WEBERG LAW

2025 Massachusetts Child Support Calculator

Our MA Child Support Calculator

This tool is designed to give you a general idea of the support amount that applies to your case. If you would like to use the mass.gov calculator and download your results, you can find it here.

What you need to know about child support in MA

Understanding Child Support in Massachusetts

Child support in Massachusetts is defined as the money one parent pays to help with a child’s financial needs when the parents do not live together anymore. The parent who the child lives with most of the time is the custodial parent. The other parent is the non-custodial parent. The custodial parent is the individual who will receive child support. The purpose of child support is to ensure that the child’s needs are met. Child support payments are intended to cover essential expenses such as food, clothing, child care costs, education, dental insurance and healthcare.

The amount for child support in Massachusetts is calculated through the The 2021 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines, using the weekly income and expenses of both parents. Weekly income should be calculated by dividing the annual income by 52. The court must adhere to the guidelines unless there are compelling reasons to deviate. If the child support amount is 40% or more of the payor’s available income, they are able to ask the court for a deviation. The minimum child support payment allowed in Massachusetts is $12 per week.

The payor’s obligation to pay child support continues until the end date specified in your child support order. Child support may not automatically end when your child turns eighteen years old. Unless your court order specifies a specific amount per child, the amount of child support you have to pay will remain the same until the order ends for all of your children. Your child support order may end when a child turns eighteen years old, but it may also continue until the child’s twenty-third birthday. This depends on your court order. The court follows these guidelines to determine the end date of an order to pay child support:

  • If a court order states that child support ends on a specific date;
  • If a court order states that child support payments will continues based on certain circumstances and refers to the child’s twenty-third birthday; or
  • In all other cases, child support will stop when the youngest child reaches the age of twenty-one.
  • If the order is from another state, Massachusetts will stop collecting child support based on that state’s law.

If there is a disagreement about the ending date for child support, the parties can go to the family and probate court and ask for a new court order clarifying the end date.

Process for Establishing a Child Support Order

The process for establishing a child support order in Massachusetts typically begins when one parent files a complaint for child support in the probate and family court, which may also involve issues about parenting time. The court will schedule a hearing where both parents can present their financial information, including weekly income and any other relevant information. During the hearing, the judge will consider the Massachusetts child support guidelines, the child support calculations, and the specific circumstances of the family. After evaluating the information, the judge will issue a child support order.

Modification of Child Support Orders

To modify an existing child support order in Massachusetts, a parent must demonstrate a material change in circumstances that affects their ability to pay or the needs of the child. Common reasons for child support modifications include loss of employment, change in physical custody or change in parenting time, significant incomes changes or changes in the child’s needs. The parent seeking the modification must file a motion with the court, providing evidence of the change in circumstances. The court will then review the case and determine whether to adjust the support amount based on the updated financial information and the child support guidelines. Modifications to child support can be temporary or permanent, it will depend on the facts of the case.

Child support payments do not automatically stop when you are incarcerated, or you are no longer employed. The payments will continue to accumulate in the court ordered amount.

Enforcement of Child Support Payments in Massachusetts

If a parent fails to make payments as orders and does not fulfil their child support obligation, the other parent can file a complaint for contempt with the court which can compel the non-compliant parent to fulfill their support obligations. Additionally, the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR) has an Office of Child Support Enforcement that can assist in collecting overdue payments for paying child support. They may use wage garnishment, intercept tax refunds, or suspend professional licenses.

Impact of Alimony on Child Support Payments

Both alimony and child support are determined based on the financial circumstances of the parties. The Cavanagh decision in Massachusetts indicates the importance of evaluating the tax implications of both alimony and child support. When calculating alimony and child support in a divorce proceeding, judges must consider both incomes of the parties simultaneously, meaning that they cannot calculate child support first and then only award alimony if there is remaining income left over.

Help with Child Support

If you need help understanding Massachusetts child support guidelines and your rights then consider reaching out to us and consulting with one of our child support attorneys. We berg Law takes pride in providing sound legal advice on complex family law and divorce issues.

2021 Child Support Calculator

1. AGE, NUMBER, AND PARENTING OF CHILDREN

b. Check the option that applies to the children listed in 1a

c. Enter each parent's name

If you checked Option 2 above, enter the name of the parent with whom the children primarily resides in the column for Parent A, and the other parent's name as Parent B; otherwise, enter either parent's name in either column

Enter the number and age of children for whom each parent may be eligible to receive support
If you checked Option 1 above (shared), enter the number of children from 1a in the columns for both parents
If you checked Option 2 above, enter the number of children from 1a in the column for Parent A, and enter 0 in the column for Parent B
If you checked Option 3 above (split), enter the number of children primarily residing with each parent in each column

d. Number of children under age 18
e. Number of children 18 years or older
f. Total number of children

2. INCOME

a. Gross weekly income

$
$

Social Security dependency benefit

b. Enter the total amount of the dependency benefit
in the column of the retired or disabled parent

(can only enter amount for one parent, since a child can only be entitled to one depending benefit)

$
$

c. Enter the amount of the dependency benefit Social
Security sent directly to each parent

$
$

Deductions:

d. Other child support obligations paid

$
$

e. Health care premium/enrollment paid

(both parents must fill this out)

$
$

f. Dental/vision insurance cost paid

(both parents must fill this out)

$
$

Credits:

g. Child care cost paid for children covered by this order (Daycare only)

Parent A

$
$
$
$
$

Parent B

$
$
$
$
$

Total

$
$
$
$
$

 

 

$
$

3. GROSS SUPPORT AMOUNTS

a. Available income

b. Combined available income

c. Share of combined available income

d. Applicable available income

e. Support amount for one child

f. Adjustment for the number of children in 1f

g. Combined support amount

4. ADJUSTMENT FOR CHILDREN 18 YEARS OR OLDER

a. Adjustment percentage for the ages

of the children listed in 1d and 1e
For Parent

b. Adjustment for children 18 years or older

c. Adjusted combined support amount

5. PROPORTIONAL SUPPORT AMOUNTS

a. Minus each parent's share of support

b. Other parent's share of support

c. Other parent's share of support with low‐income payor adjustment

6. ADJUSTED SUPPORT AMOUNTS

a. Child care cost benchmark amount

b. Other parent's share of benchmark cost

c. Other parent's adjusted share of support

d. Support as % of each parent's available income

e. Other parent's adjusted share of support

f. Recipient and Payor

g. Payor's adjusted share of support

7. PAYOR'S NET SUPPORT OBLIGATION

a. Support as % of Recipient's available income

b. Payor's support obligation adjusted for income disparity

c. Credit for Social Security dependency benefits paid

d. Payor's final support obligation

e. Support as % of Payor's available income

8. ADDITIONAL INCOME ABOVE $7,692

a. Combined additional income

b. Share of combined additional income

Payor's Support Obligations

Public Library

Contact Us

Family Law

Divorce

  • Chat
  • Call
  • Meet
× Send