Michigan Child Support Calculator (2026)

How Michigan calculates child support

Michigan’s guideline is the Michigan Child Support Formula, published by the State Court Administrative Office. The 2025 version applies to orders entered on or after January 1, 2025. It uses a General Care Support formula rather than a single schedule. The formula has income bands for one to five children, and each band contains a base support amount, a marginal percentage, and an income threshold.

The first step is to determine each parent’s net income under the formula. The second step is to combine the incomes, subject to the low-income threshold. The third step is to find the band that contains the family’s net monthly income and apply the formula: base support plus the marginal percentage multiplied by the amount of income above the band’s threshold. The result is the base support obligation for the family.

Each parent is then assigned a share of the base obligation in proportion to net income. The parent who is not the primary caretaker pays their share. Michigan then applies the parenting-time offset and the other components, which this page does not reproduce.

Net income and the low-income threshold

Michigan’s “net income” is not take-home pay. The formula manual defines it as all income minus the deductions and adjustments permitted by the manual. That can include taxes, mandatory retirement, health insurance, prior support, and other items. The manual is detailed, and the number you enter should be the number you expect the court or the Friend of the Court to use.

The 2025 formula uses a low-income threshold of $1,255 per month. A parent whose net income is below the threshold may be excluded from the family income calculation, and the court can apply a low-income adjustment. This calculator includes both incomes and does not apply the threshold, so it can overstate support when one parent has very low income.

When a parent is self-employed, has irregular income, or is voluntarily underemployed, the court can adjust income before applying the formula. That adjustment can matter more than the bands themselves.

The General Care Support bands

The bands are not a flat percentage of income. For one child, the first band starts at $2,000 of monthly net family income with a $500 base and a 24.92% marginal rate. The next band starts at $3,500, then $4,500, then $7,148.44, and so on. The base support and the marginal rate change at each threshold, which is why a simple “X% of income” estimate is not accurate in Michigan.

The tables go up to five children. For six children, this calculator uses the five-child table as a conservative approximation; the manual and the official calculator should be used for larger families. Above the highest income band, the formula normally uses the listed figures, but the court may exercise discretion when income greatly exceeds the highest level.

Parenting time, health care, and childcare

Michigan applies a parenting-time offset based on the number of overnights and the parents’ incomes. The offset is not a simple percentage discount, and it can change the result significantly in a shared-parenting case. This page calculates the base obligation before the offset.

Michigan also adds health insurance, work-related childcare, and ordinary medical expenses as separate components. The ordinary medical expense average is published in the MCSF Supplement, and the court can allocate the children’s health insurance premium and childcare between the parents. The calculator does not add those amounts.

A Michigan example at $8,000 family net income

At $5,000 for Parent A and $3,000 for Parent B, family net income is $8,000. The band that applies is the one over $7,148.44: $1,403.95 + 13.98% × ($8,000 − $7,148.44) = $1,523 in base support. Parent A’s share of 62.5% produces $952 per month.

The base figure leaves out the parenting-time offset, health insurance, childcare, and any deviation. Treat it as a guideline starting point, not the court’s order.

What the Michigan estimate leaves out

• The Michigan parenting-time offset.
• Health insurance and ordinary medical expenses.
• Work-related childcare.
• The low-income threshold and low-income adjustment.
• Split parenting and other adjustments in the MCSF manual.
• Deviations for special needs, extraordinary expenses, or another factor the court finds relevant.
• Arrears, interest, and any credit for benefits paid to the child.

The result depends heavily on the net income you enter. A self-employed parent, or one with irregular income, may have income adjusted before the formula is applied; voluntary underemployment can also lead to imputed income. That income change can outweigh the bands.

When Michigan’s official calculator is the better choice

The Michigan MiChildSupport calculator is the official tool. It walks through the net income, the parenting-time offset, the health care and childcare components, and the other adjustments in the MCSF. It produces a calculation that the Friend of the Court and the court recognize.

A family law attorney is the right next step if the parents disagree about income, overnights, or add-ons. The formula is the starting point; the court’s order is what controls.

Frequently asked questions