Court Orders
Repaying Birth Costs
How child support will calculate birth costs
Example 1 – Based on the regional average birth costs
- The father’s monthly income is $1,500.
The income for 36 months is $54,000 ($1,500 x 36).
5% of the father’s income over 36 months is $2,700 ($54,000 x 0.05) - Half the average regional cost is $2,900
The child support agency would ask the court to set the birth costs at $2,700 (the lower amount).
Example 2 – based on the actual birth costs
- The father’s monthly income is $2,000.
The income for 36 months is $72,000 ($2,000 x 36)
5% of the father’s income over 36 months is $3,600 ($72,000 x 0.05). - Half the actual birth costs is $4,000
- The average regional cost is $3,500
The child support agency would ask the court to set the birth costs at $3,500 (the lowest amount).
Low-income payers
If the court used the Low-Income Payer table under the Percentage Guidelines to set the amount of child support, the child support agency will ask the court to use a rate lower than 5% of the father’s income. The percent of income for birth costs is in the Percentage Guidelines, Appendix D. These rates are updated each year (usually in spring) based on the federal poverty level.
Example 3 (for 2009)
- The father’s monthly income is $775.
The income for 36 months is $27,900 ($775 x 36 months).
The low-income rate for this income ($775/month) is 3.66%.
The child support agency would ask the court to set the birth costs at $1,021 (0.0366 x $27,900).
Example 4 (for 2009)
- The father’s monthly income is $1,000.
The income for 36 months is $36,000 ($1,000 x 36 months)
The low-income rate for this income ($1,000/month) is 5.52%.
The child support agency would ask the court to set the birth costs at $1,987 (0.0552 x $36,000).
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