Child Support If You Make $1,500 a Week in Minnesota
Minnesota does not just add child care and medical costs on top. It has a specific order for cutting them if the numbers get tight.
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Guideline child support scenarios at $1500 a week
The paying parent earns $1500 a week ($6,500.00 a month) in every cell below. The other parent's monthly income changes across rows, and the number of children changes across columns; both genuinely change the result.Every figure is computed with the real Minnesota guideline engine, the same one behind the full calculator, not a lookup table built for this page.
| Other parent's income | 1 child | 2 children | 3 children |
|---|---|---|---|
| No reported income | $1,017.50 | $1,424.25 | $1,624.00 |
| $2,000 a month | $869.47 | $1,217.03 | $1,387.56 |
| $4,000 a month | $780.62 | $1,092.77 | $1,245.68 |
| $6,000 a month | $720.11 | $1,007.93 | $1,148.94 |
Every dollar figure is a monthly amount, the presumptive guideline result before add-ons like child care or health insurance and before any court deviation. "Not available" means the engine behind this site declined to compute that specific combination rather than guess; the reason is shown next to it.
Basic, child care, and medical support as separate pieces
Minnesota child support has three components: basic support from the 518A.35 table, child care support under 518A.40 for work-related costs, and medical support under 518A.41 for the children health coverage cost. Each is calculated separately and then combined into one guideline total, rather than being blended into a single number from the start.
At $1,500 a week, gross pay is about $6,500 a month. The table below shows basic support only, since child care and medical costs depend on facts specific to one family. If income available for support falls short of the combined total of all three pieces, 518A.42 cuts medical support first, then child care, then basic support last, protecting the base obligation as long as possible.
What the reduction sequence means for this table
At $1,500 a week the paying parent income available for support, after the self-support reserve, generally covers the basic support figures shown below without needing the reduction sequence to trigger. A parent with real child care or medical costs on top of these figures should expect a higher total obligation, unless income available for support runs short, in which case those add-ons shrink before basic support does.
What this estimate includes
- The 518A.35 basic support table lookup for combined income
- Each parent share of the basic obligation
- A self-support reserve check on the paying parent income
What it leaves out
- Child care support under 518A.40
- Medical support under 518A.41
- The overnights-cubed parenting expense adjustment (this table assumes zero overnights)
Worth knowing
The three-part structure is a genuine difference from states that fold everything into one lump obligation from the start. Minnesota tracks each piece separately on the worksheet, which is part of why the reduction order in 518A.42 can specify cutting one component before another.
Medical support being first in line to get cut may seem backwards, since health coverage feels essential, but the statute reasons that basic support covers day-to-day needs that are harder to substitute for, while medical support often has other funding paths like public health coverage available.
Frequently asked questions
What are the three pieces of Minnesota child support?
Basic support from the 518A.35 income table, child care support under 518A.40 for work-related costs, and medical support under 518A.41 for the children health coverage. They are calculated as separate line items and then added together for the guideline total.
What happens if income cannot cover all three?
Minn. Stat. 518A.42 sets a specific reduction order: medical support is cut first, then child care support, then basic support last, until the total order matches what the paying parent income available for support can cover. Basic support is protected the longest.
Why does the table below only show basic support?
Child care and medical costs are specific to each family situation, unlike income and child count, which is why this page keeps the comparison focused on the basic support figure alone. Anyone with real add-on costs should expect a higher total than shown here.
How is the child care credit handled?
The formula is supposed to account for an estimated federal and state child care tax credit, but the current DHS credit-table values needed for that adjustment are not independently verifiable at the time of this page, so this site assumes a zero credit adjustment rather than guessing at it.
Does $1,500 a week get close to needing the reduction sequence?
Not for basic support alone. At this income the paying parent income available for support, after the self-support reserve, generally exceeds the basic figures shown in the table. The reduction sequence becomes more relevant for lower incomes with real child care or medical costs stacked on top.
Where can I add real child care and medical costs?
The full Minnesota child support calculator on this site has separate fields for child care and health insurance costs and applies the same 518A.42 reduction sequence if the total would exceed what the paying parent can cover.
About the numbers on this page
Every figure in the table above comes from running the real Minnesota child support engine on this site, the same engine and data pack behind the full Minnesota child support calculator. Nothing on this page is a separate estimate or a reimplementation of the math. See the sources below for the statutes and official worksheets behind the Minnesota guideline.
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Changelog: page first published as part of the child support by income series. Material changes are dated in the update log.