Summer camp, lessons, and school sports are already built into Georgia child support, so a court can add money for them only through a deviation that clears a 7 percent threshold.
What the Statute Says
Under OCGA 19-6-15(i)(2)(I)(ii), “special expenses incurred for child-rearing” may support a deviation. The list includes “summer camp; music or art lessons; travel; school sponsored extracurricular activities, such as band, clubs, and athletics.” But a “portion of the basic child support obligation is intended to cover average amounts of special expenses,” so only “when such special expenses exceed 7 percent of the basic child support obligation” does the excess become a deviation covering the full expense.
No Separate Order for Activities
In Turner v. Turner, 285 Ga. 866 (2009), the decree made the father pay two-thirds of the children’s extracurricular expenses. The Georgia Supreme Court reversed, because a court “was without authority to make a separate child support award, one outside the parameters of the Child Support Worksheet, based on the cost of such activities.” Similarly, in Wiggins v. Rogers, 367 Ga. App. 315 (2023), an order that the father pay half of his daughter’s activity costs was reversed for lack of findings, even though he had agreed to it at the hearing.
The Threshold Is Real
In Black v. Black, 292 Ga. 691 (2013), the only special expense was soccer, which did not exceed 7 percent of the basic obligation, so there was no deviation and no findings were needed. Likewise, in Day v. Mason, 357 Ga. App. 836 (2020), the child was not in any activities, so the threshold could not have been met and the award was reversed outright. And in Brogdon v. Brogdon, 290 Ga. 618 (2012), a father who offered no evidence of activity costs got no deviation.
Any deviation granted goes on Schedule E with the written findings our post on required court findings for deviations describes.
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This post is a quick overview of the law and is not intended as legal advice. Please feel free to contact our office for a consultation if you have questions about this or any other legal aspects regarding your case!