Minnesota Child Support Guidelines Calculator

The Minnesota Child Support Division bases the Child Support Guidelines Calculator on the Minnesota child support guidelines statute. Parents, attorneys, and others use the calculator to estimate the amount of child support the court may order on a case. The calculator is for informational and educational use only. It is not a substitute for the child support guidelines for those who use it prior to a court hearing.

The statute includes a parenting expense adjustment based on the number of court-ordered overnights. If your existing order includes a parenting schedule but does not state the percentage of parenting time or the number of court-ordered overnights, go to the Minnesota Child Support Parenting Time Calendar Tool to calculate the number of court-ordered overnights to enter on question 17b. You may also use this calculator for court orders requiring the parenting expense adjustment effective through July 31, 2018 by following the instructions posted below, before question 17. Please visit the Parenting Expense Adjustment website for more information.

The court has the final authority to determine the amount of a child support order. The calculator provides an estimate only and is not a guarantee of the amount of child support the court will order. The calculator is only able to calculate a basic support amount for six or fewer joint children. If there are more than six joint children, the court may determine a support order without specifically following the guidelines.

Please contact the county child support agency or an attorney with questions about the child support guidelines.

To help determine which parent is ‘Parent A’ and which parent is ‘Parent B’ for the calculator consider the following criteria in order.

‘Parent A’ should be:

1. The parent who does NOT receive benefits from the Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP), Medical Assistance (MA), or Child Care Assistance for the joint child(ren)

2. The parent who is incarcerated (in jail or prison), if neither parent receives benefits listed in number one

3. The parent with fewer court-ordered overnights with the joint child(ren), if neither parent is in jail or prison

4. The parent with the higher income, if the parents have the same number of overnights.

‘Parent B’ should be:

1. The parent who receives benefits from MFIP, MA or Child Care Assistance for the joint child(ren)

2. The parent who is NOT in jail or prison, if neither parent receives benefits listed in number one

3. The parent with more court-ordered overnights with the joint child(ren), if neither parent is in jail or prison

4. The parent with the lower income, if the parents have the same number of overnights.

In situations where a caretaker has custody of the child(ren):

‘Parent A’ should be:

• The biological, legal, or adoptive parent.

‘Parent B’ should be:

• The person with whom the child(ren) lives.
1. What is Parent A's name?
2. What is Parent B's name?
3. What is the IV-D case number?
4. What is the court file number?
5. How many joint children are there?
Parent A
Parent B
6. Does parent receive GA , SSI or MFIP ?
7. Is parent incarcerated?
8. What is the monthly income received?
$
$
9. What is the potential income for each parent, if any?
$
$
10. What is the monthly amount the joint child(ren) receive in benefits from Social Security or the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) due to a parent’s eligibility?
$
$
11. If the joint child(ren) receive Social Security or VA benefits, which parent is the representative payee?
12. What is the monthly amount each parent is ordered to pay for spousal maintenance?
$
$
13. What is the total amount each parent is ordered to pay for monthly child support for nonjoint child(ren)?
$
$
14. What is the number of nonjoint child(ren) not included in question 13?
15. What is the monthly cost of health care coverage for the joint child(ren)?
$
$
16. What is the monthly cost of dental coverage for the joint child(ren) if separate from health care coverage?
$
$
*** To calculate child support using a parenting expense adjustment effective through July 31, 2018, answer "no" to question 17a, leave question 17b blank, and answer "yes" to question 17c. If there is no order for parenting time or it is less than 10 percent, use 0 overnights for Parent A and 365 overnights for Parent B (per joint child) for question 17b and answer "no" for question 17c.
17a. Do you have court ordered equal parenting time?
17b. What is the annual number of overnights awarded to each parent by the court?
Go to the Minnesota Child Support Parenting Time Calendar Tool to calculate the number of court-ordered overnights.
17c. If you are unable to calculate number of overnights awarded to each parent, do you have a current child support order with a parenting expense adjustment?
17d. What percentage of parenting time was awarded to Parent A by the court?
18. Number of joint child(ren) receiving child care?
19. How much are the total monthly child care costs?
$
20. Which parent incurs the child care costs?
21. Does either parent receive child care assistance for the joint children?
22. Does Parent B receive Medical Assistance for the joint child(ren)?
23. Does Parent A receive Medical Assistance?
Important Disclaimer: When used prior to a court hearing, the child support guidelines worksheet, instructions, and calculator are for information and educational use only. The amounts in the worksheet before the court hearing do not guarantee the same amount of child support that will be ordered. The results obtained are only as accurate as the information used. The actual child support order may be affected by other factors. The Court has the final authority to determine the amount of child support ordered. When the worksheet is attached to a court order, it is part of the Court’s decision. If the amount of child support in the order is different than the amount in the worksheet, the amount in the order, is the amount to be paid.