Child support inputs

Self-Employment Income for Virginia Child Support

For a self-employed parent, business revenue, tax profit and money drawn from the business can be different numbers. A useful child-support discussion starts with records that explain those differences. This guide focuses on organising the business-income question, not valuing a business or auditing a parent.

Separate business activity from household spending

Keep a dated income-and-expense summary alongside the records behind it. Identify the business, relevant period and accounting method used in the summary. Mark transfers between accounts so that the same receipt is not accidentally counted twice.

A personal withdrawal is not a substitute for a complete business record. Conversely, an expense label in bookkeeping software does not establish that the expense receives the same treatment in a support calculation.

Use the support definition, not only the tax return

Section 20-108.2(C) addresses reasonable business expenses for income from self-employment, a partnership or a closely held business. The statutory question requires review of the actual expense and its support. A tax deduction should not automatically be copied into a child-support adjustment.

Keep the proposed income figure separate from a tax adviser’s tax calculation. If someone disputes a line, record the disputed amount and reason rather than deleting it from the records you retain.

Build a clear supporting record

Organise invoices or sales reports, payment records, expense receipts and the relevant tax material. Explain unusual items such as a large purchase, a reimbursement or a payment spanning two periods. For rental activity, use the statute’s separate treatment of rental-income expenses rather than assuming every cash outflow is deductible.

For example, a business account transfer to an owner can coexist with unpaid customer invoices and business obligations. A short transaction chronology helps a qualified reviewer ask the right questions; a single bank-balance screenshot does not.

Ask about missing or variable information

Identify seasonal work, recent changes and unavailable records. Ask what period should be used and how the court or agency expects a claimed expense to be documented. Do not create a private averaging rule merely because one month is unusually high or low.

This page does not determine which expenses are reasonable in a case or suggest withholding business records. Use current official instructions and qualified advice before filing a financial statement or signing an agreed support figure.

Read the legal sources

Checked for this guide on October 20, 2026. Read the current source and case-specific instructions before acting.

Related guides

For the wider picture, read the Virginia child support overview.

Browse all practical Virginia family-law guides. For broader context, explore our family-law topics or legal-aid and referral resources.