Child support · WI
Wisconsin child support calculator
DCF 150 in practice: a flat share of the paying parent’s gross pay, bent at both ends and replaced by a two-household formula once each parent has the children a quarter of the year.
Rules read on official Wisconsin pages on · Checked by Radif Partners · How we calculate
- Model
- Percentage of payer income
- Income counted
- Gross income
- Shared parenting
- From 92 overnights
- 1 child, $5,000 / $3,000
- $850
- a month, rules of March 1, 2026
A Wisconsin parent earning $5,000 a month before taxes, with two children placed with the other parent, owes $1,250 a month under DCF 150, because the state takes 25% of gross income for two children and ignores the other parent's pay. The percentages run from 17% for one child to 34% for five or more, and nothing is deducted for taxes first. Three adjustments change that figure. Above $7,000 a month the court may switch to lower marginal rates, so $15,000 with one child gives $2,210 instead of $2,550. Under $2,031 a month the Appendix C table, rebuilt each year from the federal poverty guidelines, sets a smaller amount. And once both parents have at least 92 overnights a year, each one's percentage is raised by 150% and charged for the other's time, then the two figures are netted.
Guideline child support in Wisconsin, per month
$850
$10,200 a year
| Payer’s monthly income available for child support | $5,000 |
| Standard percentage, 1 child | 17.0% |
| Designated amount (percentage standard) | $850 |
Estimate under the Wisconsin 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 percentage of one paycheck, not of two
Wisconsin is one of the few states that still sets support from the paying parent's income alone. DCF 150 calls the base "monthly income available for child support": annual gross income plus any imputed income, divided by twelve. Taxes, Social Security and health premiums stay in. The receiving parent's salary plays no role in a standard order, which is why two families with the same payer and very different households can end up with the same check. The rule's preface explains the choice: the custodial parent is presumed to share his or her own income with the children directly.
The 92-night threshold and the 150% markup
Shared placement starts when each parent has court-ordered placement of at least 25% of the year, 92 overnights or the daytime equivalent. Then each parent's percentage amount is multiplied by 150%, a markup meant for the second bedroom, the second set of clothes, the duplicated basics. Each result is charged for the share of time the children spend in the other home, and the higher figure is reduced by the lower one.
The effect at the line is large. Take a payer at $3,000 and a co-parent at $2,000, two children. With 91 nights the formula does not apply and the payer owes $750. At 146 nights, the 40% split used in the rule's own worked example, the order is $375. At an even 182 nights it falls to $190. The payer never owes more than the plain percentage would require.
Daytime care can count. Under the equivalent-care rule, a block of six hours or more that includes a meal is a half day, and two half days equal one overnight, so a parent working nights can still reach the threshold.
When income is very high or very low
The high-income rates are permissive, not automatic. Below $7,000 the standard applies in full; between $7,000 and $12,500 the court may use 14% for one child; above $12,500, 10%. Our calculator applies them, so read its result as the lower edge of the likely range.
At the bottom, Appendix C covers payers earning from $998 to $2,031 a month, 75% to 150% of the poverty line. A parent at $1,500 with one child falls in the row ending at $1,500 and owes $212, against $255 at the full rate. The current table took effect March 1, 2026; below its first row a judge sets what the payer can bear.
Child care, tuition and activity fees are "variable costs" here: in shared placement the court divides them by placement time, outside the percentage. For a state where the same night count is tied to a different formula, compare Michigan; for the national picture, see how much child support is.
The Wisconsin guideline this calculator applies
| Rule | Wisconsin |
|---|---|
| Model | Percentage-of-income standard applied to the payer's gross monthly income (Wis. Admin. Code DCF 150.035(2)) |
| Income counted | Gross income before taxes, as the state guideline defines it. |
| Official schedule | $998 to $2,031 of combined income a month, 29 rows |
| Percentages | 1 child: 17% · 2 children: 25% · 3 children: 29% · 4 children: 31% · 5 children: 34% |
| Shared parenting | Cross-credit formula from 92 overnights a year, basic amount × 1.5 |
| In force since | March 1, 2026 |
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 | $345 | $508 | $589 | $630 |
| $3,000 | $510 | $750 | $870 | $930 |
| $4,000 | $680 | $1,000 | $1,160 | $1,240 |
| $5,000 | $850 | $1,250 | $1,450 | $1,550 |
| $6,000 | $1,020 | $1,500 | $1,740 | $1,860 |
| $8,000 | $1,330 | $1,950 | $2,260 | $2,420 |
| $10,000 | $1,610 | $2,350 | $2,720 | $2,920 |
| $12,500 | $1,960 | $2,850 | $3,295 | $3,545 |
| $15,000 | $2,210 | $3,225 | $3,720 | $4,020 |
| $20,000 | $2,710 | $3,975 | $4,570 | $4,970 |
How the amount is set. Support = 17% (1 child), 25% (2), 29% (3), 31% (4), 34% (5+) of the payer's monthly income available for child support (DCF 150.035(2)). For high-income payers the full income is considered, but the court may apply reduced marginal percentages on income from $7,000 to $12,500/month (14/20/23/25/27%) and above $12,500/month (10/15/17/19/20%) (DCF 150.04(5)). Low-income payers may be ordered under Appendix C. source
Income. Monthly income available for child support = annual gross income (or income modified for business expenses) + income imputed based on earning capacity + income imputed when little information is known + income imputed from assets, divided by 12 (DCF 150.02(21), 150.03(1)). Gross income includes wages, interest and investment income, Social Security disability and old-age benefits, income-replacing workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, voluntary deferred compensation and employee contributions to benefit or retirement plans, veterans disability and military allowances, certain undistributed business income, and all other income, but excludes child support, foster care and kinship care payments, public assistance, food stamps, SSI and other public assistance (DCF 150.02(13)). No taxes are deducted.
Above the table. At or above 150% of the federal poverty guidelines the standard percentages apply (DCF 150.04(4) note).
Parenting time. Shared-placement formula applies when both parents have court-ordered placement of at least 25% or 92 days a year; each parent's percentage amount is multiplied by 150% and by the other parent's share of time, then offset; the payer pays the lesser of the result or the standard percentage amount (DCF 150.035(1)). The rule was renumbered from DCF 150.04(2) to DCF 150.035(1) effective December 1, 2021.
Child care and health care. Child care is a 'variable cost' (DCF 150.02(29)); in shared placement the court assigns variable costs in proportion to each parent's share of physical placement (DCF 150.035(1)(b)6). Otherwise it is covered by the percentage or by deviation. The court assigns responsibility for the child's health expenses (DCF 150.05, Wis. Stat. § 767.513). Private insurance is reasonable in cost if it does not exceed 10% of the insuring parent's monthly income available for child support; the non-insuring parent may be ordered to contribute up to 10% of his or her income, which may be built into the support amount (DCF 150.05(1)(b)). Medical support is ordered in addition to child support (DCF 150.05).
Low incomes. For payers with income between 75% and 150% of the federal poverty guidelines the court may use the Appendix C schedule (2026 version effective March 1, 2026: from $998.00 to $2,031.00 monthly income, e.g. 11.22% / $112 for one child at the lowest row); below the lowest level the court sets an amount fitting the payer's total economic circumstances (DCF 150.04(4)). DCF revises Appendix C every year from the federal poverty guidelines.
When support ends. The duty of support continues until the child turns 18, or 19 if the child is still enrolled in high school or working toward a high school equivalency (DCF, When Child Support Ends). source
The state also runs its own official child support calculator; use it, or the court's worksheet, for a filing.
Worth knowing in Wisconsin
- Wisconsin's guideline uses gross income, not net income: no taxes are deducted (DCF 150.02(13), DCF 150.03(1)). source
- The 150% multiplier in shared placement accounts for household costs duplicated by both parents, such as a bedroom, clothes and personal items (note to DCF 150.035(1)(b)3). source
- Since January 1, 2024, daytime 'equivalent care' can count toward placement: two blocks of at least 6 hours with a meal equal one overnight (DCF 150.035(1)(ar)). source
- The low-income table (Appendix C) is revised every year from the federal poverty guidelines; the 2026 table took effect March 1, 2026 and the next one will take effect March 1, 2027. source
- Past-due support may be enforced up to 20 years after the youngest child turns 18 (DCF). source