Child maintenance calculator (Romania)

How is child maintenance calculated in Romania?

Child maintenance (pensie de întreținere, often called pensie alimentară) is set under art. 529 alin. (2) Codul civil as a fraction of the net monthly income of the parent who owes it. The law fixes caps, not automatic amounts: the court can award up to these fractions, depending on the child's actual needs and the parent's real means.

Art. 529 alin. (3) Codul civil adds an overall limit: the maintenance owed to everyone entitled to it, children, parents or a former spouse, cannot exceed half of the net monthly income of the person liable.

A concrete example: a parent with a net income of 5,000 lei per month who owes maintenance for two children can be ordered to pay at most 5,000 × 1/3 = 1,666.67 lei per month, for both children together. For one child and an income of 3,000 lei, the cap would be 750 lei per month. The court can set less if the child's needs are covered by a smaller amount.

Is maintenance for two children split equally?

This is the most common confusion. The 1/3 fraction for two children is a single combined cap, not 1/6 for each child. The law does not divide the sum mathematically: the court allocates it between the children according to each one's needs. A small child and a teenager in high school can receive different amounts out of the same total, because their expenses differ. Likewise, for three or more children the 1/2 cap covers all the children together.

How much is child maintenance if the parent has no income?

The maintenance obligation does not disappear when the parent has no job. Courts look at the capacity to work: a parent fit for work is considered able to earn at least the minimum wage. That is why, in practice, many courts use the net minimum wage as the benchmark, estimated at 2,699 lei from 1 July 2026, based on the gross minimum wage of 4,325 lei set by Government Decision (HG) 146/2026. For one child, the indicative benchmark would therefore be up to 674.75 lei per month. This is a benchmark used by the courts, not a rule in the Civil Code, and the court may decide differently depending on the circumstances.

Until what age is child maintenance paid?

Parents owe maintenance to a minor child until the age of 18. If the young person continues their studies, the obligation lasts until the studies end, but not beyond the age of 26 (art. 499 alin. (3) Codul civil). Maintenance can be set either as a fixed sum or as a percentage of the parent's net income (art. 530 alin. (3) Codul civil), and a fixed sum is indexed to inflation by law.

The amount is not set in stone: if the parent's income or the child's needs change, either party can ask the court to increase or reduce the maintenance (art. 531 Codul civil). If you need maintenance set, changed or enforced, write to me and I will look at your situation. More on my Romanian pages on family law (Romanian) and child maintenance (Romanian).