Child support · ND
North Dakota child support calculator
The schedule of N.D. Admin. Code 75-02-04.1-10 read on the obligor alone, with the extended parenting time formula and the equal residential responsibility offset.
Rules read on official North Dakota pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Percentage of payer income
- Income counted
- Net income
- Shared parenting
- No fixed formula
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $907
- a month, rules of January 1, 2019
In North Dakota a parent with $4,000 of monthly net income owes $1,131 a month for two children, and that figure does not change whether the parent with the children earns $2,000 or $9,000. The state is one of the few that ignore the obligee's income: the schedule in section 75-02-04.1-10 of the Administrative Code, written by the Department of Health and Human Services and last amended effective January 1, 2019, is read on the obligor's income alone. Net income is rounded to the nearest $100 before the lookup, it yields nothing at $800 or less and it stops rising at $25,000, where one child costs $3,500. Time counts in two ways. More than 100 court-ordered overnights a year trigger the extended parenting time reduction, and an equal residential responsibility order replaces the whole calculation by an offset between two obligations, $569 in our example.
Guideline child support in North Dakota, per month
$907
$10,884 a year
| Obligor’s net income (the other parent’s income is not used) | $5,000 |
| Schedule amount at $5,000, 1 child | $907 |
| Monthly support | $907 |
Estimate under the North Dakota 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.
One income on the worksheet
An income shares state adds both incomes and splits a combined amount. North Dakota does neither. The rules presume that one parent provides the home and the other pays, and the amount owed comes straight from the obligor's net income line. In our example the obligee could earn $2,000 or $9,000 a month: the calculator returns $1,131 with the first figure and $1,131 with the second. The obligee's income can only come back as a ground for a downward deviation when it reaches three times the obligor's (75-02-04.1-09(2)(p)), and that is the court's call, not the calculator's.
Net income has its own construction. Taxes are hypothetical: a federal amount at single filing status with the standard deduction, plus a state amount fixed at a share of that federal figure, whatever the parent really pays. Premiums for the children's health, dental and vision coverage are subtracted at this stage; if you enter one as paid by the obligor, the calculator removes it from that income. Child care has no line at all: it is a reason to deviate, so the tool shows it but does not add it.
The $100 rounding and the dollar rounding
Section 75-02-04.1-02(5) rounds monthly net income ending in $50 or more up to the next hundred, anything less down. The effect is visible at the edge: one child, $4,049 of net income gives $748, while $4,050 gives $764. Every other computed amount is rounded to the whole dollar, fifty cents going up. At the top, the line reading "25,000 or more" applies to any higher income: an obligor at $40,000 still owes $3,500 for one child unless the obligee proves the child's needs justify more.
Extended parenting time, overnight by overnight
Section 75-02-04.1-08.1 applies only when a court order schedules more than 100 overnights a year with the obligor and states the number. The amount is divided by the number of children; each child's share is multiplied by 365 minus 0.32 times that child's overnights, over 365. At 120 nights the obligor keeps paying 89.5% of the schedule amount.
| Court-ordered overnights with the obligor | Share of the schedule amount kept | Monthly support, two children |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | 100% | $1,131 |
| 100 | 100% | $1,131 |
| 101 | 91.1% | $1,031 |
| 120 | 89.5% | $1,012 |
| 150 | 86.8% | $982 |
Crossing to 101 nights removes about $100 a month at once, because the formula then counts every overnight, not just those above 100; after that, each extra night is worth roughly $0.99. Equal residential responsibility (75-02-04.1-08.2) works differently: each parent is treated as an obligor of the other, here $1,131 against $562, and only the difference of $569 changes hands; the extended parenting time reduction is then excluded. The calculator treats 182 or 183 overnights as an equal order. To compare with an income shares neighbor, see Minnesota.
The North Dakota guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Model | Obligor-only model: schedule by obligor's monthly net income and number of children (N.D. Admin. Code 75-02-04.1-10) |
| Income counted | Net income: after income taxes and mandatory deductions, as the state defines it. |
| Official schedule | $800 to $25,000 of combined income a month, 243 rows |
| Shared parenting | No overnight formula in the calculator (see the rule below) |
| In force since | January 1, 2019 |
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 | $431 | $562 | $665 | $744 |
| $3,000 | $590 | $846 | $1,007 | $1,122 |
| $4,000 | $748 | $1,131 | $1,349 | $1,501 |
| $5,000 | $907 | $1,415 | $1,691 | $1,880 |
| $6,000 | $1,065 | $1,700 | $2,033 | $2,259 |
| $8,000 | $1,382 | $2,269 | $2,717 | $3,016 |
| $10,000 | $1,699 | $2,838 | $3,402 | $3,774 |
| $12,500 | $2,063 | $3,073 | $3,668 | $4,062 |
| $15,000 | $2,400 | $3,308 | $3,934 | $4,349 |
| $20,000 | $3,000 | $3,779 | $4,467 | $4,925 |
How the amount is set. The obligor's monthly net income is rounded to the nearest $100 ($50 or more rounds up) before applying the schedule (75-02-04.1-02(5)); any computed dollar amount ending in 50 cents or more is rounded up to the next whole dollar, otherwise down (75-02-04.1-02(4)). source
Income. Gross income is income from any source in any form, excluding means-tested public assistance, child support received, atypical overtime or nonrecurring bonuses beyond the employee's control, nonrecurring capital gains and early retirement withdrawals (75-02-04.1-01(4)). Net income is annual gross income less a hypothetical federal income tax (single filing status, standard deduction, latest IRS single tables), a hypothetical state income tax equal to 11% of that federal amount, FICA/Medicare/self-employment taxes, the children's share of health insurance premiums, ongoing medical expenses of the children, required union dues and license fees, required employee retirement contributions and certain documented unreimbursed employee expenses (75-02-04.1-01(6)); the annual total is divided by 12 (75-02-04.1-02(6)). The obligee's income is not used.
Above the table. The last row reads '25000 or more': $3,500 / $4,250 / $5,000 / $5,500 / $6,000 / $6,500 for 1 to 6+ children (75-02-04.1-10). The presumption may be rebutted for an obligor with monthly net income above $25,000 based on the demonstrated needs of the child (75-02-04.1-09(2)(b)).
Parenting time. Extended parenting time (more than 100 court-ordered overnights a year): divide the schedule amount by the number of children; for each child multiply the overnights by 0.32, subtract from 365 and divide by 365; multiply the per-child amount by that fraction and total (75-02-04.1-08.1). Equal residential responsibility (equal time ordered by the court): a support obligation is calculated for each parent as if the other had primary residential responsibility, and the lesser is subtracted from the greater (75-02-04.1-08.2); the extended parenting time adjustment does not apply in that case.
Child care and health care. Not added to the schedule: child care costs purchased by the obligee are a ground for upward deviation and child care paid by the obligor a ground for downward deviation (75-02-04.1-09(2)(f), (o)); in equal residential responsibility cases the court may apportion child care and school activity fees in addition (75-02-04.1-02(1)). The share of health, dental and vision premiums paid by the obligor for the children is deducted from the obligor's gross income in computing net income (75-02-04.1-01(6)(d)). North Dakota has no add-on lines: health premiums for the children reduce the obligor's net income, child care is a deviation factor (75-02-04.1-01(6)(d), 75-02-04.1-09(2)).
Low incomes. The schedule gives $0 at $800 or less of obligor monthly net income and phases in from $900 (75-02-04.1-10); there is no separate minimum support level since the repeal of 75-02-04.1-04 effective January 1, 2018. Income may be imputed based on earning capacity (75-02-04.1-07).
When support ends. Support continues past 18 until the end of the month the child graduates from high school or turns 19, whichever comes first, if the child is enrolled in high school and lives with the person owed support (N.D.C.C. § 14-09-08.2). source
The state also runs its own official child support calculator; use it, or the court's worksheet, for a filing.
Worth knowing in North Dakota
- North Dakota uses only the obligor's income: the obligee's income is not considered except to deviate downward when the obligee's net income is at least three times the obligor's (75-02-04.1-09(2)(p), N.D.C.C. § 14-09-09.7(1)(f)). source
- Net income uses a hypothetical federal tax at single filing status and a hypothetical state income tax fixed at 11% of that federal amount (75-02-04.1-01(6)(a)-(b)). source
- The schedule tops out at $25,000 of obligor monthly net income ($3,500 for one child, $6,500 for six or more) and was last amended effective January 1, 2019 (75-02-04.1-10). source
- Increased needs of children age twelve and older are a listed ground for deviating upward from the schedule (75-02-04.1-09(2)(e)). source
- The guidelines are established by the Department of Health and Human Services by administrative rule rather than by the legislature (N.D.C.C. § 14-09-09.7). source