Occoquan, 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 worry the court will use a number that ignores a hard year. Or you are on the other side, sure your co-parent’s business earns more than the tax return shows. Both worries are common in Occoquan, and both are workable. Let me walk you through how Virginia figures income when there is no regular paycheck.

By Alisa Chunephisal, 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.

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. 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.

How we help in Occoquan

We build a fair, defensible income figure from real records, challenge add-backs and hidden income, and present a self-employed parent’s true picture clearly. Occoquan child support is handled through the Prince William County Juvenile and Domestic Relations court at the Judicial Center in Manassas, alongside the state’s child support division. You can read more on our imputed income page.

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