Great Falls, Virginia · Child Support
If you own a business or work for yourself, child support is rarely as simple as pointing to a pay stub, because there is not one. Maybe you are worried the court will use a number that does not reflect a hard year. Or you are on the other side, sure your co-parent’s business income is larger than the tax return shows. Both worries are common in Great Falls, and both are workable. Let me walk you through how Virginia figures income when there is no regular paycheck.
By Corrie Sirkin, Esq. · Founding Partner, NOVA Legal Professionals
This article is one part of our larger child support guide. For the full picture, start with our cornerstone, Child Support in Virginia. Here, I will focus on self-employment and business income.
Income is gross receipts minus real business expenses
The starting point is set by statute. For a self-employed parent, income for support is gross receipts minus the ordinary and necessary expenses of running the business, under Va. Code § 20-108.2. So it is not your top-line revenue, but it is also not just the modest salary you might pay yourself. It is the real earnings the business produces for you after legitimate costs. Virginia also lets you deduct half of your self-employment tax, recognizing that the self-employed carry both halves of it.
The tax return is a starting point, not the final word
Here is what catches owners off guard. The number at the bottom of a business tax return is often lower than the income a court will use for support, because tax law lets you deduct things that child support does not. The clearest example is depreciation. Virginia does not allow depreciation, a paper expense, to reduce income for support, even though it lowers your taxable income. The same goes for the cost of acquiring assets and the principal portion of certain loan payments. So expect the support income to be built from the real cash the business throws off, not the taxable bottom line.
Personal expenses run through the business get added back
This is the heart of most self-employed cases. Courts look closely at expenses that are really personal benefits dressed up as business costs: a car the family drives, meals, travel, a phone plan, a home office that doubles as the den. To the extent those provide a personal lifestyle benefit, a court can add them back to income when figuring support. We are honest that this cuts both ways. If you are the owner, expect scrutiny, so keep things clean. If you are the other parent, this is exactly where a fair number is found.
Lifestyle Tells a Story
When reported income does not match how someone actually lives, courts notice. A parent who reports modest income but carries a large Great Falls mortgage and steady spending invites a closer look. Honest, well-kept books protect a business owner, while a gap between income and lifestyle invites add-backs and, in some cases, imputed income.
Is business income part of your case?
Whether you own the business or you are trying to understand your co-parent’s real income, bring me the returns and records and I will help you get to a fair, defensible number. No pressure, no commitment.
The burden of proof is on the person claiming the expense
If you want a business expense to reduce your income for support, the law puts the burden on you to prove it is reasonable and necessary, by the weight of the evidence. That sounds demanding, and it is, but it is also protective: legitimate, well-documented expenses do count, and a parent cannot simply wave away your real costs. Good records are your best friend here, both for keeping your own number fair and for challenging one that has been inflated or hidden.
When income is hidden or suppressed: imputation
If a court believes an owner is deliberately understating income, running personal costs through the business, or keeping their own pay artificially low while the business does well, it can impute income, basing support on what the parent truly earns or could earn. The same applies to a parent who scales back work without good cause. The court is not limited to the story the paperwork tells. You can read more on our imputed income page.
When the standard guideline does not fit: deviation
Business income can be lumpy, seasonal, or unusually high, and the guideline is a rebuttable presumption, not a straitjacket. In the right case, a court can deviate from the guideline amount, up or down, when the standard calculation would be unfair given the real circumstances. For higher earners, it is worth knowing that Virginia’s 2025 update set a clear formula above the $42,500 combined monthly income cap, a level many Great Falls business owners will reach in a good year.
How we help in Great Falls
We work with the returns, profit and loss statements, and bank records, bring in forensic help when a case calls for it, and build a number that reflects the real economics of the business, whichever side you are on. Great Falls is part of Fairfax County, so these matters run through the Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic Relations court, or the state.
“With a business, the tax return is where we start, not where we stop. Child support runs on the real cash the business produces, not the number left after every paper deduction.”
Corrie Sirkin, Esq. · Founding Partner
Corrie’s Practical Advice
If you own the business, get your books clean and keep your personal and business spending clearly separated, because that is what makes your expenses hold up. If you are the other parent, gather several years of returns, profit and loss statements, and bank records, since the patterns over time tend to tell the truth. And do not assume the tax bottom line is the support number, because with a business it usually is not.
Real numbers, honestly shown, protect your kids and keep the case from turning into a guessing game.
Authoritative References
Sources
- Code of Virginia, § 20-108.2. Self-employment and business income: gross receipts less reasonable business expenses, with no deduction for depreciation, acquisition cost, or loan principal, half of self-employment tax deducted, and the burden of proof on the party claiming an expense. law.lis.virginia.gov
- Code of Virginia, § 20-108.2. Imputation of income for a parent who is voluntarily underemployed or who understates earnings.
- Code of Virginia, § 20-108.1. The rebuttable presumption that the guideline amount is correct, and the factors that allow a court to deviate.
- Senate Bill 805 (2025). Raised the combined monthly income cap to $42,500, added the above-cap formula, and increased guideline amounts, effective July 1, 2025.
- Fairfax County and Virginia DCSE. Support, including self-employment income disputes, is handled in the Fairfax Juvenile and Domestic Relations court and through the Division of Child Support Enforcement.
Statutory authority verified against current Virginia law as of June 2026. Every child support case turns on its own facts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is income figured for a self-employed parent in Virginia?
Income is gross business receipts minus the ordinary and necessary expenses of running the business, plus a deduction of half the self-employment tax. It is not the same as the taxable bottom line.
Does depreciation lower child support?
No. Virginia does not allow depreciation, a paper expense, to reduce income for child support, even though it lowers taxable income.
What about personal expenses paid through the business?
Courts can add back expenses that provide a personal lifestyle benefit, like a personal-use car, meals, travel, or a phone, when figuring support income.
What if a business owner hides income?
A court can impute income, basing support on what the parent truly earns or could earn, when it finds income is understated or work is voluntarily reduced without good cause.
When You Are Ready
Let’s find the real number for your Great Falls case.
Whether you own the business or need to understand your co-parent’s true income, bring me the records and I will help build a fair, defensible figure. The first call is a conversation, not a commitment.