(1)
Consideration of all income. All income and resources of each
parent's household shall be disclosed and considered by the court
when the court determines the child support obligation of each
parent. Only the income of the parents of the children whose
support is at issue shall be calculated for purposes of
calculating the basic support obligation. Income and resources
of any other person shall not be included in calculating the
basic support obligation.
(2) Verification of income. Tax returns for the preceding
two years and current paystubs shall be provided to verify income
and deductions. Other sufficient verification shall be required
for income and deductions which do not appear on tax returns or
paystubs.
(3) Income sources included in gross monthly income. Except
as specifically excluded in subsection (4) of this section,
monthly gross income shall include income from any source,
including:
(a) Salaries;
(b) Wages;
(c) Commissions;
(d) Deferred compensation;
(e) Overtime, except as excluded for income in subsection
(4)(h) of this section;
(f) Contract-related benefits;
(g) Income from second jobs, except as excluded for income
in subsection (4)(h) of this section;
(h) Dividends;
(i) Interest;
(j) Trust income;
(k) Severance pay;
(l) Annuities;
(m) Capital gains;
(n) Pension retirement benefits;
(o) Workers' compensation;
(p) Unemployment benefits;
(q) Maintenance actually received;
(r) Bonuses;
(s) Social security benefits;
(t) Disability insurance benefits; and
(u) Income from self-employment, rent, royalties, contracts,
proprietorship of a business, or joint ownership of a partnership
or closely held corporation.
(4) Income sources excluded from gross monthly income. The
following income and resources shall be disclosed but shall not
be included in gross income:
(a) Income of a new spouse or new domestic partner or income
of other adults in the household;
(b) Child support received from other relationships;
(c) Gifts and prizes;
(d) Temporary assistance for needy families;
(e) Supplemental security income;
(f) General assistance;
(g) Food stamps; and
(h) Overtime or income from second jobs beyond forty hours
per week averaged over a twelve-month period worked to provide
for a current family's needs, to retire past relationship debts,
or to retire child support debt, when the court finds the income
will cease when the party has paid off his or her debts.
Receipt of income and resources from temporary assistance
for needy families, supplemental security income, general
assistance, and food stamps shall not be a reason to deviate from
the standard calculation.
(5) Determination of net income. The following expenses
shall be disclosed and deducted from gross monthly income to
calculate net monthly income:
(a) Federal and state income taxes;
(b) Federal insurance contributions act deductions;
(c) Mandatory pension plan payments;
(d) Mandatory union or professional dues;
(e) State industrial insurance premiums;
(f) Court-ordered maintenance to the extent actually paid;
(g) Up to five thousand dollars per year in voluntary
retirement contributions actually made if the contributions show
a pattern of contributions during the one-year period preceding
the action establishing the child support order unless there is a
determination that the contributions were made for the purpose of
reducing child support; and
(h) Normal business expenses and self-employment taxes for
self-employed persons. Justification shall be required for any
business expense deduction about which there is disagreement.
Items deducted from gross income under this subsection shall
not be a reason to deviate from the standard calculation.
(6) Imputation of income. The court shall impute income to
a parent when the parent is voluntarily unemployed or voluntarily
underemployed. The court shall determine whether the parent is
voluntarily underemployed or voluntarily unemployed based upon
that parent's work history, education, health, and age, or any
other relevant factors. A court shall not impute income to a
parent who is gainfully employed on a full-time basis, unless the
court finds that the parent is voluntarily underemployed and
finds that the parent is purposely underemployed to reduce the
parent's child support obligation. Income shall not be imputed
for an unemployable parent. Income shall not be imputed to a
parent to the extent the parent is unemployed or significantly
underemployed due to the parent's efforts to comply with
court-ordered reunification efforts under chapter 13.34 RCW or
under a voluntary placement agreement with an agency supervising
the child. In the absence of records of a parent's actual
earnings, the court shall impute a parent's income in the
following order of priority:
(a) Full-time earnings at the current rate of pay;
(b) Full-time earnings at the historical rate of pay based
on reliable information, such as employment security department
data;
(c) Full-time earnings at a past rate of pay where
information is incomplete or sporadic;
(d) Full-time earnings at minimum wage in the jurisdiction
where the parent resides if the parent has a recent history of
minimum wage earnings, is recently coming off public assistance,
general assistance-unemployable, supplemental security income, or
disability, has recently been released from incarceration, or is
a high school student;
(e) 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.
[2009 c 84 § 3; 2008 c 6 § 1038; 1997 c 59 § 4; 1993 c 358 § 4; 1991 sp.s. c 28 § 5.]
NOTES:
Effective date -- 2009 c 84: See note following RCW 26.19.020.
Part headings not law -- Severability -- 2008 c 6: See RCW 26.60.900 and 26.60.901.
Severability -- Effective date -- Captions not law -- 1991 sp.s. c 28: See notes following RCW 26.09.100.