How to Use the Massachusetts Child Support Calculator
Enter what you know and press Calculate Estimate. The calculator follows the 2025 Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines (effective December 1, 2025) and the Trial Court's Child Support Guidelines Worksheet (CJD 304).
- Enter each parent's gross monthly income as Parent A and Parent B. Massachusetts uses gross weekly income, and the calculator converts your monthly figure.
- Choose the number of children (up to five) and the parent the children live with most of the time.
- Tick the shared plan box only if the parents share financial responsibility and parenting time approximately equally.
- Add monthly child care and the children's health insurance premium, and say which parent pays them.
Your numbers are sent with the form, not placed in the page address, and this site does not store them. This is a planning estimate. The Probate and Family Court decides the actual amount.
Massachusetts Child Support Laws and Changes for 2026
Looking for new child support laws in Massachusetts for 2026? The Trial Court's Child Support Guidelines Task Force issued the 2025 Child Support Guidelines, effective December 1, 2025. These are the guidelines this calculator uses. We did not find a later edition. Changes described in the 2025 guidelines include:
- A maximum combined available income of $450,000 a year ($8,654 a week).
- Low-income limits of $15 a week for a payor with gross income of $301 a week or less and $33 a week from $302 to $391.
- Increased adjustment factors for more than one child: 1.4 for two children, 1.68 for three, 1.85 for four and 1.94 for five.
- A child care benchmark of $430 a week for each child.
A new guideline does not automatically change an existing order. A parent generally has to ask the court to modify it.
How Massachusetts Calculates Child Support
Massachusetts uses a percentage of combined income model. The worksheet works in weekly dollars:
- Work out each parent's available income: gross income, minus health care premiums paid and support paid for other children, and plus any Social Security dependency benefit for the retired or disabled parent.
- Add the incomes (up to $8,654 a week) and look up the support amount for one child in Table A or the Guidelines Chart.
- Multiply by the Table B factor for the number of children.
- Split the result by each parent's share of combined income. The payor owes the recipient the payor's share.
- Add each parent's share of child care (benchmark $430 a week per child), then apply the low-income and income disparity limits.
The result is a presumptive amount. The court can deviate from it if it explains why in writing.
Table A: Support for One Child
Table A on the 2025 worksheet sets the weekly support amount for one child. The Guidelines Chart gives the same figures in steps of about $5 of income, and if income falls between two entries the lower support amount is used.
| Combined weekly income | Support for one child (weekly) |
|---|
| $0 to $301 | $15 |
| $302 to $391 | $15 plus 20% of income above $301 |
| $392 to $1,000 | 22% of income |
| $1,001 to $1,600 | $220 plus 21% above $1,000 |
| $1,601 to $2,400 | $346 plus 18% above $1,600 |
| $2,401 to $3,500 | $490 plus 14% above $2,400 |
| $3,501 to $5,000 | $644 plus 11% above $3,500 |
| $5,001 to $8,654 | $809 plus 10% above $5,000 |
The chart also gives the shaded low-income amounts, which apply to the payor's own income regardless of the recipient's income.
Table B: More Than One Child
The one-child amount is multiplied by the factor for the number of children covered by the order. For more than five children, the order should be at least the amount for five.
| Number of children | Adjustment factor |
|---|
| 1 | 1.00 |
| 2 | 1.40 |
| 3 | 1.68 |
| 4 | 1.85 |
| 5 | 1.94 |
Parenting Time in Massachusetts
The Massachusetts worksheet does not count overnights. It asks which of three plans applies:
- Box 1, shared: the parents share financial responsibility and parenting time approximately equally. Each parent's share is worked out and the difference is paid.
- Box 2, primary residence: the children live mainly with one parent for about two-thirds of the time. The calculation is based on the children spending about one-third of the time with the other parent.
- Box 3, split: each parent is the primary residence for at least one child. This calculator does not cover the split plan.
If the non-residential parent has substantially less than one-third of the time, the court may consider an upward deviation. If the time is more than one-third but less than half, it may consider a downward deviation.
Massachusetts Child Support Examples
In each example the children live mostly with Parent A. Amounts come from the worksheet formula, and the monthly figure is the weekly amount times 52 divided by 12.
Example 1: One child
A earns $4,333 a month ($1,000 a week) and B earns $8,667 ($2,000 a week). Combined income of $3,000 a week gives a one-child amount of $574. B's share is 67%, so B pays $383 a week, about $1,659.67 a month.
Example 2: Two children and child care
Same incomes, two children, and A pays $1,000 a month in child care. The combined amount is $574 × 1.4 = $804. B's 67% share is $536, plus 67% of A's $231 weekly child care. B pays $690 a week, about $2,990.00 a month.
Example 3: Low-income payor
A earns $4,333 a month and B earns $1,300 a month ($300 a week). B's income is in the shaded low-income range, so B pays $15 a week, about $65.00 a month.
Example 4: Shared plan
A earns $8,000 a month and B earns $2,000 a month, two children, shared plan. A owes $530 a week and B owes $132, but B's share is limited by the income disparity rule to $80. A pays $450 a week, about $1,950.00 a month.
Example 5: Income disparity
A earns $20,000 a month and B earns $3,000 a month, one child. B's formula share would be $110 a week, but that is under 10% of A's income, so B's order is limited to $86 a week, about $372.67 a month.
These are illustrations produced from the worksheet, not court rulings.
What Counts as Income in Massachusetts
The guidelines use gross income from all sources, including wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, self-employment and business income, rent, interest and dividends, retirement and pension income, Social Security, unemployment and disability benefits, and some in-kind benefits. A court can attribute income to a parent who is not working to capacity. Means-tested public assistance is not counted as income.
Social Security dependency benefits paid because of a parent's retirement or disability are added to that parent's income and then credited against what the parent owes.
Frequently Asked Questions About Massachusetts Child Support
Is this the official Massachusetts child support calculator?
No. ChildSupportCalculator.xyz is an independent tool and is not affiliated with the Massachusetts Trial Court or Department of Revenue. It applies the 2025 guidelines and worksheet. The court sets the actual amount.
How is child support calculated in Massachusetts?
The court adds the parents' available weekly incomes, finds the support amount for one child in the Guidelines Chart, multiplies it by a factor for the number of children, and splits it by each parent's share of income. Child care is added and limits for low or very unequal incomes are applied.
Are there new child support guidelines in Massachusetts in 2026?
The current edition we found is the 2025 Child Support Guidelines, effective December 1, 2025. We did not find a later edition. This page will be updated if one is published.
Does Massachusetts use gross or net income?
Gross income. The worksheet starts from gross weekly income and subtracts health insurance premiums and other allowed deductions.
Does Massachusetts count overnights?
Not as a number. The worksheet asks whether the plan is shared, primary residence with one parent, or split. The basic calculation assumes the other parent has about one-third of the time.
What is the maximum income in the Massachusetts guidelines?
$450,000 a year of combined available income ($8,654 a week). Support on income above that is up to the court.
What is the minimum child support order in Massachusetts?
A payor with gross income of $301 a week or less should not be ordered to pay more than $15 a week, and from $302 to $391 a week no more than $33 a week, unless the court deviates.
How are child care costs shared in Massachusetts?
Each parent's child care cost counts up to $430 a week per child, and the other parent's income share of it is added to or netted against support.
Can a Massachusetts order be changed?
Yes. A parent can ask the court to modify the order.
Does the Massachusetts calculator need my personal details or a login?
No. This site needs no login and does not store your numbers.
