States › Tennessee › Calculator
2021 guideline data Income Shares model Estimates only

Tennessee Child Support Calculator

Enter both parents' incomes, number of children, and parenting time to estimate the Tennessee monthly child support obligation under the Income Shares model. Consult a family law attorney for a binding order.

17%
1-child base rate
#33 of 51
base-rate rank
No cap
income ceiling
84.2%
cases with a support order

$846/mo

One-child base rate at Tennessee's median income

#41 of 51

Nationally, highest first

17% of $59,695, the Census ACS 2022 median household income for Tennessee, divided across twelve months, 11% below the median state. An index for comparing states, not a case estimate: guidelines apply to the obligor's income, or to combined parental income under the Income Shares model, and a court sets the actual order. How this is derived.

The verdict

Tennessee carries a below-median one-child base rate.

According to Tennessee Title IV-D guideline publication, last checked 2021.

17%
published 1-child starting rate
84.2%
of cases have a support order

Ranks describe published guideline starting rates across this portal's 51-jurisdiction table, not court outcomes or collection performance.

National context

Where Tennessee's one-child starting rate sits

Each bar counts jurisdictions with a published one-child base rate in that 3-point guideline band. Tennessee is marked in its own band; counts are exact from the 51-jurisdiction dataset.

  1. 13-15%
  2. 16-18%
  3. 19-21%
  4. 22-24%
  5. 25-27%

Tennessee's 17% published one-child starting rate is higher than 6 of 51 recorded state rates. This comparison describes the published starting percentage, not a complete child-support estimate.

Source: Published state child-support guideline records in PlainChildSupport's 51-jurisdiction dataset

Income Shares peers by one-child starting rate

1. New York17%2. North Carolina17%3. Oklahoma17%4. South Carolina17%5. South Dakota17%6. Tennessee17%7. Virginia16%8. Wyoming16%9. Arkansas15%10. Washington13%
Tennessee is highlighted among 43 Income Shares jurisdictions with a published base_pct_1child. Same model family, different statutory schedules; not a finished obligation ranking.

Source: State Title IV-D guideline publications compiled in PlainChildSupport states.base_pct_1child filtered by formula_type · 2021 Peer board lists up to 10 Income Shares states sorted by published one-child starting rate. Counts match SELECT COUNT on the live states table.

Large Title IV-D caseload

Tennessee calculator in the heavy-caseload third

302,880 active cases put Tennessee in the heaviest third by OCSE P-52 volume (#11).

Tennessee applies the Income Shares model across a Title IV-D caseload of 302,880 active cases (heavy third nationally), with a published 17% one-child start. Parenting-time and add-on fields adjust the estimate; courts can still deviate.

Sources: Tennessee Child Support Guidelines · HHS OCSE Annual Report to Congress (Form 157) · estimate only; a court order requires the official worksheet.

Interactive Calculator for Tennessee

Tennessee uses the Income Shares to calculate child support. Both parents' combined income and each parent's share of it are used to look up the obligation on the state's published child support schedule.

Our Tennessee interactive calculator is in development. Phase 1 covers the 10 largest states.

Use Official Tennessee Calculator

Tennessee Guideline Summary

~17%

1 Child

~25%

2 Children

~31%

3 Children

None

Income Cap

View full Tennessee guidelines →

Calculators nearest Tennessee's 17% start

Sorted by absolute gap in published one-child starting rate among states with a verified interactive calculator. Not a recommendation of which worksheet to file.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where does Tennessee's one-child starting rate sit nationally?

Tennessee's 17% published one-child starting rate is higher than 6 of 51 recorded state rates. This comparison describes the published starting percentage, not a complete child-support estimate.

Does Tennessee publish an income ceiling for this estimate?

No income ceiling is recorded in this portal's 2021 Tennessee guideline dataset. The official worksheet remains the authority for a binding calculation.

This Tennessee estimate uses Tennessee's own published guideline parameters and HHS OCSS child support enforcement caseload/collections data (2025). See our methodology for details.