Child support in Massachusetts
Massachusetts uses the income-shares model: both parents' incomes count, and each parent pays a share of the child's support. To open a case, contact the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR), Child Support Services Division at (800) 332-2733.
Checked against official sources: Oct 25, 2026. · Free letters and checklist ↓
How much child support in Massachusetts?
The court uses the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines worksheet (CJD 304). It looks at both parents' available income, the number of children and their ages, and adjusts for child care and health, dental and vision insurance costs. The result is a weekly order that is presumed correct unless the court finds it unjust.
Law: Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines (2025), effective December 1, 2025; G.L. c. 208, §28
We don't estimate Massachusetts's amount here: its formula uses both parents' incomes and other facts, and a home-made number could mislead you. The official tool gives the real starting number:
Open a child support case in Massachusetts
- Phone
- (800) 332-2733; Boston area (617) 660-1234
- Apply
- Apply online
- How to open a case
Enroll with DOR Child Support Services online, or mail the Child Support Intake Form & Application for Full Child Support Services (available in English and Spanish). If your order is being made in court that day, you can leave the form at the Register's Office. You can also ask the Probate and Family Court for support in a divorce, separate support or parentage case.
- Forms
- Paternity (legal fatherhood)
Unmarried parents can both sign a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage and file it with the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, the clerk of the city or town where the child was born, or the court (usually done at the hospital). A filed acknowledgment is enough to ask for support, custody or parenting time without another case to prove parentage. Otherwise, DOR or a parent can bring a court case to establish parentage, which may include genetic testing.
Law: G.L. c. 209C, §§2, 11
Massachusetts child support by topic
How support is calculated in Massachusetts
The model, the percentages or the official calculator, and low-income rules.
Change child support in Massachusetts
When you can ask, how to ask, and a review letter.
Collect unpaid support in Massachusetts
Collection tools, interest and license rules, and a letter.
When support ends in Massachusetts
The end age, high school and disability rules.
How child support is figured in Massachusetts
- Model
- Income shares
- How it works
The court uses the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines worksheet (CJD 304). It looks at both parents' available income, the number of children and their ages, and adjusts for child care and health, dental and vision insurance costs. The result is a weekly order that is presumed correct unless the court finds it unjust.
- Low income
If the paying parent's gross income is $301 a week or less, the order should be no more than $15 a week. Between $302 and $391 a week, no more than $33 a week. The court can still set a different amount, including $0. The guidelines apply to combined available income up to $450,000 a year (2025 Guidelines, Section II.C).
- Official calculator
- Official Massachusetts child support calculator
- Health insurance and medical costs
The order must require either parent to provide health care coverage if it is available at reasonable cost (5% or less of that parent's gross income) and within 15 miles of the child's home. If the child has MassHealth, that parent keeps it, and the other parent may also be ordered to add private insurance. Private insurance is not considered reasonable in cost for a parent at or below 150% of the poverty level. The parent receiving support pays the first $250 a year of uninsured costs (2025 Guidelines, Section II.H; G.L. c.
Law: 208, §28)
Law: Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines (2025), effective December 1, 2025; G.L. c. 208, §28
Change a child support order in Massachusetts
- When a change is allowed
An order may be changed if it is inconsistent with the amount the guidelines would give now, if health coverage changes (no longer available, no longer reasonable in cost, or newly available), or after any other material and substantial change in circumstances (2025 Guidelines, Section III; G.L. c.
Law: 208, §28)
- How to ask
If DOR provides full services on your case, ask DOR to request a change (mail the forms and proof of income or benefits; DOR decides whether to go to court). Otherwise file a Complaint for Modification (CJD 104) in the Probate and Family Court in the county where the order was made. There is a filing fee unless DOR files.
Law: G.L. c. 208, §28; Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines Section III
Can I ask for a change? Check your situation
Collect unpaid child support in Massachusetts
Arrears means support that is past due. The child support agency can use these tools to collect it:
- Collection tools
- Income withholding
- State and federal tax refund intercept
- Passport denial
- Credit bureau reporting
- Liens, levies and seizure of property
- Bank account seizure
- Interception of unemployment, workers' compensation, insurance settlements and lottery winnings
- Driver's, professional and recreational license suspension
- Contempt, capias and warrants
- License suspension
DOR can move to suspend driver's, professional and recreational licenses when total past-due support and interest (not counting penalties) on all your cases is $50 or more and no payment has been made for the prior 8 weeks in a row.
Law: G.L. c. 119A, §16
Source: OCSS Intergovernmental Reference Guide, Massachusetts profile
- Contempt of court
DOR or the other parent can bring a contempt case in the Probate and Family Court.
- Interest on unpaid support
In cases where DOR provides full services and the order is from a Massachusetts court, DOR charges interest of 0.5% a month and a penalty of 0.5% a month on past-due support when you owe more than $500, unless you made the minimum monthly payment that month. Exemptions exist (for example, needs-based benefits or a disability that prevents work).
Law: G.L. c. 119A, §6; 830 CMR 119A.6.1
Law: G.L. c. 119A, §§6, 16
When child support ends in Massachusetts
- Support ends
18 (a child 18 or older still in high school is treated as under 18 under the guidelines)
- Exceptions
The court may order support from 18 to 21 if the child lives in a parent's home and depends mainly on that parent, and from 21 to 23 if the child also is enrolled in an educational program (not beyond an undergraduate degree). The court can also order contribution to college costs (G.L. c.
Law: 208, §28; Guidelines II.F-G)
Law: G.L. c. 208, §28
When does support end? Check your situation
Free help in Massachusetts
Official self-help
Free letters and checklist
Ask the agency to review (change) your order
A letter to the child support agency asking for a review and adjustment.
Ask the agency to collect unpaid support
A letter asking the agency to enforce the order and collect what is past due.
Checklist: what to bring to open a case
IDs, birth certificates, the other parent's details and your papers, with Massachusetts's agency contact.
Good to know in Massachusetts
- Massachusetts courts can order support for a child up to age 23 if the child lives at home and is in school (G.L. c. 208, §28).
- DOR adds interest and penalties to past-due support in full-service cases, but you avoid them in any month you pay at least the required minimum (DOR interest and penalty rules).
Changes in 2024–2026
New 2025 Child Support Guidelines took effect December 1, 2025, after the 2024-2025 quadrennial review. Among other changes, the low-income thresholds rose to $301 and $391 a week (100% and 130% of the poverty level) and the guidelines now apply up to $450,000 in combined income.
Federal rules in every state
- Applying. If you don't get TANF, Medicaid or foster care help, a state may charge an application fee of up to $25 to open a child support case. Law: 42 U.S.C. 654(6)(B)(i)
- Yearly fee. If you never got TANF and the agency collected at least $550 for you in a year, the state charges a $35 yearly fee. It can come out of your support, but never out of the first $550. Law: 42 U.S.C. 654(6)(B)(ii)
- Review every 3 years. If your case is with the child support agency, either parent can ask it to review the order every 3 years and adjust it to the guidelines. Law: 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(10)(A); 45 CFR 303.8
- Past-due support. Each unpaid payment becomes a judgment on the day it is due. It can't be lowered later, except back to the date the other parent got notice of a request to change the order. Law: 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(9)
- Tax refunds. The federal government can take a federal tax refund to pay past-due child support. Law: 42 U.S.C. 664
- Passports. A parent who owes more than $2,500 in past-due support can be refused a passport. Law: 42 U.S.C. 652(k)
- Pay withholding limit. For support, up to 50% of take-home pay can be withheld if the parent supports another spouse or child, or 60% if not. It is 55% or 65% when support is more than 12 weeks behind. Law: 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)
- How long support lasts. How long support lasts follows the law of the state that made the order, even if you move. Law: 28 U.S.C. 1738B(h)(2)
Questions about child support in Massachusetts
How is child support calculated in Massachusetts?
The court uses the Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines worksheet (CJD 304). It looks at both parents' available income, the number of children and their ages, and adjusts for child care and health, dental and vision insurance costs. The result is a weekly order that is presumed correct unless the court finds it unjust.
Is there an official child support calculator for Massachusetts?
What if the paying parent has a low income in Massachusetts?
If the paying parent's gross income is $301 a week or less, the order should be no more than $15 a week. Between $302 and $391 a week, no more than $33 a week. The court can still set a different amount, including $0. The guidelines apply to combined available income up to $450,000 a year (2025 Guidelines, Section II.C).
How do I apply for child support in Massachusetts?
Enroll with DOR Child Support Services online, or mail the Child Support Intake Form & Application for Full Child Support Services (available in English and Spanish). If your order is being made in court that day, you can leave the form at the Register's Office. You can also ask the Probate and Family Court for support in a divorce, separate support or parentage case.
When can child support be changed in Massachusetts?
An order may be changed if it is inconsistent with the amount the guidelines would give now, if health coverage changes (no longer available, no longer reasonable in cost, or newly available), or after any other material and substantial change in circumstances (2025 Guidelines, Section III; G.L. c.
How do I ask to change child support in Massachusetts?
If DOR provides full services on your case, ask DOR to request a change (mail the forms and proof of income or benefits; DOR decides whether to go to court). Otherwise file a Complaint for Modification (CJD 104) in the Probate and Family Court in the county where the order was made. There is a filing fee unless DOR files.
What happens if child support is not paid in Massachusetts?
Arrears means support that is past due. The child support agency can use these tools to collect it: Income withholding; State and federal tax refund intercept; Passport denial; Credit bureau reporting; Liens, levies and seizure of property; Bank account seizure; Interception of unemployment, workers' compensation, insurance settlements and lottery winnings; Driver's, professional and recreational license suspension; Contempt, capias and warrants.
Can a license be suspended for unpaid child support in Massachusetts?
DOR can move to suspend driver's, professional and recreational licenses when total past-due support and interest (not counting penalties) on all your cases is $50 or more and no payment has been made for the prior 8 weeks in a row.
Can a parent be held in contempt for not paying in Massachusetts?
DOR or the other parent can bring a contempt case in the Probate and Family Court.
Is there interest on unpaid child support in Massachusetts?
In cases where DOR provides full services and the order is from a Massachusetts court, DOR charges interest of 0.5% a month and a penalty of 0.5% a month on past-due support when you owe more than $500, unless you made the minimum monthly payment that month. Exemptions exist (for example, needs-based benefits or a disability that prevents work).
When does child support end in Massachusetts?
18 (a child 18 or older still in high school is treated as under 18 under the guidelines)
Does child support continue while my child finishes high school in Massachusetts?
18 (a child 18 or older still in high school is treated as under 18 under the guidelines)
Can child support continue past the usual age in Massachusetts?
The court may order support from 18 to 21 if the child lives in a parent's home and depends mainly on that parent, and from 21 to 23 if the child also is enrolled in an educational program (not beyond an undergraduate degree). The court can also order contribution to college costs (G.L. c.
How is paternity established in Massachusetts?
Unmarried parents can both sign a voluntary acknowledgment of parentage and file it with the Registry of Vital Records and Statistics, the clerk of the city or town where the child was born, or the court (usually done at the hospital). A filed acknowledgment is enough to ask for support, custody or parenting time without another case to prove parentage. Otherwise, DOR or a parent can bring a court case to establish parentage, which may include genetic testing.
Who pays for the child's health insurance in Massachusetts?
The order must require either parent to provide health care coverage if it is available at reasonable cost (5% or less of that parent's gross income) and within 15 miles of the child's home. If the child has MassHealth, that parent keeps it, and the other parent may also be ordered to add private insurance. Private insurance is not considered reasonable in cost for a parent at or below 150% of the poverty level. The parent receiving support pays the first $250 a year of uninsured costs (2025 Guidelines, Section II.H; G.L. c.
More help on our sister sites
Sources
- Massachusetts Child Support Guidelines (2025)
- Mass.gov: Child Support Guidelines (all versions)
- G.L. c. 208, §28
- G.L. c. 119A, §6 Arrearages; collection
- G.L. c. 119A, §16 License revocation
- DOR: Interest and penalties on past-due child support
- DOR: Learn the benefits of child support services and enroll
- DOR: Request a change to your child support court order
- G.L. c. 209C, §11 (acknowledgment of parentage)
- OCSS Intergovernmental Reference Guide - Massachusetts profile
Last checked: Oct 25, 2026.
- State plan requirements: application fee, annual fee, safeguards, 42 U.S.C. 654
- Required state laws: arrears as judgments, review every 3 years, UIFSA, 42 U.S.C. 666
- Federal tax refund offset, 42 U.S.C. 664
- Passport denial for child support arrears, 42 U.S.C. 652(k)
- Garnishment limits for support orders, 15 U.S.C. 1673(b)
- Full faith and credit for child support orders, 28 U.S.C. 1738B
- Office of Child Support Enforcement (federal)