Child Support Calculation Worksheet - Maine

IMPORTANT: THIS IS A PREPARATION GUIDE — NOT THE OFFICIAL COURT WORKSHEET

Maine requires the use of official form FM-040 (Child Support Worksheet) for child support calculations.
This template provides the substantive content and calculation methodology to help you
prepare — but you must transfer your figures to the official worksheet before filing.
The official form is available at https://www.courts.maine.gov/courts/family/divorce-separation/child-support.html.
Do not file this document directly with the court.

CHILD SUPPORT CALCULATION WORKSHEET

State of Maine — Income Shares Model

Court: [________________________________]
County: [________________________________]
Docket Number: [________________________________]
Justice/Judge: [________________________________]

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Party and Children Information
2. Gross Income Determination
3. Adjusted Gross Income and Statutory Adjustments
4. Combined Income and Pro Rata Shares
5. Basic Support Entitlement
6. Additional Expenses
7. Total Child Support Obligation
8. Deviations from Guidelines
9. Duration and Termination
10. Maine-Specific Notes

1. PARTY AND CHILDREN INFORMATION

Primary Residential Parent:
Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
Employer: [________________________________]

Other Parent:
Name: [________________________________]
Address: [________________________________]
Employer: [________________________________]

Children Subject to This Order:

Parenting Arrangement:
☐ Primary residence with one parent
☐ Substantially equal care (complete Supplemental Worksheet FM-040-A)
☐ Split arrangement (each parent has primary residence of at least one child)

2. GROSS INCOME DETERMINATION

☐ Income imputed to Primary Parent — Basis: [________________________________]
☐ Income imputed to Other Parent — Basis: [________________________________]

3. ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME AND STATUTORY ADJUSTMENTS

Use the exact adjustment lines on current official form FM-040. Do not treat ordinary living expenses, self-employment tax, or every court-ordered payment as a child-support deduction.

Identify the primary and non-primary care providers before using the household-child adjustment. If the parents provide substantially equal care, follow FM-040 and FM-040-A rather than selecting deductions from this preparation guide.

4. COMBINED INCOME AND PRO RATA SHARES

Transfer the adjusted annual incomes from Section 3 to FM-040 line 7. Add them for line 7c; divide each parent's amount by the combined amount for line 8.

5. BASIC SUPPORT ENTITLEMENT

From the current Maine Child Support Table, select the combined annual income closest to FM-040 line 7c and the column for the total number of children. The table figure is a weekly amount per child; multiply it by the number of children for FM-040 line 9c. See 19-A M.R.S. § 2006(1).

Number of children: [____] × table amount per child per week $[________] = basic weekly support entitlement $[________].

If combined annual income exceeds $400,000 or the non-primary parent's income falls in the table's self-support reserve or below the federal poverty guideline, use the special rules in § 2006(5)(B)-(C) and the current official worksheet instructions before carrying a result forward.

6. ADDITIONAL EXPENSES

Enter weekly amounts for the children covered by this calculation. The child-care addition under § 2006(3)(A) applies when each child is under 12 and the actual cost qualifies; older-child care may be considered as a deviation under § 2007(3)(O). Include the child-only portion of health insurance available at reasonable cost and predictable recurring extraordinary uninsured medical expenses under §§ 2006(3) and 2001(4).

7. TOTAL CHILD SUPPORT OBLIGATION

For a primary-care arrangement, follow FM-040 lines 13 and 14:

Non-primary care provider (Other Parent): [________________________________]

For substantially equal care, complete FM-040 first, then FM-040-A. If annual incomes differ, § 2006(5)(D-1) uses the enhanced support entitlement and limits the higher-income parent's presumptive payment to the lower of its two stated calculations, with expense adjustments. For split care, compute each household's obligation separately under § 2006(5)(E) and offset the amounts. Do not use the single-primary payment line above for either arrangement.

8. DEVIATIONS FROM GUIDELINES

A party requesting a departure from the guideline amount should provide written proposed findings showing why the presumptive amount would be inequitable or unjust under 19-A M.R.S. § 2007(1)-(3). Check any relevant statutory consideration:

☐ The substantially-equal-care formula would be unjust or contrary to the child's best interest
☐ Support is sought for more than six children
☐ The child's financial resources, condition, or educational needs
☐ A party's financial resources and needs or the family's standard of living
☐ Other dependents or qualifying work-related care for a child age 12 or older
☐ Substantial parent-child-contact transportation costs exceeding 15% of yearly support
☐ Tax consequences, inflation, or another factor listed in § 2007(3)
☐ Other case-specific reason why applying the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate: [________________________________]

Requested adjustment: $[________] per ☐ week ☐ year (☐ increase ☐ decrease)
Proposed written findings: [________________________________]

9. DURATION AND TERMINATION

The order, not this preparation worksheet, controls each child's support period. Under 19-A M.R.S. § 1653(12), support generally remains in force until the child reaches 18, or, for an order issued after January 1, 1990, until graduation, withdrawal, expulsion from secondary school, or age 19, whichever occurs first, if the child turns 18 while attending secondary school. Marriage and entry into the armed services are additional statutory termination events. State the order's applicable terms here: [________________________________].

10. MAINE-SPECIFIC NOTES

• Income calculation: Section 2001(5)(A)-(E) defines included income, imputation, and qualifying prior obligations. Means-tested TANF, SSI, SNAP, and general assistance are excluded by § 2001(5)(G).
• Enhanced entitlement: Section 2001(3-A) defines it as 1.5 times basic support. Section 2001(10-A) excludes child care, medical expenses, and premiums from the enhanced entitlement itself.
• Substantially equal care: Section 2001(8-A) considers the child's total care, including residence, education, recreation, child care, and health needs. The current court form requires FM-040-A as well as FM-040.
• Modification: Section 2009(1) permits a motion to modify. Subsection 3 addresses a qualifying variation above 15%, the three-year review rule, and an exception for an order established by deviation under § 2007.

VERIFICATION

I have checked the figures entered here against my records to the best of my knowledge. This preparation worksheet does not replace the court's FM-040 or FM-040-A.

Primary Parent:
Signature: [________________________________]
Printed Name: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

Other Parent:
Signature: [________________________________]
Printed Name: [________________________________]
Date: [__/__/____]

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• 19-A M.R.S. Chapter 63 — Child Support Guidelines
• 19-A M.R.S. § 2006 — Support Guidelines
• 19-A M.R.S. § 2011 — Department rule establishing the child support table
• Maine Judicial Branch — Child Support Worksheet (FM-040)
• Maine Judicial Branch — Supplemental Worksheet (FM-040-A)