New child support guidelines go into effect January 1

New guidelines go into effect on January 1 for Minnesota child support.

The Minnesota Child Support Task Force gave recommendations to remedy known issues and increase fairness to parents before legislation to change the guidelines passed in 2021.

• A basic support table that will incorporate more up-to-date economic data on the costs of raising a child, updated from 20 years ago;
• New minimum basic support amounts will be in place, starting at $50 for one child, with incremental increases of $10 per additional child; 
• A low-income adjustment will also go into effect for parents with a combined monthly income of $6,000 or less.  The adjustment will help parents who make too much to pay minimum child support but have orders that withhold a percentage of income they can’t afford;
• Extend the cap on parents’ combined incomes to $20,000 a month;
• Assure that families that include children from either one – but not both – of the parents, the children are counted fairly for the purpose of deductions;
• Include deductions for children in families where parents are legally responsible but do not have a child support order.