(a) Gross income shall include, but is not limited to, the following:
1. Salary or wages.
2. Bonuses, commissions, allowances, overtime, tips, and other similar payments.
3. Business income from sources such as self-employment, partnership, close corporations, and independent contracts. “Business income” means gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce income.
4. Disability benefits.
5. All workers’ compensation benefits and settlements.
6. Unemployment compensation.
7. Pension, retirement, or annuity payments.
8. Social security benefits.
9. Spousal support received from a previous marriage or court ordered in the marriage before the court.
10. Interest and dividends.
11. Rental income, which is gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce the income.
12. Income from royalties, trusts, or estates.
13. Reimbursed expenses or in kind payments to the extent that they reduce living expenses.
14. Gains derived from dealings in property, unless the gain is nonrecurring.
But this list is not exhaustive. The courts tend to include any money coming into the home from whatever source if the funds are coming in and can be documented by paperwork, testimony, or lifestyle. This means regular allowances from family members, irregular income earned doing side jobs or home based businesses, and even government assistance sometimes can affect the income attributed to the parties in child support calculation.
To ensure that the appropriate income numbers are used, it’s best to involve professionals and hire an attorney. But even with an attorney, you must disclose all source of income to the court and to the other person.
