How is Child Support calculated in Maryland?

For parents whose adjusted actual income is less than $30,000 per month, child support is determined according to the Maryland Child Support Guidelines. The Guidelines consider the parties’ respective gross monthly income from all sources, the number of minor children, work related childcare expenses, health insurance expenses, whether a parent is paying or receiving alimony, whether the obligor is paying child support to other children, whether the obligor is currently supporting other children in their own household, and whether or not the child has extraordinary medical expenses. The Guidelines take this information and establish a monthly child support amount that is presumptively in the minor children’s best interest.

How is income determined in Maryland Child Support?

Paystubs and tax returns are a starting point in determining a parent’s income. However, there are cases where paystubs and tax returns are insufficient to determine an individual’s actual income. For example, when a parent is self-employed or has an interest in a business, that parent may run personal expenses through the business or keep cash within the business rather than paying themselves a wage.

Sometimes a parent may be unemployed or underemployed for purposes of reducing their child support obligation or to artificially inflate the amount of child support that they receive. If a parent is under or unemployed, the other parent must show the amount of income that parent would make if employed.

The number of overnights each parent has with the child also impacts the child support obligation from one parent to the other. When each parent has at least 35% of the overnights per year with the minor children and each parent is contributing to the expenses of the minor children, the parties have Shared Physical Custody for the purposes of child support. Each parent’s share of the child support obligation is multiplied by the percentage of time that the minor children spend with the other parent which can greatly impact the child support obligation.

For cases where the combined actual income is greater than $30,000 per month, the Court is not obligated to apply the Maryland Child Support Guidelines and has discretion in setting the child support obligation.

What are Child Support Arrearages?

Child Support Arrearages are past due child support payments that accrue overtime. Maryland aggressively enforces past due child support payments through tax intercepts, wage garnishments, drivers license suspension, refusal to renew passports, and asset seizures. Although past due child support generally will not be forgiven or modified, parents can negotiate to reduce or clear balances through different payment incentive programs.

Written by Michelle M. Gohary, Esq.

Updated June 4, 2026