Child support · Wisconsin
Wisconsin child support calculator
Wisconsin uses a percentage-of-income standard, not a table: child support is a set share of the paying parent’s monthly income — 17% / 25% / 29% / 31% / 34% for one to five children — with lower marginal rates on income above $7,000 and $12,500 a month, and a separate shared-placement formula when each parent has the children at least 25% of the time. This calculator follows Wis. Admin. Code DCF 150 and shows every step.
Calculate guideline support
Enter both parents’ annual gross income. Add annual child care and the children’s health-insurance cost if any. Parenting-time overnights are optional.
Method & source
Show the work Step-by-step calculation
High-income brackets
For higher earners the percentage steps down on the upper portions of income, like tax brackets. On the part of monthly income between $7,000 and $12,500 the rates fall to 14 / 20 / 23 / 25 / 27%, and on the part above $12,500 to 10 / 15 / 17 / 19 / 20%. This calculator applies those marginal rates automatically. A separate low-income schedule (DCF 150.035(3)) reduces the percentages for payers below about 150% of the federal poverty level; the calculator flags when it applies.
Wis. Admin. Code DCF 150.04(5); DCF 150.035(3).
Variable costs — handled separately
The percentage is meant to cover a child’s basic needs, so Wisconsin does not add child care or health-insurance premiums into it the way income-shares states do. Instead those variable costs — work-related child care, the child’s health-insurance premium, and other agreed expenses — are shared between the parents in proportion to their incomes, on top of the base order. That is why this calculator has no child-care or health fields.
Wis. Admin. Code DCF 150.04(1), (2)(b).
Shared placement
When each parent has the children for at least 25% of the year (about 92 overnights), Wisconsin switches to the shared-placement formula and both incomes matter. Each parent’s percentage obligation is multiplied by 1.5 (to reflect the duplicated cost of two households) and by the proportion of time the children spend with the other parent; the two figures are offset, and the parent with the larger amount pays the difference. Enter Parent A’s overnights to switch the calculator into this mode.
Wis. Admin. Code DCF 150.04(2).
A number with the method attached is the honest form of the same figure.
What this calculator does not do
It computes the core percentage-standard order and the shared-placement offset, with the high-income brackets. It does not compute the exact low-income schedule, apportion variable costs, handle serial-family or split-placement adjustments, impute income, or account for a court’s deviation. For a figure you can file, use the Wisconsin DCF worksheet or consult an attorney.
Common questions
How is child support calculated in Wisconsin?
A percentage of the paying parent’s monthly income by the number of children — 17/25/29/31/34% for one to five — with lower marginal rates above $7,000 and $12,500 a month. Shared placement (each parent ≥ 25% of the time) uses both incomes in an offset formula.
What are the Wisconsin child support percentages?
Base: 17% (1 child), 25% (2), 29% (3), 31% (4), 34% (5+). Income $7,000–$12,500/mo: 14/20/23/25/27%. Above $12,500/mo: 10/15/17/19/20%.
How does shared placement change it?
When each parent has the children at least 25% of the year, each parent’s obligation is multiplied by 1.5 and by the other parent’s time share, then offset — the higher pays the difference, plus a share of variable costs.
Does Wisconsin use both parents’ income?
Only the payer’s income in sole placement; both incomes in shared placement.
Is child support taxable in Wisconsin?
No — federally it’s not taxable to the recipient or deductible by the payer, the same in Wisconsin as everywhere.
Sources
- Wis. Admin. Code DCF 150.035(2) — the percentage standard: 17% / 25% / 29% / 31% / 34% of the payer’s monthly income available for child support for one to five children; DCF 150.035(3) low-income schedule: DCF 150.035.
- Wis. Admin. Code DCF 150.04 — high-income brackets (reduced rates on monthly income over $7,000 and over $12,500) and the shared-placement formula (DCF 150.04(2)): DCF 150.04. Thresholds and the $7,000–$12,500 rates (14/20/23% for 1–3 children) confirmed against the code; the four- and five-child and over-$12,500 rows follow the published DCF 150 standard.
- Wisconsin Stat. § 767.511 — child support orders and the percentage standard; Wisconsin Department of Children & Families: dcf.wisconsin.gov.
Percentages per Wis. Admin. Code DCF 150.035/150.04, verified — July 2026 · educational, not legal advice