MARYLAND SUPPORT GUIDELINE
Maryland child support calculator & worksheet
Use the Maryland child support calculator to estimate basic support from both parents’ adjusted actual income. This guide explains the income-shares schedule and links to the worksheet. Shared physical custody, expenses and other adjustments require the complete Maryland calculation.
Current module status
| State | Maryland |
|---|---|
| Status | Active base worksheet module |
| Guideline model | income shares monthly table |
| Primary income field | Combined monthly adjusted actual income |
How Maryland child support law works
Legal starting point. Maryland Family Law section 12-204 provides the Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations. The schedule creates the initial obligation from the parents’ combined adjusted actual income, with a different worksheet path when physical custody is shared. Read Maryland Family Law §§ 12-201 and 12-204.
How the guideline is calculated
The schedule amount is allocated in proportion to each parent’s adjusted actual income. Child care, health insurance, extraordinary medical costs, other children, maintenance, shared custody, and income above the schedule are resolved through the full Maryland worksheet and court findings.
What this site’s worksheet covers
Uses Md. Code, Family Law § 12-204 schedule of basic child support obligations. The schedule amount is divided between parents in proportion to adjusted actual incomes. Alimony/maintenance sequencing, additional children in the home, child care, health insurance, extraordinary medical expenses, shared physical custody and deviations are separate worksheet issues. If combined adjusted actual income falls between schedule rows, Maryland uses the next higher amount; income above $30,000 is discretionary.
Documents that make the worksheet more useful
Maryland sole or shared physical custody worksheet and financial statement. Gather the records that support the income, parenting-time, insurance, child-care, and other adjustment entries that apply to the family. The calculator applies the guideline formula described above and identifies any listed worksheet line it does not compute.
For a filing or agreement, complete the official court forms linked on this page. They use the same guideline structure explained here, and the court applies it to the facts of the case.
Before you enter your numbers
Why do exact Maryland overnight counts matter?
Maryland has a shared-physical-custody method and a graduated adjustment near the beginning of that range. Two families described loosely as having 25 percent parenting time may have different qualifying overnight counts. A rounded percentage cannot replace the count required by section 12-204.
Prepare this: Use an annual overnight calendar and the appropriate sole or shared physical custody worksheet. Preserve the exact count and identify which parent pays each additional child expense.
Read the relevant official instructions: Maryland Family Law section 12-204: shared physical custody calculation.
These preparation notes explain one part of the state guideline. A new estimate does not change an existing order; a modification request does.
How Maryland cases actually get to a number
Compute adjusted actual income, look up the schedule, allocate by income share, then add child care, health insurance, and extraordinary medicals. Shared custody is a fork, not a credit line on the sole-custody form.
Maryland Family Law section 12-204’s Schedule of Basic Child Support Obligations starts from combined adjusted actual income. Shared physical custody uses a different worksheet. That is a different path from neighboring states that use another model, so do not import a table, percentage, or overnight credit from somewhere else.
Parenting time in Maryland
Maryland Family Law section 12-201 defines shared physical custody as each parent keeping the children overnight for more than 25 percent of the year and both contributing to their expenses in addition to child support. The shared-custody adjustment applies in the 92–109 overnight band. Use exact overnight counts and the full shared-custody worksheet, not a rounded percentage.
Costs Maryland usually treats separately
- Work-related child care
- Health-insurance costs
- Extraordinary medical expenses
- Existing maintenance as the statute treats it
When Maryland courts leave the guideline
Income above the schedule requires a case-by-case determination. Other children in the home and special needs are statutory considerations. Do not cap or extrapolate casually.
Official Maryland forms to keep beside this guide
Maryland sole or shared physical custody worksheet and financial statement. The calculator applies the guideline formula described above and identifies any listed worksheet line it does not compute. The primary authority is the published Maryland source. Fill the official form from source documents. Use this page only to check that you chose the right Maryland path—primary versus shared, table versus percentage, add-ons versus basic support.
Where this is typically filed
Circuit Court sits as a family court in these cases; CSEA handles IV-D. Use the current schedule amount, which the General Assembly has updated over time.
Questions about Maryland child support
What does a Maryland base-support example look like?
For one child, monthly adjusted actual incomes of $3,000 and $2,000 combine to $5,000. Section 12-204 lists $924 in basic monthly support at that row. The 60% and 40% income shares allocate $554.40 and $369.60 before child care, insurance, extraordinary medical expenses, shared-custody adjustments or deviations. These are base allocations, not two payments or a final court order. Alimony must already be treated correctly in the adjusted incomes.
Maryland 2026 basic support schedule, § 12-204
Which income goes into the Maryland child support calculator?
Use each parent’s monthly adjusted actual income under Maryland’s guidelines. Gross earnings, allowable adjustments and alimony treatment need to be reconciled before selecting the schedule amount. A paycheck’s take-home total is not automatically the required figure. Use the income worksheet to organize the records, and check the statute’s definitions.
Maryland income definitions · Prepare income without double counting
Does shared custody change child support in Maryland?
Shared physical custody requires each parent to keep the children overnight for more than 25 percent of the year and both to contribute to expenses in addition to child support under section 12-201. The 92–109 overnight band has a graduated adjustment. This site’s Maryland module provides the sole-custody base allocation; use the full official worksheet for shared custody, child care, health insurance and extraordinary medical expenses.
Maryland custody and expense rules
Does the Maryland worksheet also calculate alimony?
No Maryland spousal-support dollar estimate is available here. You can organize the relevant information for review, but an alimony amount is not obtained by treating the child-support schedule as a spousal-support formula. Check the separate coverage guide before requesting a combined child-and-spousal report.
Spousal-support calculation coverage by state · Child support and alimony explained
Can I print or save the Maryland child support worksheet?
Yes. Open the worksheet, enter both parties’ figures and review the supported calculation’s assumptions. Print or save the breakdown as a PDF without an account. The report is an independent estimate and accounting of your entries; it is not an official filing form or a court order.
Guide wording updated .
Run the calculator
Open the free support calculator, select Maryland, complete the state worksheet, and print or export the output for review.