Child support · MN
Minnesota child support calculator
Minn. Stat. §§ 518A.34 to 518A.36: the PICS schedule, then a parenting expense adjustment that has no threshold.
Rules read on official Minnesota pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Income shares
- Income counted
- Gross income
- Shared parenting
- No fixed formula
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $691
- a month, rules of January 1, 2023
Minnesota has no overnight threshold for shared parenting. Its parenting expense adjustment, § 518A.36, raises each parent's yearly overnights to the power of 3 and weighs the two income shares with them, so every night counts but the effect grows fast near equal time. A parent with $5,000 of monthly gross income, beside a co-parent at $3,000, owes $968 a month for two children without a parenting time order, $944 with 73 overnights, $852 with 110, $614 with 146 and $200 with 182. The basic support figure comes from a schedule in $100 brackets of combined parental income for determining child support (PICS), which is gross income minus a credit for other children. The schedule in force since January 1, 2023 stops at $20,000 a month: above it, the top row applies unless a child's needs justify more.
Guideline child support in Minnesota, per month
$691
$8,295 a year
| Combined parental income for determining child support (PICS) | $8,000 |
| Basic support in the Minnesota schedule, 1 child | $1,106 |
| Paying parent’s share of PICS | 62.5% |
| Ability-to-pay test (§ 518A.42) | not applied: no dollar self-support reserve in the data |
Estimate under the Minnesota guideline as published, from the incomes you enter. Deviations, imputed income, other children and the judge's findings can change the order. How this is calculated.
Why the cube matters
A cubic weight is a deliberate choice. With 73 nights out of 365, a parent has about a fifth of the time but less than 2% of the cubed total, so the adjustment barely moves the order. At 146 nights the parent has 40% of the time and under a quarter of the cubed total, and at equal time the two weights match exactly. The curve is flat for ordinary every-other-weekend schedules and steep for near-equal ones.
| Overnights with the paying parent | Monthly basic support owed |
|---|---|
| 0 | $968 |
| 36 | $965 |
| 73 | $944 |
| 110 | $852 |
| 146 | $614 |
| 165 | $411 |
| 182 | $200 |
The formula decides who is the obligor. Parent A, the one with fewer overnights, owes the result when it is negative; parent B owes it when it is positive. Swap the incomes in our example, $3,000 for the parent with fewer nights and $5,000 for the other, and at 182 nights the calculator shows the flow reversing: the parent with more nights owes $187 a month. The adjustment only applies when a court order sets parenting time; with no order, basic support is simply the income share.
PICS, brackets and the floor
Minnesota reads income gross, before taxes, and does not let a parent deduct 401(k) or IRA contributions. The court then subtracts a credit for children from other relationships to reach PICS. The schedule is printed in brackets such as 6,000 to 6,099, so there is no interpolation: every income inside a bracket gets the same figure. The first bracket, up to the second row's $1,400, holds $50, $60, $70, $80, $90 and $100 for one to six children, the same figures as the statutory minimum basic support of § 518A.42.
That minimum applies after an ability-to-pay test: the obligor keeps a self-support reserve of 120% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, and child care and medical support are cut before basic support. The reserve is not stored in dollars in our data, so the calculator does not run that test; a low-income obligor should expect the official result to be lower. Orders also carry a cost-of-living adjustment every two years. Next door, Wisconsin uses percentages of the payer's income instead of a shared table.
The Minnesota guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | Minnesota |
|---|---|
| Model | Income shares, combined parental income for determining child support (PICS) schedule (Minn. Stat. § 518A.35) |
| Income counted | Gross income before taxes, as the state guideline defines it. |
| Official schedule | $0 to $20,000 of combined income a month, 188 rows |
| Shared parenting | No overnight formula in the calculator (see the rule below) |
| In force since | January 1, 2023 |
Monthly support for one paying parent, the other parent without income
| Paying parent’s monthly income | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children | 4 children |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2,000 | $170 | $200 | $235 | $270 |
| $3,000 | $415 | $525 | $598 | $665 |
| $4,000 | $625 | $845 | $954 | $1,041 |
| $5,000 | $818 | $1,132 | $1,281 | $1,387 |
| $6,000 | $988 | $1,383 | $1,577 | $1,703 |
| $8,000 | $1,106 | $1,548 | $1,765 | $1,907 |
| $10,000 | $1,230 | $1,722 | $1,963 | $2,121 |
| $12,500 | $1,385 | $1,938 | $2,210 | $2,387 |
| $15,000 | $1,539 | $2,155 | $2,457 | $2,654 |
| $20,000 | $1,839 | $2,575 | $2,935 | $3,170 |
How the amount is set. The schedule is printed in $100 income brackets (e.g. 6,000-6,099); the amount of the bracket containing the combined PICS applies (§ 518A.35, subd. 2). source
Income. Gross income includes any periodic payment: salaries, wages, commissions, self-employment income (§ 518A.30), workers' compensation, unemployment, annuities, pensions, disability, spousal maintenance received, Social Security or veterans benefits for a joint child, and potential income; measured before pretax plan deductions and with no deduction for retirement contributions; overtime beyond 40 hours may be excluded in limited cases (§ 518A.29). PICS = gross income minus the deduction for nonjoint children under § 518A.33 (§ 518A.26, subd. 15).
Above the table. For combined PICS above $20,000 a month, the presumptive basic support is the $20,000 amount; more may be ordered only for a child's disability or other substantial, demonstrated need under § 518A.43 (§ 518A.35, subd. 1(e) and subd. 3).
Parenting time. Parenting expense adjustment (§ 518A.36, subd. 2): parent A = parent with fewer overnights, parent B = more. Compute (1) A's annual overnights cubed, (2) B's overnights cubed, (3) = (1) x B's share of the combined basic support, (4) = (2) x A's share, (5) = (3) - (4), (6) = (5) / ((1) + (2)). A negative result means parent A is the obligor and pays its absolute value; a positive result means parent B pays. Applies only when there is a court order awarding parenting time (§ 518A.36, subd. 1(b)); with equal parenting time and equal PICS no basic support is paid (subd. 3).
Child care and health care. added to basic obligation and shared by income medical support computed separately under § 518A.41 and added Work- or education-related child care costs are divided by the parents' share of combined PICS, after the estimated federal and state child care credit (§ 518A.40, subd. 1). Medical support is set under § 518A.41. Total support = basic support + child care support + medical support (§ 518A.34(f)).
Low incomes. The obligor's income available for support = PICS minus a monthly self-support reserve of 120% of the federal poverty guidelines for one person; if that is below the guideline amount, medical, then child care, then basic support are reduced; if it is at or below the minimum, or gross income is below 120% of the poverty guideline, the minimum basic support applies: $50, $60, $70, $80, $90, $100 a month for 1 to 6+ children (§ 518A.42, subds. 1-2). The minimum does not apply to incarcerated obligors, recipients of general assistance, SSI, TANF or MFIP, or obligors with no income and no ability to earn (subd. 3).
When support ends. A "child" for support purposes is an individual under 18, under 20 if still attending secondary school, or incapable of self-support because of a physical or mental condition (§ 518A.26, subd. 5). source
The state also runs its own official child support calculator; use it, or the court's worksheet, for a filing.
Worth knowing in Minnesota
- The current schedule, extended to $20,000 of combined monthly PICS, took effect January 1, 2023 (Laws 2021, ch. 30, art. 10, secs. 64-65). source
- Minnesota uses a cubic parenting expense adjustment rather than an overnight threshold: every overnight counts, raised to the power of three (§ 518A.36, subd. 2). source
- Child support orders must provide for a biennial cost-of-living adjustment, effective May 1 of the adjustment year when paid through the public authority (§ 518A.75, subd. 1). source
- With more than six children the court may set support without strictly following the guidelines, but must apply their basic principles (§ 518A.35, subd. 4). source
- In split custody, each parent's basic support is computed and the higher obligation is offset against the lower (§ 518A.34(c)). source