Missouri Child Support Calculator

Missouri calculates child support using the Income Shares model embodied in Form 14 — the Missouri Child Support Amount Calculation Worksheet. Form 14 was created pursuant to Missouri Supreme Court Rule 88.01 and is the required calculation tool in all cases where child support is established or modified. Every Missouri child support order must include a completed Form 14, and courts must determine the Form 14 amount even when they ultimately decide to deviate from it. The Form 14 amount carries a rebuttable presumption of correctness.

Form 14 operates by combining both parents' gross monthly incomes, looking up the corresponding basic child support amount from the income schedule that is incorporated into the Form 14 worksheet, and then adjusting for additional costs such as childcare and health insurance. The resulting figure is the presumed correct support amount. Missouri courts are required by Rule 88.01 to complete Form 14 in every case and to state the Form 14 amount in the order, even if the court deviates and orders a different amount.

The Form 14 income schedule was developed based on economic research into how much parents at various combined income levels typically spend on their children. The schedule distinguishes between different numbers of children — one through six or more — and produces higher basic obligations as combined income rises, reflecting the assumption that higher-earning families spend more on their children. Missouri's use of a worksheet rather than a simple lookup table allows for precise adjustments to the basic obligation before the final support amount is determined.

Missouri's Form 14 uses each parent's monthly gross income as the starting point. Missouri defines gross income broadly to include wages, salaries, overtime pay, commissions, bonuses, self-employment income, rental income, interest and dividends, pension income, Social Security benefits, unemployment compensation, and other regular income sources. The state's comprehensive definition of income is designed to capture the full economic picture of each parent's financial resources.

Gross income in Missouri is income before taxes and before most deductions. Missouri does permit a few specific adjustments to gross income before combining: amounts actually paid for child support for other children pursuant to a court order are subtracted, as are maintenance payments made to a former spouse pursuant to a court order. These adjustments ensure that a parent's existing legal obligations are considered before establishing a new child support obligation. After these adjustments, the two parents' adjusted incomes are added to produce the combined income that drives the Form 14 schedule.

For self-employed parents, Missouri courts look at net self-employment income — gross business receipts minus legitimate ordinary and necessary business expenses — as equivalent to gross income for Form 14 purposes. Courts are cautious about excessive depreciation, vehicle expenses, and other deductions that may reduce taxable income without genuinely reducing the cash available to the parent. Business tax returns, bank statements, and profit-and-loss statements are commonly reviewed in cases involving self-employed parents, and judges may adjust claimed deductions if they appear inflated.

Missouri's Form 14 includes a parenting time adjustment that modifies the basic support obligation when the obligor parent exercises significant time with the child. The adjustment is available when the non-custodial parent has the child for more than the standard amount of parenting time — typically when they have the child for at least 36% of the overnights in a year (approximately 131 nights or more). Below this threshold, no parenting time adjustment is applied to the basic obligation.

The parenting time adjustment is expressed as a percentage credit against the basic support obligation, with the credit increasing as the obligor's parenting time increases. Missouri's Form 14 provides specific instructions for calculating the adjustment, and the credit is applied after childcare and health insurance add-ons have been calculated. For parents approaching a 50/50 custody arrangement, the adjustment can substantially reduce the transfer payment, reflecting the significant direct costs both parents are bearing during their respective custodial time.

It is important that the parenting time used to calculate the adjustment reflects the actual court-ordered parenting schedule. If the parties have agreed to a specific schedule in their parenting plan, that schedule's overnight count is used. If parenting time is disputed or informal, courts may require evidence of the actual arrangement before applying the adjustment. Parents who want the parenting time adjustment applied should ensure their parenting plan clearly specifies the number of overnights they will exercise each year.

Missouri's Form 14 adds work-related childcare expenses and the child's health insurance premium to the basic child support obligation before dividing the total proportionally between the parents. Work-related childcare is limited to costs that are necessary for the parent to work or to seek employment, and the amount included is the actual monthly childcare cost minus any federal child and dependent care tax credit the parent receives. The net childcare cost is added to the basic obligation and then each parent's proportional share is calculated.

Health insurance premiums for the child — specifically the incremental cost of adding the child to an existing employer plan — are also added to the basic obligation. Missouri courts typically order the parent with access to the most affordable and comprehensive employer-sponsored coverage to maintain the child on that plan. If only one parent has employer-provided health insurance, they typically carry the child on their plan, and the cost is factored into the Form 14 calculation to ensure both parents share the expense proportionally.

Extraordinary medical expenses not covered by insurance — such as significant dental work, vision care, mental health treatment, or specialized medical services — are generally handled separately from the regular Form 14 calculation. Missouri courts may include provisions in the support order directing how extraordinary medical costs are to be shared between the parents. Common approaches include ordering the parents to split unreimbursed costs above a threshold amount in proportion to their incomes, or requiring prior notice and agreement before one parent incurs a significant elective medical expense for the child.

Missouri Supreme Court Rule 88.01 establishes the Form 14 amount as the presumed correct child support amount, but courts have explicit authority to deviate from it when the amount would be unjust or inappropriate. To deviate, the court must first determine the Form 14 amount, then make written findings identifying the specific facts and circumstances that make the Form 14 amount unjust or inappropriate, and finally state the alternative amount being ordered and why it serves the child's best interest. This three-step process creates a clear record for appeal.

Upward deviations are appropriate when the Form 14 amount does not adequately cover a child's extraordinary needs, such as expensive medical treatment, therapeutic services, specialized educational programs, or other costs that arise from the child's specific circumstances. Courts may also deviate upward when the obligor has a significantly higher standard of living that would indicate the basic obligation substantially understates what the child would have received in an intact family. In high-income cases, the schedule may produce a very high number that courts round down.

Downward deviations are appropriate when strict application of the Form 14 amount would create genuine hardship for the obligor without a corresponding benefit to the child. Courts may deviate downward when the obligor's income is so low that paying the Form 14 amount would leave them unable to meet basic subsistence needs, when the child has special living arrangements that reduce costs, or when the obligee parent has substantial income and assets such that the full Form 14 amount would produce a windfall rather than fund the child's actual needs. Any downward deviation must still result in a meaningful support amount.