The North Carolina Court of Appeals further refined, in a case of first impression, the definition of “gross monthly income” for purposes of calculating North Carolina child support. In this case, the North Carolina Court of Appeals addressed “gross monthly income” for child support calculation purposes. Two components of “gross monthly income” were evaluated by the North Carolina Court ojavascript:void(0);f Appeals:
1) Social Security and Medicare taxes employers are required to make on behalf of an employee.
On this issue, the Court of Appeals held that Social Security and Medicare taxes employers are required to make on behalf of an employee may not be considered income for child support purposes because these payments do not provide a parent with immediate access to funds that could be used to pay child support.
2) Employer’s payment toward health insurance premiums and contributions toward retirement.
On this issue (first impression), the North Carolina Court of Appeals held that an employer’s payment toward health insurance premiums and contributions toward retirement may not be included as income for child support purposes unless the trial court determines the contributions immediately support the employee in a way similar to income. In order to make this determination, the Court set forth the following factors for consideration by the trial court:
a) the parent’s control over whether and in what amount a contribution is made,
b) the parent’s established a course of conduct in retirement planning,
c) the amount of the contribution,
d) whether and to what extent there are incentives for the contribution, and
e) whether the contribution qualifies for favorable tax treatment.
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