Child Support by StateState guideline estimators

Minnesota · income shares

MN child support calculator

Minnesota child support starts from a statutory table of the parents’ combined gross income, split by income share and then adjusted for court-ordered overnights with a cubic formula. With incomes of $6,000 and $4,000 a month, one child and 80 overnights with the higher earner, basic support is about $711.38 a month.

Child Support by State editorial teamUpdated 11 sources

Minn. Stat. ch. 518A · basic support table since Jan 1, 2023

MN child support calculator

Minnesota Statutes chapter 518A: the basic support table, the parenting expense adjustment and the ability-to-pay test.

Parent A and Parent B are just labels. The formula decides who pays from incomes and overnights together.

Joint children
Monthly gross incomeIncome from all sources before taxes; no deduction for pre-tax benefits or retirement contributions (§ 518A.29).
of 365
Health insurance, child care and other children
Spousal maintenance and other child support paidMonthly amounts paid under court orders.
Other children in this parent’s home without an orderNonjoint children; 75% of the table amount for them is deducted (§ 518A.33).
Health and dental premium for the joint childrenMonthly, in the column of the parent who carries the coverage.

Example

Estimated guideline child support

$711.38per month

Parent B pays Parent A · about $164 a week

Worksheet

  1. 01Combined PICS (parental income for child support)$10,000.00
  2. 02Combined basic support, 1 child$1,230.00
  3. 03Parent A’s share$492.00
  4. 04Parent B’s share$738.00
  5. 05Parenting expense adjustment (285 and 80 overnights): basic support$711.38
  6. 06Basic and medical support$711.38

Child care support is added separately in Minnesota: work-related costs, reduced by tax credits, are split by income share (§ 518A.40).

Estimate of basic and medical support under Minn. Stat. §§ 518A.34–.42. Child care support is added separately and the court can deviate (§ 518A.43). The DCYF Guidelines Calculator is the official tool.

PICS = gross income − spousal maintenance paid − support for other children (75% of the table amount for nonjoint children without an order). Basic support: § 518A.35 table bracket, $20,000 row above. Parenting expense adjustment: (A³ × B’s share − B³ × A’s share) ÷ (A³ + B³), A and B = overnights. Ability to pay: income above $1,596 a month (120% of the 2026 poverty guideline); minimum $50–$100.

Try a common case:1 child · $6,000 + $4,000/mo2 children · $5,000 + $3,000/mo3 children · $9,000 + $5,000/moEqual time · 1 child · $6,000 + $4,000

How we checked it. The 188-bracket table re-parsed independently; the cubic parenting expense formula follows § 518A.36.

Known limits. Child care support is not included (it depends on state credit tables).

Rules: Table since Jan. 1, 2023; 2026 statutes · Last checked November 13, 2026 · Download the official table (CSV)

How the MN child support calculator works

This MN child support calculator follows Minn. Stat. § 518A.34: income, basic support from the table, the parenting expense adjustment, medical support and the ability-to-pay check.[2]

  1. Gross income from all sources; pre-tax benefits and retirement contributions are not deducted.
  2. PICS (parental income for determining child support): subtract spousal maintenance paid, support paid for other children, and 75% of the table amount for other children in the home without an order.[5]
  3. Basic support from the § 518A.35 table for combined PICS and the number of joint children; above $20,000 a month the top row applies.[1]
  4. Income shares: each parent’s share of the basic support.
  5. Parenting expense adjustment for court-ordered overnights.[3]
  6. Medical and child care support are split by income share and listed separately.[6][7]
  7. Ability to pay: the paying parent keeps a self-support reserve.[4]

The Minnesota basic support table

The table in § 518A.35, in force since January 1, 2023, gives combined basic support in $100 brackets of combined monthly PICS, for one to six children.[1]

Selected brackets of the § 518A.35 table (monthly)
Combined PICS1 child2 children3 children4 children
$2,000$170$200$235$270
$4,000$625$845$954$1,041
$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
$15,000$1,539$2,155$2,457$2,654

Parenting expense adjustment

Minnesota adjusts basic support for court-ordered parenting time with a cubic formula: (A³ × B’s share − B³ × A’s share) ÷ (A³ + B³), where A and B are each parent’s annual overnights.[3] The result tells both the amount and who pays; with equal time and equal incomes, no basic support is owed. A parent with more than 55% of parenting time is presumed to owe no basic support.[5]

One child, gross incomes $6,000 (Parent B) and $4,000: basic support by Parent B’s overnights
Parent B’s overnightsMonthly basic support
0$738.00
36$736.39
80$711.38
120$608.67
146$456.86
182$128.05

Ability to pay and minimum orders

The paying parent keeps a self-support reserve of 120% of the federal poverty guideline for one person, which is $1,596 a month with the 2026 guideline.[4][9] If income above the reserve cannot cover the full amount, medical support is reduced first, then child care, then basic support. When the paying parent’s income is too low, the order is a minimum basic support of $50 for one child up to $100 for six or more, and the parent is presumed unable to pay child care or medical support.[4]

Child care, medical support and deviations

Work-related child care is shared by income after the estimated federal and state child care credits, and medical support covers the children’s premium and unreimbursed costs, also by income share.[6][7] This calculator includes the premium split but not child care, because the credit and sliding-fee tables come from the state’s calculator. A court can deviate using the factors in § 518A.43, including the child’s extraordinary needs and the parents’ resources.[8]

Official Minnesota calculator and agency

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families now runs Minnesota’s child support program and its Guidelines Calculator.[10][11]

Georgia uses a similar continuous parenting time formula with a power of 2.5 (Georgia child support calculator), and Illinois uses a threshold of 146 overnights (Illinois child support calculator). Compare all states in 50/50 custody child support.

An estimate, not an order. The court decides the amount. Not legal advice; see our legal disclaimer.

Frequently asked questions

How much is child support for 1 kid in Minnesota?

It depends on both incomes and parenting time. At $10,000 combined PICS the table gives $1,230 a month; a parent with 60% of the income and 80 overnights pays about $711.38.

How does parenting time change child support in Minnesota?

Every court-ordered overnight counts through the cubic parenting expense formula. With equal time and equal incomes there is no basic support.

What is the minimum child support in Minnesota?

Minimum basic support is $50 a month for one child, rising by $10 per child to $100 for six or more, when the paying parent cannot pay more after the self-support reserve.

Does Minnesota use gross or net income?

Gross income, minus maintenance paid and deductions for other children, called parental income for determining child support (PICS).

Sources

  1. Minn. Stat. § 518A.35, Guideline used in child support determinations (basic support table) · Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 2026 Minnesota Statutes (table effective January 1, 2023)
  2. Minn. Stat. § 518A.34, Computation of child support obligations · Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 2026 Minnesota Statutes
  3. Minn. Stat. § 518A.36, Parenting expense adjustment · Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 2026 Minnesota Statutes
  4. Minn. Stat. § 518A.42, Ability to pay; self-support adjustment · Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 2026 Minnesota Statutes
  5. Minn. Stat. § 518A.26, Definitions (PICS; 55% parenting time presumption) · Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 2026 Minnesota Statutes
  6. Minn. Stat. § 518A.40, Child care support · Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 2026 Minnesota Statutes
  7. Minn. Stat. § 518A.41, Medical support · Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 2026 Minnesota Statutes
  8. Minn. Stat. § 518A.43, Deviations from child support guidelines · Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes, 2026 Minnesota Statutes
  9. HHS Poverty Guidelines for 2026 · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, ASPE, 2026
  10. Minnesota Child Support Guidelines Calculator · Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, version 5.3, August 17, 2026
  11. Child Support · Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families, checked November 13, 2026