A Mississippi child support calculator helps parents estimate the amount of child support the noncustodial parent will pay based on Mississippi child support guidelines. While Mississippi does not provide an official state calculator, parents can use the percentage-based formula established in state law to determine support obligations.
The Mississippi Department of Human Services Division of Child Support Enforcement administers the state's child support program and enforces child support orders established by courts. Whether you expect to pay support or receive child support, knowing how Mississippi calculates support amounts based on adjusted gross income ensures you understand your rights and obligations under child support orders.
How Mississippi Calculates Child Support
Mississippi uses a straightforward percentage-of-income approach to determine child support amounts. The noncustodial parent pays a specific percentage of their adjusted gross income based on the number of children requiring support. The Mississippi child support guidelines establish these percentages:
- One child: 14% of adjusted gross income
- Two children: 20% of adjusted gross income
- Three children: 22% of adjusted gross income
- Four children: 24% of adjusted gross income
- Five or more children: 26% of adjusted gross income
These percentages apply regardless of the custodial parent's income. Mississippi considers only the noncustodial parent's adjusted gross income when calculating support obligations. This simplified approach makes calculations predictable and consistent across cases.
Calculating Adjusted Gross Income
Before applying the percentage rates, you must determine the noncustodial parent's adjusted gross income. This calculation starts with gross income from all sources reasonably expected to be available. Gross income includes:
- Wages, salary, and overtime pay
- Commissions and bonuses
- Self-employment income
- Investment income, including dividends and interest
- Workers' compensation benefits
- Disability benefits
- Unemployment benefits
- Annuity and retirement benefit,s including Individual Retirement Accounts
- Alimony received from previous marriages
- Income from inherited property
- Any other payments from persons, private entities, or government sources
From total gross income, subtract legally mandated deductions including federal, state, and local taxes, Social Security contributions, and mandatory retirement and disability contributions (but not voluntary contributions). If the parent already pays court-ordered child support for other children, subtract that amount. The result is adjusted gross income.
Using Online Child Support Calculators
While Mississippi does not maintain an official child support calculator, several websites offer calculators that estimate support amounts based on the MDHS child support program guidelines. These unofficial calculators typically ask for the noncustodial parent's gross income, number of children requiring support, and information about deductions.
When using online calculators, understand that they provide estimates only. Actual child support orders may differ based on specific circumstances, deviations from guidelines, and additional factors courts consider. Calculators cannot account for every unique situation affecting support calculations.
Limitations of Calculators
Online child support calculators have limitations. They may not reflect the most current Mississippi guidelines if state laws change. Calculators cannot account for extraordinary expenses, special needs, or other factors that might cause courts to deviate from standard guidelines. Additionally, calculators typically address only basic support obligations, not health insurance costs or other expenses that affect total child support payments.
Use calculators as starting points for understanding potential support obligations. For precise calculations and legal advice about your specific situation, consult with a family law attorney who understands Mississippi child support law.
Example Calculations
One Child Example
Consider a noncustodial parent with monthly adjusted gross income of $3,000. For one child, the parent pays 14% of adjusted gross income:
$3,000 × 0.14 = $420 monthly child support
This calculation demonstrates the basic formula. The noncustodial parent would pay $420 per month in child support for one child, totaling $5,040 annually.
Multiple Children Example
If the same parent with $3,000 monthly adjusted gross income has three children requiring support, the percentage increases to 22%:
$3,000 × 0.22 = $660 monthly child support
Supporting three children costs $660 monthly or $7,920 annually. The percentage increases reflect the greater financial needs of multiple children while recognizing that raising multiple children together costs less per child than raising them separately.
Deviations from Guidelines
Mississippi child support guidelines create a presumption that the calculated amount is appropriate. However, courts may deviate from guidelines when the standard calculation would be unjust or inappropriate. Judges must provide written findings explaining why guidelines were not followed and how the ordered amount differs.
Common reasons for deviations include extraordinary medical, psychological, educational, or dental expenses that exceed normal costs. If the child has independent income from trusts or other sources, support may be reduced. When the noncustodial parent also pays spousal support to the custodial parent, courts may adjust child support to avoid excessive financial burden.
Income Threshold Considerations
Courts particularly consider deviations when the noncustodial parent's annual adjusted gross income falls below $10,000 or exceeds $100,000. For very low incomes, the standard percentage might leave the parent unable to meet basic personal needs. For very high incomes, the standard percentage might exceed the child's reasonable needs.
In these situations, courts evaluate individual circumstances to determine appropriate support amounts that meet children's needs without creating undue hardship or providing support beyond what children require.
Medical Support and Additional Expenses
In addition to basic child support calculated using the percentage method, Mississippi law requires reasonable medical support for children. Courts consider the availability of health insurance coverage through either parent's employment and the cost of that coverage. Typically, one parent must maintain health insurance for children if available at a reasonable cost through employment benefits.
Parents share responsibility for uninsured medical expenses according to their respective incomes. These costs include deductibles, copayments, prescriptions, and medical services not covered by insurance. The support order should specify how parents will handle and share these expenses.
Extraordinary Expenses
Extraordinary medical, psychological, educational, or dental expenses beyond normal costs may be divided between parents or added to support obligations. These expenses might include ongoing therapy, special education needs, orthodontic treatment, or care for chronic conditions. Courts determine how to allocate these costs fairly between parents.
Modifying Child Support Orders
Child support amounts are set by court orders and can only be changed through new court orders. The Mississippi Department of Human Services automatically reviews support orders every three years for parents enrolled in the child support program. These reviews assess whether current support amounts remain appropriate based on current income and circumstances.
Parents can also request reviews at any time if substantial changes in circumstances have occurred. Substantial changes that may justify modifying child support orders include:
- Significant increase or decrease in the paying parent's income
- Job loss or change in employment
- Increased needs due to children's advancing age and maturity
- Increased expenses for children's care
- Changes in children's health or special needs
- Changes in parents' health affecting income or expenses
To request modification, parents submit review questionnaires to the Division of Child Support Enforcement or file petitions with the court that entered the original support order.
Enforcing Child Support Orders
The Mississippi Department of Human Services uses various methods to enforce child support orders and collect support payments. Income withholding is the primary collection method, with employers deducting child support directly from the noncustodial parent's paycheck and sending payments to MDHS for distribution to custodial parents.
Other enforcement methods include:
- Intercepting unemployment benefits when parents owing support receive unemployment compensation
- Intercepting state and federal tax refunds from parents with past-due child support
- Reporting delinquent parents to credit bureaus negatively affects credit scores
- Suspending driver's licenses, professional licenses, and recreational licenses for non-payment
- Seizing funds from bank accounts and financial institutions
- Revoking passports for parents owing more than $2,500 in past-due support
- Filing contempt actions that may result in jail time until payments are made
These enforcement tools ensure parents take child support obligations seriously and children receive the financial support they need.
Payment Methods
All Mississippi child support payments must go through the Mississippi Department of Human Services rather than being paid directly to the other parent. This requirement ensures proper tracking and crediting of support payments. Paying support directly to the custodial parent will not satisfy legal obligations because MDHS cannot credit payments it does not receive.
Parents paying child support can use several convenient payment methods:
- Online payments: Use iPayOnline to make secure electronic payments from bank accounts
- Payroll deduction: Employers withhold support from paychecks and remit directly to MDHS
- Cash payments: Use PayNearMe at participating stores or MoneyGram locations
- Checks or money orders: Mail to MDHS/SDU with Social Security number and case number on payment
- Debit cards: Some payment methods accept debit card payments
Receiving Child Support Payments
Custodial parents receiving child support can choose how to receive payments. Direct deposit into a bank account provides convenient access to funds. Alternatively, parents can receive payments on a Way2Go Debit MasterCard issued by MDHS. Each time child support payments are collected, funds are electronically deposited to the chosen account or debit card within two business days.
The debit card option works well for parents without traditional bank accounts. However, fees may apply depending on how the card is used. Parents should review fee schedules when choosing payment methods.
Applying for Child Support Services
Parents seeking to establish child support orders or receive child support enforcement services can apply through the Mississippi Department of Human Services. Applications typically require a $25 fee unless the custodial parent receives state benefits like SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid, in which case services are free.
The Division of Child Support Enforcement helps locate noncustodial parents, establish paternity for children born to unmarried parents, obtain child support orders through courts, enforce existing support orders, collect support payments, and distribute funds to custodial parents. These comprehensive child support services ensure children receive financial support from both parents.
Services Provided
Based on the MDHS child support program, services include:
- Location services to find noncustodial parents using state and federal resources
- Paternity establishment through acknowledgment or DNA testing
- Support order establishment through court hearings or stipulated agreements
- Order enforcement through income withholding and other collection methods
- Payment collection and distribution to custodial parents
- Order modification when circumstances change substantially
Parents enrolled in the child support program benefit from automatic enforcement actions when payments are late and regular reviews ensuring support amounts remain appropriate.
Special Considerations
When parents share joint physical custody with roughly equal parenting time, child support calculations may differ from standard guidelines. Courts recognize that when children spend substantial time with both parents, the noncustodial parent incurs more direct child-rearing expenses. This may reduce the support obligation calculated under standard guidelines.
However, if parents have significantly different incomes, the higher-earning parent may still owe child support even with joint custody. The support helps equalize the standard of living in both households and ensures children's needs are met regardless of which parent they are with.
Self-Employment Income
Calculating support for self-employed parents requires careful examination of business income and expenses. Self-employed parents may have fluctuating income, business deductions, and tax strategies that complicate income determination. Courts look beyond tax returns to determine the true income available for child support.
Business owners cannot artificially reduce income by taking excessive business deductions or deferring compensation to avoid child support obligations. Courts may impute income based on the parent's earning capacity rather than reported income if evidence suggests income manipulation.
Duration of Support Obligations
Child support obligations in Mississippi continue until children reach age twenty-one or become emancipated, whichever occurs first. Emancipation happens when children marry, join the military and serve full-time, or are convicted of felonies and sentenced to incarceration of two or more years.
Courts may also terminate support if children stop attending school full-time after age eighteen without disabilities, move out and live independently while working full-time before age twenty-one, or live with others without the custodial parent's approval. Even after children become emancipated, any past-due child support obligations remain enforceable until fully paid.