How North Dakota calculates child support
- North Dakota support is a percentage of the paying parent’s net income: annual net income is divided by 12, rounded to the nearest $100, and looked up in the schedule for the number of children. The other parent’s income does not change the amount.
- When the court order gives the paying parent more than 100 overnights a year, the amount is reduced by 0.32 of a day for each overnight.
- With equal residential responsibility, or when each parent has some of the children, each parent’s obligation is figured and the smaller is subtracted from the larger.
What the calculator asks
- How many children is the support for?
- Where do the children live?
- How many of the children live mainly with you?
- How many of the children live mainly with the other parent?
- Under the court order, how many overnights a year do the children who live mainly with the other parent spend with you?
- Do all of those children have that same number of overnights with you?
- Under the court order, how many overnights a year do the children who live mainly with you spend with the other parent?
- Do all of those children have that same number of overnights with the other parent?
- Your net income for the year
- The other parent’s net income for the year
- Does either parent owe support for another child (under another order, or a child of theirs living with them who is not the other parent’s child)?
It never asks for names, Social Security numbers or account numbers, and your answers are not saved.
What the estimate leaves out
- The net income computation itself (hypothetical federal and state income tax, FICA and allowed deductions): enter net income from the official worksheet
- Cases where a parent supports children from another relationship (multiple-family cases)
- Credits for children’s benefits (for example Social Security) paid for the child, which count as payments
- Deviations the court may order under 75-02-04.1-09
When a situation is outside what the calculator covers, it says so and points you to the official worksheet instead of guessing.
Official sources
- N.D. Admin. Code ch. 75-02-04.1, Child Support Guidelines (amended July 1, 2023; schedule in 75-02-04.1-10 effective January 1, 2019)
- North Dakota HHS Child Support Guidelines Calculator (worksheet, Schedule D and the 2019 guidelines amounts)
- North Dakota HHS, Guidelines Schedule with Percentages
- North Dakota HHS Informational Communication IC-CO-15-01, Equal Residential Responsibility for some but not all children
Ready to estimate? The calculator shows each worksheet line so you can check it against the official form.
Open the North Dakota 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.