1.01 Statewide Child Support Guideline
1.01(A)Michigan’s child support guideline (also known as the “formula”) consists of this manual and its most current supplement.
1.01(B)Except as otherwise permitted by MCL 552.605, courts must order child support in the amount determined by applying this formula. Unless rebutted by facts in a specific case, the law presumes that this formula (or “guideline”) sets appropriate levels of support.
1.01(C)The periodically updated supplement to this manual contains the most current economic figures and materials related to the formula.
1.01(D)To verify that you have the most current materials, or to find additional guidance on using this manual, please check the Michigan Child Support Formula’s official website at:
https://courts.michigan.gov/mcsf.
1.02(A)A child support obligation includes payment for the general care and needs of a child (base support calculated in §3.02-§3.03), medical support (§3.04-§3.05), and child care expenses (§3.06).
1.02(B)Support amounts should be rounded to the nearest whole dollar.
1.02(C)To avoid recalculating support each time the number of children for whom support is paid changes, support provisions for multiple children must include tiered amounts for fewer children. When a support order is for several children, unless it specifies an amount for a particular child, each child’s share of the support obligation is that child’s per capita share of the ordered amount.
1.02(D)The formula establishes the support obligations for both parents:
(1)A paying parent’s contribution for a child’s expenses will be established in a support order.
(2)A recipient-parent is presumed to contribute directly to a child’s support.
1.03(A)References to this manual should include the manual year cited, and the specific provision being referenced. The manual’s title may be abbreviated as “MCSF.” For example, this subsection could be cited as “2025 MCSF 1.03(A).”
1.03(B)References to material contained in the supplement to this manual should specify the year of the supplement cited and the provision being referenced. The supplement may be abbreviated as “MCSF-S.”
1.04Deviation from the Formula
1.04(A)When applying the formula would lead to an unjust or inappropriate result, the court may exercise its discretion, and, on a case-by-case basis, deviate from the formula and determine a more appropriate support amount. Deviations cannot be based solely on disagreement with the policies embodied in the formula.
See: MCL 552.605, Ghidotti v Barber, 459 Mich 189 (1998), and Burba v Burba, 461 Mich 637 (2000).
1.04(B)When a court decides to deviate, it should still follow the formula except for the provisions that create an unjust or inappropriate result in that case.
(1)When entering an order that deviates from the child support formula, the court must record (a) its reasons for finding that the formula would produce an unjust or inappropriate result, as well as (b) the information required by MCL 552.605(2). Burba v Burba, 461 Mich 637, 644-45 (2000).
(2)Friend of the court recommendations that deviate from the formula must comply with the requirements in MCL 552.505(1)(h).
1.04(C)Agreements to Deviate
MCL 552.605(3) permits the court to enter orders that deviate from the formula based on an agreement of the parties, so long as the court also satisfies all the requirements of MCL 552.605(2).
1.04(D)In exercising its discretion to deviate, the court may consider any factor that it determines is relevant.
1.04(E)Deviation Factors
The existence of a deviation factor does not require the Court to deviate. Strict application of the formula may produce an unjust or inappropriate result, including, but not limited to, the following situations:
(1)The child has special needs.
(2)The child has extraordinary educational expenses.
(3)A parent is a minor.
(4)The child’s residence income is below the threshold to qualify for public assistance, and at least one parent has sufficient income to pay additional support that will raise the child’s standard of living above the public assistance threshold.
(5)A parent has a reduction in the income available to support a child due to extraordinary levels of jointly accumulated debt.
(6)The court awards property in lieu of support for the benefit of the child (§4.04).
(7)A parent has incurred, or is likely to incur, extraordinary medical expenses for either that parent or a dependent.
(8)A parent receives bonus income in varying amounts or at irregular intervals.
(9)A parent provides substantially all the support for stepchildren or another child for whom the parent is legally responsible, and the child(ren)’s parents are unable to earn income or are otherwise unable to support the child(ren).
(10)A child earns an extraordinary income.
(11)The court orders a parent to pay taxes, mortgage installments, home insurance premiums, telephone or utility bills, etc., before entry of a final judgment or order.
(12)A parent makes payments to a bankruptcy plan or has debt discharged, when either significantly impacts the monies that parent has available to pay support.
(13)A parent provides a substantial amount of a child’s day-time care and directly contributes toward a significantly greater share of the child’s costs than those reflected by the overnights used to calculate the offset for parental time.
(14)A child in the custody of a nonparent-recipient spends a significant number of overnights with the payer that causes savings in the nonparent-custodian’s expenses, or an increase in the payer’s expenses. When deviating, the court may use the parental time offset and set the nonparent custodian’s income as zero.
(15)The court ordered nonmodifiable spousal support paid between the parents before October 2004.
(16)When a parent’s share of child care expenses, under §3.06, exceeds 50 percent of that parent’s base support obligation calculated under §3.02.
(17)When the amount calculated, as defined in §3.01(A), does not exceed $20, and the administrative cost to enforce and process payments outweighs the benefit of the minimal amounts.
(18)Any other factor the court deems relevant to the best interests of a child.