Calculation is client-side, income figures are never transmitted or stored.
How Maine Child Support Is Calculated
- Maine is an income-shares state with an unusual table: the left-hand axis is combined ANNUAL gross income, but each cell's dollar value is a WEEKLY amount.
- Add both parents' annual gross income to get combined annual gross income, then look up the Schedule of Basic Support Obligation for the total number of children -- the table's own column already reflects the total for that many children, not a per-child amount to be multiplied further.
- Convert the weekly table amount to a monthly figure, then add monthly childcare costs, health insurance premiums, and extraordinary medical expenses to get the total basic support obligation.
- Each parent's share is their percentage of combined annual income; the parent not providing primary residential care pays their share to the parent who does.
- If the paying parent's OWN annual income (not combined) is at or below $22,800/year, their obligation is instead looked up directly using their own income alone in the table's Self-Support Reserve zone, with no add-ons.
- Above $400,000/year combined income, the table does not extend automatically -- the $400,000 row amount is only a presumptive MINIMUM, and courts may order more.
- This models the standard primary-residential-care case only. Substantially Equal Care (both 'equal income' and 'unequal income' variants) and cases where each parent has primary care of at least one different child use different calculations and are not modeled here.
Maine Child Support Worksheet Walkthrough
Example: Parent A has annual gross income of $60,000, Parent B has annual gross income of $39,600 (combined $99,600/year). There is one child, who lives primarily with Parent B.
- Combined annual gross income: $60,000 + $39,600 = $99,600.
- Schedule of Basic Support Obligation at $99,600 combined, one child: $260/week.
- Converted to monthly: $260 x 52 / 12 = $1,126.67.
- Parent A's income share: $60,000 / $99,600 = 60.2%.
- Parent A pays: $1,126.67 x 60.2% = $679/month.
How This Calculator Works — Formula & Constants
Source: Maine Department of Health and Human Services / 19-A M.R.S. Chapter 63 · Calcul déterministe — no AI, no arbitrary estimate.
Constants used
| Constant | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Support Reserve ceiling | $22,800/yr (paying parent's own income) | 19-A M.R.S. § 2006 |
| Combined income cap | $400,000/yr (presumptive minimum above this) | 19-A M.R.S. § 2006 |
Formula
weekly_basic_entitlement = schedule_lookup(combined_annual_income, children) (Maine's table axis is annual income, but its cell values are WEEKLY dollars)
monthly_basic_entitlement = weekly_basic_entitlement × 52 ÷ 12
share_B = parentB_annual_income / combined_annual_income
obligation_B = (monthly_basic_entitlement + monthly_add_ons) × share_B
Deterministic calculation based on Maine's official Schedule of Basic Support Obligation (19-A M.R.S. § 2006). Verify against Maine's official worksheet for a court-ready figure.
FAQ
How is child support calculated in Maine?
Maine is an income-shares state with an unusual table: the left-hand axis is combined ANNUAL gross income, but each cell's dollar value is a WEEKLY amount. Add both parents' annual gross income to get combined annual gross income, then look up the Schedule of Basic Support Obligation for the total number of children -- the table's own column already reflects the total for that many children, not a per-child amount to be multiplied further. Convert the weekly table amount to a monthly figure, then add monthly childcare costs, health insurance premiums, and extraordinary medical expenses to get the total basic support obligation. Each parent's share is their percentage of combined annual income; the parent not providing primary residential care pays their share to the parent who does. If the paying parent's OWN annual income (not combined) is at or below $22,800/year, their obligation is instead looked up directly using their own income alone in the table's Self-Support Reserve zone, with no add-ons. Above $400,000/year combined income, the table does not extend automatically -- the $400,000 row amount is only a presumptive MINIMUM, and courts may order more. This models the standard primary-residential-care case only. Substantially Equal Care (both 'equal income' and 'unequal income' variants) and cases where each parent has primary care of at least one different child use different calculations and are not modeled here.
Does Maine use annual or weekly income for child support?
Both, in a way that trips people up: Maine's Child Support Table is indexed by combined ANNUAL gross income, but each dollar figure in the table is a WEEKLY amount. This calculator asks for annual income (matching the table) and converts the result to a monthly figure for display.
What is Maine's Self-Support Reserve?
If the paying (nonprimary) parent's own annual gross income is $22,800 or less, Maine looks up that parent's obligation using their own income alone in the table's shaded Self-Support Reserve area, regardless of the other parent's income, and does not add childcare or health insurance costs on top (19-A M.R.S. § 2006(5)(C)).
What happens above the $400,000 combined income cap in Maine?
The Child Support Table does not extend past $400,000/year combined gross income. Above that, the amount shown at the $400,000 row is only a presumptive MINIMUM -- courts have discretion to order a higher amount based on the case's circumstances (19-A M.R.S. § 2006(5)(B)).
Methodology & Source
Formula model: me weekly table annual income. Effective 2022-01-01, guideline version 2022-ME-v1, last reviewed 2026-07-13.
Official source: Maine Department of Health and Human Services / 19-A M.R.S. Chapter 63 (19-A M.R.S. § 2006).
Maine income figures in this calculator are ANNUAL gross income (matching the Child Support Table's own axis), but the table's cell values are WEEKLY -- converted to monthly for display. Below $16,800/yr combined income, the table has no row; 19-A M.R.S. section 2006(5)(C) instead caps the nonprimary parent's obligation at 10% of their own weekly gross income when their income is below the federal poverty guideline -- this calculator approximates that zone using the table's lowest published row instead of the exact 10%-of-income rule, since the federal poverty guideline changes annually and isn't stated in this rule text. This calculator models the standard primary-residential-care case only. It does not model: Substantially Equal Care with equal incomes (19-A M.R.S. section 2006(5)(D), no support owed either way), Substantially Equal Care with unequal incomes (section 2006(5)(D-1), an 'enhanced support entitlement' cross-offset calculation), or the case where each parent has primary care of at least one different child (section 2006(5)(E), a per-household offset calculation).
Guideline figures transcribed from the primary source above and cross-checked against Maine's official calculator/worksheet for multiple test scenarios — see our verification methodology.