Updated for 2026 guidelines
Maryland Child Support Arrears Calculator 2026
Search results promise interest calculators for every state. Maryland does not need one, because unpaid Maryland child support does not grow interest on its own. This page shows what a Maryland arrears balance actually is, and the one narrow scenario where the 10 percent judgment rate enters.
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Check a Maryland arrears balance
Estimated arrears with interest: $5,000.00
Interest of $0.00 at 0% none per year (Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-107 (no child-support interest provision)).
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Arrears principalMd. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-107 (judgment interest: 10% general money judgments; NO child-support provision) (Maryland General Assembly (mgaleg.maryland.gov)) | $5,000.00 |
| No interest accrues on arrears (Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-107 (no child-support interest provision))Maryland child support arrears do not accrue interest automatically: Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-107 has no child-support provision, and NCSL lists Maryland as a no-interest state. If arrears are separately reduced to a money judgment, the general 10 percent judgment rate of § 11-107(a) can apply to that judgment; whether and from when interest runs in that scenario is official-confirmation-required and is not computed here.Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-107 (judgment interest: 10% general money judgments; NO child-support provision) (Maryland General Assembly (mgaleg.maryland.gov)) | $0.00 |
| Arrears principal plus interestMd. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-107 (judgment interest: 10% general money judgments; NO child-support provision) (Maryland General Assembly (mgaleg.maryland.gov)) | $5,000.00 |
Assumptions
- Accrual period expressed as 12 month(s); partial months prorate.
Estimate only. The court or state agency calculation controls.
Maryland arrears interest under Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-107 (no child-support interest provision); rules last reviewed 2026-08-07.
How arrears work in Maryland
Arrears are support installments that came due and went unpaid. In Maryland each missed payment vests as it falls due, the Child Support Administration tracks the ledger for cases in its system, and the balance is the sum of the missed payments plus any enforcement additions, not a compounding debt.
The key fact is what Maryland law does not say. The judgment interest statute, Courts and Judicial Proceedings section 11-107, sets 10 percent a year for general money judgments and 6 percent for residential rent judgments, and contains no child support provision at all. No Maryland statute makes support arrears bear interest as they accrue, and the National Conference of State Legislatures lists Maryland as a no-interest state in its 51-jurisdiction survey.
The 10 percent rate can still touch a support case through one door: if accumulated arrears are separately reduced to a money judgment, that judgment is a money judgment like any other, and the general 10 percent rate is the only interest vector. Whether and from when interest runs in that posture is case-law territory, so this tool names the scenario without computing it.
No interest does not mean no consequences. Maryland enforces arrears through income withholding with an arrears add-on, tax refund interception, license suspensions, passport denial, credit bureau reporting, and contempt. The balance also never expires on its own; vested installments cannot be retroactively forgiven, and modification reaches back only to the filing of a motion.
- Interest as arrears accrue
- None. No Maryland statute imposes interest on accruing support arrearssource
- Judgment interest statute
- Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-107: 10% on general money judgments, no support provisionsource
- The narrow 10% scenario
- Only if arrears are reduced to a money judgment; timing is case-law dependentsource
- Who keeps the ledger
- The Child Support Administration (DHS) for enforcement cases; the court record otherwisesource
How to use this estimate
Enter the unpaid principal and the months it has been outstanding. Because Maryland adds no accrual interest, the tool reports the principal as the balance, with the statutory explanation attached, and that is the honest answer.
If someone quotes you a larger Maryland figure with interest built in, ask what statute the interest comes from. For an accruing administrative balance the answer should be none. If a court has entered a money judgment on the arrears, the judgment paperwork, not this page, defines what interest applies from when.
For an official balance, request an account statement from the Child Support Administration or the court clerk. Their ledger reflects payments, interceptions, and adjustments this single-number estimate cannot.
What this estimate includes
- The arrears principal you enter, reported without invented interest
- The statutory explanation: § 11-107 has no child support provision
- The reduced-to-money-judgment scenario, named and cited so you can spot it in your paperwork
What it leaves out
- Interest arithmetic on a money judgment, which depends on the judgment date and case law
- Payment histories, intercepted refunds, and CSA ledger adjustments
- Interest another state added before a case transferred to Maryland; that interest usually survives the move
- Current support still accruing under the order
Maryland arrears FAQs
Does Maryland charge interest on child support arrears?
Not as they accrue. Maryland has no statute adding interest to unpaid child support the way Virginia adds 6 percent or other strict states add more. The NCSL survey of all 51 jurisdictions records Maryland as a plain no. The balance grows only by new missed payments.
Then what is the 10 percent rate people mention?
The general judgment rate. Courts and Judicial Proceedings section 11-107(a) gives money judgments 10 percent annual interest. If a court reduces support arrears to a money judgment, that judgment can carry the 10 percent rate like any other. It is a separate, optional step in enforcement, not something that happens to every unpaid balance.
Can Maryland back child support be forgiven?
The vested installments cannot be retroactively wiped out by a later modification; changes reach back only to when a motion was filed. Maryland does run a state-owed arrears payment incentive program that can forgive arrears assigned to the state for public assistance, but money owed to the other parent is theirs, and only they can agree to compromise it.
How does Maryland collect arrears if not through interest?
Through pressure on the principal. Income withholding can include an arrears portion on top of current support, apportioned between $1 and 25 percent of the current payment per order. Add tax refund interception, driver and professional license suspension, passport denial at $2,500, credit reporting, and contempt proceedings. The absence of interest does not make the debt cheaper to ignore.
My case moved to Maryland from another state. Did the old interest disappear?
No. Interest lawfully accrued under the issuing state’s rules is part of the registered debt, and Maryland enforces the total. What changes is the future: while Maryland administers the case, new interest does not accumulate under Maryland law. The certified interstate ledger is the number to trust.
Is no interest good or bad for parents owed support?
Both. The obligor’s debt stays exactly the size of what was missed, which makes repayment plans realistic and is why several states, Minnesota most recently, dropped support interest. The receiving parent, on the other hand, absorbs the time value of the missed money. Maryland’s legislature has so far kept the no-interest line and leaned on enforcement tools instead.
Official sources
Official sources last verified: .
- Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 11-107 (judgment interest: 10% general money judgments; NO child-support provision)
Maryland General Assembly (mgaleg.maryland.gov) Last checked
- Md. Code, Fam. Law § 10-122 (support earnings withholding at federal CCPA limits; arrears apportionment of at least $1 and at most 25% of the current support payment)
Maryland General Assembly (mgaleg.maryland.gov) Last checked
- Maryland DHS Child Support Resources (calculator link; quadrennial review reports)
Maryland DHS Child Support Administration Last checked
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Changelog: page first published with the no-accrual-interest rule and the reduced-to-judgment nuance. Material changes are dated in the update log.