| The percentage guidelines are applied to the | | | | of determining net income. |
| supporting parent's net income. The starting figure | | | | 2) State Tax. |
| for net income is the total income from all sources | | | | 3) Social Security. |
| and is interpreted broadly. For example, a worker's | | | | 4) Mandatory retirement contributions. |
| compensation award has been held to constitute | | | | 5) Union dues. |
| income (In re Marriage of Dodds, 222 Ill. App. 3d 99). | | | | 6) Dependent and individual health insurance. |
| Additionally, pension benefits, when paid, are | | | | 7) Prior obligations of support or maintenance with a |
| considered income for purposes of calculating support | | | | court order. |
| (In re Marriage of Klomps, 286 Ill. App. 3d 710). In re | | | | 8) Expenditures for repayment of debts incurred for |
| Marriage of Baylor, 324 Ill. App. 3d 213, mother's | | | | the production of income, certain medical expenses |
| military allowance for off-base housing and other | | | | and certain expenditures for the benefit of the child |
| living expenses should have been included in net | | | | or other parent, exclusive of gifts. |
| income. | | | | Determining net income should not be a highly |
| Some courts have made exceptions from the | | | | contested issue. The calculation is truly mechanical |
| statutory inclusion of "all income from all sources". In | | | | with the exception of the court's discretion on |
| re Marriage of Feesen, 275 Ill. App. 3d 97, the court | | | | whether or not an expense is "reasonable and |
| properly refused to consider passive income reported | | | | necessary". In some cases, a party will have |
| on Husband's income tax returns because the | | | | expenses being deducted from pay which are not |
| testimony proved that Husband did not receive the | | | | necessary in an effort to reduce the net income. For |
| income. The income was retained by his company | | | | example, the person may have an auto payment |
| and simply was an effort to reduce the company's | | | | being deducted from pay. In that case, the payment |
| debt. With regard to a personal injury settlement, the | | | | needs to be added back into the calculation for net |
| court found that only the portion of the recovery | | | | income. In other cases, there may be an unnecessary |
| that replaced past and future lost income could be | | | | deduction for installment purchases that someone |
| considered (Villanueva v. O'Gara, 282 Ill. App. 3d 147). | | | | permits to be deducted from the paycheck. As |
| Several expenditures are subtracted from total | | | | above, that payment must be added back for proper |
| income to derive the net income. The following are | | | | calculation purposes. |
| said expenditures: | | | | If the parties are adequately represented by counsel, |
| 1) Federal Tax. The tax must be at the properly | | | | many of the issues regarding net income will become |
| calculated level. If a non-custodial parent over | | | | simplified. Once a party is made aware of the |
| withholds and overpays his or her income tax, the | | | | guidelines and the court's likely ruling, an agreement |
| overpayment should be added back for the purpose | | | | should be easily obtainable. |