2009 New Hampshire Statutes
TITLE XLIII — DOMESTIC RELATIONS (Includes Chapters 457 - 461-A)
CHAPTER 458-C — CHILD SUPPORT GUIDELINES
Section 458-C:2 Definitions.

In this chapter:
    I. ""Adjusted gross income'' means gross income, less:
       (a) Court-ordered or administratively ordered support actually paid to others, for adults or children.
       (b) Fifty percent of actual self-employment tax paid.
       (c) Mandatory, not discretionary, retirement contributions.
       (d) Actual state income taxes paid.
       (e) Amounts actually paid by the obligor for allowable child care expenses or the medical support obligation for the minor children to whom the child support order applies.
    I-a. ""Allowable child care expenses'' means actual work-related child care expenses for the children to whom the order applies, up to no more than an annual total of $5,000 for one child, $9,000 for 2 children, and $12,000 for 3 or more children.
    II. ""Child support obligation'' means the proportion of total support obligation which the obligor parent is ordered to pay in money to the obligee parent as child support.
    III. ""Court'' means issuing authority, including the office of fair hearings, department of health and human services, having jurisdiction to issue a child support order.
    IV. ""Gross income'' means all income from any source, whether earned or unearned, including, but not limited to, wages, salary, commissions, tips, annuities, social security benefits, trust income, lottery or gambling winnings, interest, dividends, investment income, net rental income, self-employment income, alimony, business profits, pensions, bonuses, and payments from other government programs (except public assistance programs, including aid to families with dependent children, aid to the permanently and totally disabled, supplemental security income, food stamps, and general assistance received from a county or town), including, but not limited to, workers' compensation, veterans' benefits, unemployment benefits, and disability benefits; provided, however, that no income earned at an hourly rate for hours worked, on an occasional or seasonal basis, in excess of 40 hours in any week shall be considered as income for the purpose of determining gross income; and provided further that such hourly rate income is earned for actual overtime labor performed by an employee who earns wages at an hourly rate in a trade or industry which traditionally or commonly pays overtime wages, thus excluding professionals, business owners, business partners, self-employed individuals and others who may exercise sufficient control over their income so as to recharacterize payment to themselves to include overtime wages in addition to a salary. In addition, the following shall apply:
       (a) The court, in its discretion, may consider as gross income the difference between the amount a parent is earning and the amount a parent has earned in cases where the parent voluntarily becomes unemployed or underemployed, unless the parent is physically or mentally incapacitated.
       (b) The income of either parent's current spouse shall not be considered as gross income to the parent unless the parent resigns from or refuses employment or is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, in which case the income of the spouse shall be imputed to the parent to the extent that the parent had earned income in his or her usual employment.
       (c) The court, in its discretion, may order that child support based on one-time or irregular income be paid when the income is received, rather than be included in the weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly child support calculation. Such support shall be based on the applicable percentage of net income.
    IV-a. ""Medical support obligation'' means the obligation of either or both parents to provide health insurance coverage for a dependent child and/or to pay a monetary sum toward the cost of health insurance provided by a public entity, parent, or other person, or for medical costs not covered by insurance, including payment for the cost of premiums, co-payments, and deductibles.
    V. ""Minimum support order'' means an order of support equal to $50 per month, unless the court determines that a lesser amount is appropriate under the particular circumstances of the case.
    VI. ""Net income'' means the parents' combined adjusted gross income less standard deductions published on an annual basis by the department of health and human services and based on federal Internal Revenue Service withholding table amounts for federal income tax, F.I.C.A., and Medicare, which an employer withholds from the monthly income of a single person who has claimed a withholding allowance for 2 people.
       (a) Federal income tax;
       (b) F.I.C.A.
    VI-a. ""Reasonable cost'' means that the medical support obligation does not exceed 4 percent of the individual parent's gross income.
    VII. ""Obligor'' means the parent responsible for the payment of child support under the terms of a child support order.
    VIII. ""Obligee'' means the parent or person who receives the payment of child support under the terms of the child support order.
    IX. ""Percentage'' means the numerical figure that is applied to net income to determine the amount of child support.
    X. ""Self-support reserve'' means the poverty level standard of need as established by the department of health and human services for a single individual living alone.
    XI. ""Total support obligation'' means net income multiplied by the appropriate percentage derived from RSA 458-C:3.

Source. 1988, 253:1. 1989, 406:1. 1990, 224:1, 2, 5. 1995, 310:181. 1998, 242:1-3. 2004, 77:1, eff. May 7, 2004. 2006, 189:1, eff. July 29, 2006. 2007, 227:3 to 5, eff. June 25, 2007. 2008, 245:1, eff. June 24, 2008.