How Maryland calculates child support
- Each parent’s monthly actual income (before taxes) is reduced by child support they already pay for other children, alimony they pay, and a multifamily allowance for other children living in their home; alimony awarded in this case is moved from the payer to the recipient.
- The combined adjusted income and the number of children give the basic obligation from the schedule, using the next higher row. Low-income amounts already include the self-support reserve.
- Work-related child care, the children’s health insurance and extraordinary medical expenses are added and the total is shared by income. The parent who pays an expense directly gets credit for it.
- With shared physical custody (at least 92 overnights a year with each parent) the basic obligation is multiplied by 1.5, each parent’s share is multiplied by the other parent’s time, and the two are offset, with an extra adjustment for a parent with 92 to 109 overnights. The result may not exceed the primary-custody amount.
- Combined adjusted income above $30,000 a month is left to the court’s discretion.
What the calculator asks
- How many children is the support for?
- How are the children’s overnights split?
- How many overnights a year are the children with you?
- Your monthly actual income, before taxes
- Child support you already pay for other children, per month
- Alimony you pay to someone else, per month
- How many other children do you have a duty to support who live in your home?
- The other parent’s monthly actual income, before taxes
- Child support the other parent already pays for other children, per month
- Alimony the other parent pays to someone else, per month
- How many other children does the other parent have a duty to support who live in their home?
- Alimony awarded in this case, per month
- Who pays the alimony awarded in this case?
- Work-related child care you pay per month
- Work-related child care the other parent pays per month
- The children’s health insurance you pay per month
- The children’s health insurance the other parent pays per month
- Extraordinary medical expenses you pay per month
- Extraordinary medical expenses the other parent pays per month
- Does a child receive benefits because of a parent’s disability or retirement (or a compensable claim)?
It never asks for names, Social Security numbers or account numbers, and your answers are not saved.
What the estimate leaves out
- Cash medical support (Title IV-D cases) and additional expenses such as special schooling or transportation (§ 12-204(i))
- Benefits paid for the child because of a parent’s disability or retirement (§ 12-204(j))
- Potential (imputed) income and the court’s decision to decline an order (§ 12-202(c))
- Combined adjusted actual income above $30,000 a month
- Deviations the court may make (§ 12-202(a)(2))
When a situation is outside what the calculator covers, it says so and points you to the official worksheet instead of guessing.
Official sources
- Md. Code, Family Law § 12-204, calculation and schedule (schedule effective July 1, 2022)
- Md. Code, Family Law § 12-201, definitions (multifamily adjustment effective October 1, 2025)
- Worksheet A, CC-DR-034 (Rev. 07/2026)
- Worksheets B and C, CC-DR-035 (Rev. 07/2026)
- Chapter 532 of 2025 (HB 275), multifamily adjustment
Maryland Child Support Worksheet A, CC-DR-034 (Worksheet B, CC-DR-035, for shared custody) →
Ready to estimate? The calculator shows each worksheet line so you can check it against the official form.
Open the Maryland 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.