Child Support Guidelines

The Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines are designed to ensure that children’s needs are met following a divorce or separation. These guidelines provide a framework for calculating the amount of child support that one parent must pay to the other. The guidelines take into account various factors, including the gross income of both parents, the number of children, health insurance, and child care costs. Adjustments may be made based on whether the parents have a 50/50 parenting schedule or if one parent has the children more than two-thirds of the time. The guidelines are reviewed and revised at least once every four years to ensure they result in appropriate child support awards. The 2021 guidelines introduced a flexible minimum order, where a person making between $211 and $249 per week can be ordered to pay between $12 and $20 per week in child support. For those with an income below $210 per week, the minimum order is $12. The guidelines are applied to all child support orders and judgments entered as of October 4, 2021. Courts must adhere to the guidelines unless there are compelling reasons to deviate, and any deviation must be supported by specific written findings. See our Child Support Calculator Here.