What Is Imputed Income, And How Can It Affect Child Support?

The court will look at each parent’s income to determine issues such as child support or post-secondary support. Imputed income is an estimate by the court of an individual’s income, even if they are not actually earning that amount.

This typically occurs when a parent is voluntarily underemployed or voluntarily unemployed. To decide this, the court looks at many factors, including the parent’s work history, education, skills, health, age, job search efforts, local job market, and any barriers to employment. RCW 26.19.071(6).

However, income will not be imputed if:

• The parent is working full-time (unless they are intentionally earning less to reduce child support)
• The parent is unemployable
• The parent’s reduced or lack of employment is due to complying with court-ordered reunification efforts or approved child placement arrangements

The court will not arbitrarily decide an individual’s income. The court will impute an individual’s income in the following order of priority:

1. Full-time earnings at the current rate of pay;
2. Full-time earnings at the historical rate of pay based on reliable information, such as employment security department data;
3. Full-time earnings at a past rate of pay where information is incomplete or sporadic;
4. Earnings of thirty-two hours per week at minimum wage in the jurisdiction where the parent resides if the parent is on or recently coming off temporary assistance for needy families or recently coming off aged, blind, or disabled assistance benefits, pregnant women assistance benefits, essential needs and housing support, supplemental security income, or disability, has recently been released from incarceration, or is a recent high school graduate. Imputation of earnings at thirty-two hours per week under this subsection is a rebuttable presumption;
5. Full-time earnings at minimum wage in the jurisdiction where the parent resides if the parent has a recent history of minimum wage earnings, has never been employed and has no earnings history, or has no significant earnings history;
6. Median net monthly income of year-round full-time workers as derived from the United States bureau of census, current population reports, or such replacement report as published by the bureau of census.

Why Does Imputed Income Matter?

Imputed income can affect the calculation of child support and the financial obligations assigned to each parent. If a court determines that a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, the child support calculation may reflect imputed income rather than the parent’s current earnings.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.