation that had to be argued for and supported. SB 454 moves Georgia toward a more formula-based approach by creating a “parenting time adjustment” that reduces (or rebalances) the basic obligation to account for expenses incurred during a parent’s court-ordered parenting time.


SB 454 defines the parenting time adjustment as an adjustment reducing the basic child support obligation owed by the noncustodial parent to account for expenses incurred during that parent’s court-ordered parenting time.


A few details matter a lot in real life:


  • It is tied to court-ordered parenting time. SB 454 states the adjustment is used to account for court-ordered parenting time.

  • Parenting time is broadly defined. SB 454 clarifies that parenting time includes time with the child whether it is labeled visitation, physical custody, or parenting time.

  • It flows through Schedule C. The law directs that the determination of the parenting time adjustment is entered on Child Support Schedule C.


Update #2: The Low-Income Adjustment replaces the old low-income deviation approach


SB 454 also creates a “low-income adjustment” that applies when a parent’s monthly adjusted gross income falls below the highest income shown in a low-income adjustment table. In that situation, the child support obligation for the parent is the lesser of:


  1. the parent’s presumptive amount of child support, or

  2. the amount determined using the low-income adjustment table.

Critically, SB 454 explicitly states the calculator will perform the needed comparison automatically and input the amount on the child support worksheet when the table applies.


In plain English: for qualifying low-income scenarios, the updated calculator is designed to apply the table logic automatically, rather than leaving the issue primarily to argument and discretion.


A quick caution before you rely on a calculator screenshot


The Georgia Child Support Calculator is a powerful tool, but it is not the entire case. Child support outcomes still depend on:



  • accurate income inputs and allowable adjustments,

  • confirmed court-ordered parenting time terms,

  • and case-specific issues that can affect the worksheet result or support order.

If you are making decisions based on a new calculator output, it is worth pressure-testing the inputs and understanding how SB 454’s adjustments are being applied in your specific fact pattern.