Maryland Child Support Calculator (2026)
Maryland calculates child support under income-shares guidelines (Md. Code, Fam. Law § 12-204). Estimate the guideline amount below.
Income basis: combined monthly adjusted actual income.
Enter the income above to see the guideline estimate.
Simplified guideline estimate, interpolated from the official schedule — before health-insurance, childcare, and parenting-time adjustments. For the exact figure use the official Maryland calculator.
Your Case Details
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Approximate gap between higher-earner and lower-earner.
Estimated Monthly Support
$840 — $1,560
State formulas vary significantly. This estimate uses national averages — your state's guidelines may produce a different number.
Editorially Reviewed — Content reviewed for accuracy using published legal research, government data, and verified court records. See our methodology
Reviewed by Leonard Goldberg, Editor · Last updated
Maryland uses the income-shares model: both parents' incomes are combined, the official schedule sets a basic support obligation, and each parent owes their proportional share (Md. Code, Fam. Law § 12-204). The calculator above interpolates the official schedule for a quick estimate — health-insurance, child-care, and parenting-time adjustments come on top.
How Maryland Calculates Child Support
Maryland uses the income shares model under Md. Code, Fam. Law § 12-204: the court adds both parents' 'adjusted actual income' (actual income minus pre-existing child support paid, alimony paid, and an allowance for other children in the home), looks up the combined monthly figure in the statutory Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations in § 12-204(e), then divides that basic obligation between the parents in proportion to their share of the combined income. The guidelines were last substantially revised effective July 1, 2022 (Chapter 305, Acts of 2021), which roughly doubled the schedule's ceiling from $15,000 to $30,000 in combined monthly income and replaced the old descriptive '$20-$150 based on resources' placeholder for very low incomes with fixed, self-support-reserve-adjusted dollar amounts.
Statutory basis: Md. Code, Fam. Law § 12-204. Exact figure: official Maryland calculator.
Official Schedule — Excerpt
Basic support obligation at selected combined incomes (combined monthly adjusted actual income), from the official Maryland schedule:
| Combined income | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3,000 | $583 | $856 | $1,034 |
| $5,000 | $924 | $1,356 | $1,639 |
| $7,500 | $1,177 | $1,678 | $2,010 |
| $10,000 | $1,345 | $1,881 | $2,257 |
Worked Example
Two parents with two children and a combined monthly adjusted actual income of $5,000 (e.g., Parent A earns $3,000/month, Parent B earns $2,000/month): the schedule in § 12-204(e) sets the basic child support obligation for 2 children at $1,356/month. Parent A's income share is 60% ($3,000 ÷ $5,000), so if Parent A is the non-custodial parent under Worksheet A, Parent A owes 60% × $1,356 = $813.60/month in basic support, plus their proportional share of any work-related child care, health-insurance premiums, and extraordinary medical expenses added under § 12-204(g)-(h).
When Courts Deviate From the Guideline
- Terms of an existing separation or property settlement agreement or court order — e.g., who pays the mortgage, marital debts, or college expenses (Md. Code, Fam. Law § 12-202(a)(2)(iii))
- Any other factor the court finds relevant to the best interests of the child (§ 12-202(a)(2)(iv))
- Self-support reserve: the guideline amount would leave the paying parent with monthly income below 110% of the 2019 federal poverty level for one person (§ 12-201(n), § 12-202(a)(2))
- Shared physical custody — when a parent has the child at least 25% of overnights (92+ nights/year), the court uses the separate cross-credit formula in § 12-204(m)
- Extraordinary medical expenses, work-related child care costs, and the child's health-insurance cost are added to the basic obligation and divided proportionally (§ 12-204(g)-(h))
- An allowance is subtracted from a parent's income for other children living in that parent's home whom the parent has a legal duty to support and who spend 92+ overnights/year there (§ 12-201(c)(2)(iii))
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a maximum combined income the Maryland child support guidelines cover?
Yes. The statutory Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations in Md. Code, Fam. Law § 12-204(e) only goes up to $30,000/month in combined adjusted actual income (about $360,000/year) — a ceiling that was doubled from $15,000/month effective July 1, 2022. At the top of the schedule, the basic obligation is $3,163/month for one child and $4,596/month for two. Above $30,000/month combined income, § 12-204(d) lets the court use its discretion instead of a fixed formula.
What counts as income when calculating Maryland child support?
Md. Code, Fam. Law § 12-201 defines 'actual income' broadly: wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, self-employment net profit, Social Security, pensions, dividends, interest, trust and annuity income, workers' compensation, unemployment and disability benefits, and alimony received. Means-tested benefits like SNAP or TANF are excluded. That actual income is then reduced by pre-existing child support paid, alimony paid, and an allowance for other children in the home to reach 'adjusted actual income.'
How does shared custody change the Maryland child support amount?
If a parent has the children overnight at least 25% of the year (92+ overnights), Maryland switches from the standard Worksheet A calculation to the shared-physical-custody formula in § 12-204(m): each parent's share of the basic obligation is multiplied by the percentage of time the child spends with the other parent, and (for parents in the 25%-30% overnight range) a sliding shared-custody adjustment of 0.02-0.10 is applied before the two theoretical amounts are netted against each other.
Until what age does child support last in Maryland, and does it cover college?
Maryland child support generally runs until a child turns 18. Secondary sources report an extension to age 19 if the child is still enrolled full-time in secondary school at 18 (ending at graduation, dropping out, or turning 19, whichever comes first). The guidelines themselves do not require support to cover college; college costs are only addressed if the parents' own separation/property settlement agreement provides for them, which a court can then consider under § 12-202(a)(2)(iii).