How Kansas calculates child support
- Each parent’s domestic gross income is reduced by child support paid in other cases and maintenance paid, and increased by maintenance received. The combined child support income gives each child’s amount from the schedule for the number of children, by age group (0–5, 6–11, 12–18), and the amounts are added.
- The total is shared by income percentage. A parent who has the children 35% or more of the time may get a 10% to 30% parenting time adjustment.
- Health insurance premiums for the children and work-related child care (after the tax credit) are shared by percentage, and each parent is credited for what they pay.
- With equal parenting time, the Shared Expense Formula or the Direct Expense Formula applies. The court also checks the paying parent’s ability to pay against the federal poverty guideline for one person ($1,330 a month in 2026).
What the calculator asks
- How many of the children are 0 to 5 years old?
- How many are 6 to 11 years old?
- How many are 12 to 18 years old?
- Who will the children live with?
- What percentage of the children’s time will they spend with the parent they live with less?
- How will you share the children’s direct expenses (clothing, school costs, activities)?
- Which parent will pay the direct expenses?
- Your domestic gross income per month
- Child support you actually pay each month in other cases
- Court-ordered spousal maintenance you pay each month
- Court-ordered spousal maintenance you receive each month
- The other parent’s domestic gross income per month
- Child support the other parent actually pays each month in other cases
- Court-ordered spousal maintenance the other parent pays each month
- Court-ordered spousal maintenance the other parent receives each month
- If any spousal maintenance is paid, when was the order entered?
- Health, dental and vision insurance premiums you pay each month for these children
- Health, dental and vision insurance premiums the other parent pays each month for these children
- Work-related child care you pay each month, after the child care tax credit
- Work-related child care the other parent pays each month, after the tax credit
- Do the children receive Social Security dependent benefits because of a parent?
It never asks for names, Social Security numbers or account numbers, and your answers are not saved.
What the estimate leaves out
- The multiple-family application and the cost-of-living differential, which are discretionary
- Actual-cost and extended parenting time adjustments
- Child support adjustments the court may allow (long distance travel, income tax, special needs, support past majority, overall financial condition)
- Social Security dependent benefits credited to the paying parent, and the enforcement fee allowance
- Combined incomes above $18,000 a month (the extended formula is discretionary)
When a situation is outside what the calculator covers, it says so and points you to the official worksheet instead of guessing.
Official sources
- Kansas Child Support Guidelines effective July 1, 2025 (Kansas Supreme Court)
- Administrative Order 2025-RL-121 adopting the guidelines
- Kansas Child Support Worksheet (Appendix I)
- HHS Poverty Guidelines for 2026 (used in the ability-to-pay calculation)
Kansas Child Support Guidelines and Child Support Worksheet (Kansas Judicial Branch) →
Ready to estimate? The calculator shows each worksheet line so you can check it against the official form.
Open the Kansas calculator →An estimate from the published guideline formula, not a prediction of a court order. The official court worksheet and the court’s decision control. General information, not legal advice. LawCat is not a law firm.