Child support · NM
New Mexico child support calculator
How New Mexico turns two gross incomes into a monthly order since the schedule left the statute and moved into an agency rule.
Rules read on official New Mexico pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Income shares
- Income counted
- Gross income
- Shared parenting
- From 128 overnights
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $661
- a month, rules of January 1, 2024
A New Mexico parent earning $6,000 a month gross, with the other parent at $3,000 and two children living mainly with that other parent, owes about $1,104 a month under Worksheet A, before health insurance and child care. The figure comes from the basic child support schedule that the Health Care Authority adopted by rule, 8.50.108 NMAC Appendix 1, in force since January 1, 2024: the combined income of $9,000 sits in a band worth $1,656 for two children, and the higher earner carries two thirds of it. New Mexico reads gross income, not net, and its bands are $50 wide, so the worksheet tells you to round the combined figure to the nearest $50 before looking it up. When each parent has the children at least 35 percent of the year, Worksheet B raises the schedule amount by 1.5 and credits the time spent in each home; in this example that moves the order to $785.
Guideline child support in New Mexico, per month
$661
$7,928 a year
| Combined gross monthly income | $8,000 |
| Rounded to the nearest $50 | $8,000 |
| Basic support in the New Mexico schedule, 1 child | $1,057 |
| Paying parent’s share of income | 62.5% |
| Not applied | self-support reserve area of the schedule (shaded cells, 8.50.108.10 NMAC) |
Estimate under the New Mexico 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.
A schedule that now lives in the Administrative Code
From 1988 to 2023 the New Mexico table sat inside NMSA 1978 § 40-4-11.1, and changing a single dollar meant a bill in Santa Fe. Laws 2023, chapter 106 took it out. The statute now keeps the definitions, the worksheets and the deviation rules, while the Health Care Authority (the former Human Services Department) sets the figures by rule after each quadrennial review. The current version took effect on January 1, 2024 and added a self-support reserve: in the shaded low-income cells of the table, only the paying parent's income is used. The published text does not show which cells are shaded, so our calculator does not apply that reserve, and a parent near the bottom of the table should check the official appendix.
Rounding first, then the band
Each line of the appendix covers $50 of combined monthly gross income, from the first band, 0 to $1,450, up to $40,000. Worksheet A, line 4 asks for the combined income rounded to the nearest $50. Two families a few dollars apart can land in different bands: with the other parent at $3,000, a payer at $5,974 owes $1,100, a payer at $5,976 owes $1,103. A spreadsheet that simply floors the income would get the second family wrong.
Thirty-five percent and the 1.5 factor
The statute calls it shared responsibility: each home is suitable and the children spend at least 35 percent of the year in each. Time is counted in 24-hour days, not overnights. Below the line, Worksheet A applies; at 128 days the calculator switches to Worksheet B, which multiplies the schedule figure by 1.5, lets each parent retain the percentage of days spent with him or her, and nets the rest. In our example the order goes from $1,104 at 127 days to $785 at 128.
Past the last band
Above $40,000 of combined income the appendix adds a percentage of the excess to the top amount, 5.4% for one child up to 11.6% for six. Parents at $40,000 and $10,000 with one child reach a basic obligation of $3,496; the higher earner's part is $2,797. A single obligation above 40 percent of the payer's gross income is presumed a substantial hardship. To compare with the neighbor to the east, open the Texas page.
The New Mexico guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | New Mexico |
|---|---|
| Model | Income shares, combined gross monthly income schedule (with self-support reserve) |
| Income counted | Gross income before taxes, as the state guideline defines it. |
| Official schedule | $1,450 to $40,000 of combined income a month, 772 rows |
| Shared parenting | Cross-credit formula from 128 overnights a year, basic amount × 1.5 |
| In force since | January 1, 2024 |
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 | $356 | $443 | $448 | $452 |
| $3,000 | $515 | $784 | $948 | $1,059 |
| $4,000 | $674 | $1,024 | $1,237 | $1,382 |
| $5,000 | $819 | $1,233 | $1,479 | $1,652 |
| $6,000 | $927 | $1,399 | $1,676 | $1,872 |
| $8,000 | $1,057 | $1,583 | $1,883 | $2,103 |
| $10,000 | $1,184 | $1,754 | $2,060 | $2,301 |
| $12,500 | $1,376 | $2,042 | $2,405 | $2,686 |
| $15,000 | $1,544 | $2,266 | $2,636 | $2,944 |
| $20,000 | $1,879 | $2,735 | $3,156 | $3,525 |
How the amount is set. Round combined income to the nearest fifty dollars ($50.00), find the rounded figure in the far left-hand column of the schedule and read across to the column for the number of children (Worksheet A and B instructions, Lines 3 and 4, NMSA 1978 § 40-4-11.1). The 2024 schedule lists $50 bands (e.g. 1,451 - 1,500); the first band is 0 - 1,450. source
Income. Actual gross income of each parent (or potential income if willfully unemployed/underemployed), from any source: salaries, wages, tips, commissions, bonuses, dividends, severance, pensions, interest, trust income, annuities, capital gains, Social Security, workers' compensation, unemployment, disability, significant in-kind benefits, prizes and alimony received. Excluded: means-tested public assistance (TANF, SSI, general assistance), the child's own earnings or benefits, child support received for other children, alimony actually paid, court-ordered support actually paid for prior children and a reasonable amount for prior children in the parent's custody; self-employment = gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses (NMSA 1978, § 40-4-11.1(C)).
Above the table. Combined income over $40,000 per month: $2,956 + 5.4% (1 child), $4,341 + 7.7% (2), $5,058 + 8.7% (3), $5,650 + 9.7% (4), $6,214 + 10.7% (5), $6,755 + 11.6% (6) of income over $40,000 (8.50.108 NMAC Appendix 1).
Parenting time. Shared responsibility = each parent provides a suitable home and the children spend at least 35% of the year in each home while the parents significantly share parenting duties and expenses (§ 40-4-11.1(F)(4)). Worksheet B: basic support x 1.5, split by income share; each parent retains the percentage equal to the number of 24-hour days with that parent divided by 365; the smaller remaining obligation is subtracted from the larger; additional payments (insurance, child care, extraordinary expenses) are shared by income and netted (§ 40-4-11.1(H)(2), (I), Worksheet B). Worksheet B is not subject to the SSR method (8.50.108.10(C) NMAC).
Child care and health care. added to basic obligation and shared by income (net reasonable child-care costs due to employment or job search, § 40-4-11.1(J)) Cost of medical and dental insurance for the children is paid by each parent in proportion to income, in addition to the basic obligation (§ 40-4-11.1(J)). Support may also include uninsured extraordinary medical, dental and counseling expenses over $100 per child per year, extraordinary educational expenses, and long-distance visitation transportation and communication costs (§ 40-4-11.1(K)).
Low incomes. Since January 1, 2024 the schedule embeds a self-support reserve (shaded area): when the payer's own income and number of children fall in the shaded area, only the payer's income is used and the payer owes 100% of the schedule amount, with no add-ons (8.50.108.10(B) NMAC). Lowest schedule amounts: $60 (1 child) to $135 (6 children) for income 0 - 1,450. A payment above 40% of the payer's gross income for a single obligation is presumed a substantial hardship justifying deviation (§ 40-4-11.1(L)).
When support ends. The court may provide support for unemancipated minor children, and for children emancipated only by age who are under nineteen and attending high school, until high school graduation (NMSA 1978, § 40-4-7(B)(3)). source
Worth knowing in New Mexico
- Laws 2023, ch. 106 (effective January 1, 2024) removed the schedule from the statute; the Health Care Authority (formerly Human Services Department) now sets it by rule, 8.50.108 NMAC Appendix 1, effective January 1, 2024. source
- The 2024 schedule incorporates a self-support reserve shown as a shaded area; in that area only the payer's income counts (8.50.108.10(B) NMAC). source
- A support obligation exceeding 40% of the payer's gross income for a single obligation is presumed to be a substantial hardship (NMSA 1978, § 40-4-11.1(L)). source
- Income may not be imputed to a parent incarcerated for 180 days or longer; incarceration is not voluntary unemployment (NMSA 1978, § 40-4-11.1(E)). source
- Shared responsibility time is counted in 24-hour days divided by 365, not overnights (§ 40-4-11.1(I), Worksheet B line 7). source