Maryland's New Child Support Guidelines for 2025: What Parents Need to Know

Beginning October 1, 2025, Maryland will roll out a significant update to how child support is calculated. This change reflects a growing effort to make the system more equitable for parents who are supporting children in multiple households.

What’s Changing

Under the current rules, Maryland’s child support formula looks mainly at each parent’s income, the number of children in the case, and any existing child support orders already being paid. What it doesn’t consider are other children living in the home who rely on that same parent for support, even if there’s no formal court order in place.

Starting in October 2025, that’s changing. The new law recognizes that many parents support children who live with them — perhaps from a current marriage or another relationship — and those responsibilities affect a parent’s financial capacity.

How the New Adjustment Works

If a parent has one or more children living in their home for at least 92 nights per year and has a legal duty to support them, the new guidelines allow an adjustment to that parent’s income before calculating support.

Here’s the simple version of how it will work:

1. Determine what the parent would pay in child support if there were a formal order for the children in their home, based solely on that parent’s income.
2. Multiply that amount by 75 percent.
3. Deduct the result from the parent’s actual income.

This adjusted figure becomes the basis for calculating the new support obligation for the child or children in the case at hand.

What It Means for Parents

For many families, this will make a real difference. Parents who are raising additional children at home will now receive limited credit for that financial responsibility. The change is designed to reduce the strain on parents who are supporting children in multiple homes — helping to create a fairer picture of their true ability to pay.

It’s worth noting that this adjustment isn’t automatic. Courts still have discretion to decide whether applying it is appropriate in each case. Judges will review the evidence and consider whether the deduction would be fair and in the best interests of the child receiving support.

What to Expect When Using the Calculator

As these new guidelines take effect, you’ll start to see them reflected in Maryland’s child support calculators. When entering your information, you’ll have the option to indicate whether you have other children living in your household who meet the 92-overnight threshold. The calculator will apply the new income adjustment automatically to help you estimate your support amount more accurately.

Final Thoughts

Maryland’s upcoming changes are part of a larger effort to modernize the state’s child support system. By recognizing the real-world responsibilities many parents face, the law aims to balance fairness and accountability — ensuring children in all households receive the support they deserve.