Child support in California is based on each parent’s income, so a parent who hides or underreports income is trying to shortchange their own child. Understandably, the other parent wants to know the penalty for hiding income for child support — and courts take the problem seriously, with real consequences and effective tools to uncover it. Below we cover how courts catch hiding income child support and the penalty for hiding income for child support california parents can face.
How courts detect concealed income
Parents are required to disclose their finances under oath in an Income and Expense Declaration, and concealing income there is a false statement made to the court. Judges and the local child support agency have ways to look past the paperwork: subpoenas of bank and business records, review of tax returns and lifestyle, depositions, and, in higher-stakes cases, a forensic accountant who reconstructs true income from spending and deposits. Self-employment and cash businesses draw particular scrutiny, because they are where income is most easily understated.
Imputed income closes the gap
One of the most powerful tools is imputation. If the court finds a parent is deliberately understating income or suppressing their earning capacity, it can impute income — that is, calculate support based on what the parent could and should be earning rather than the low figure they reported. The result is that hiding income for child support often backfires, producing a support order as high as or higher than an honest disclosure would have.
The penalties
The penalty for hiding income for child support in California can include a recalculated, higher support order applied retroactively; a money judgment for the resulting arrears, which accrue mandatory interest; and monetary sanctions and attorney-fee awards against the parent who concealed income. Because the concealment involves sworn declarations, deliberate falsification can also expose a parent to findings of contempt and, in serious cases, perjury. In short, the strategy rarely works and usually costs the hiding parent more than honesty would have.
Talk to Furubotten Law
Every page on this site ends the same way it began: with a real lawyer. If you are navigating any of the issues discussed above, Denise Furubotten, Esq. brings 30 years of California family law experience to your matter. Call Furubotten Law, APC at (714) 795-3862 to schedule a confidential evaluation.