Wisconsin child support guidelines
Wisconsin is a percentage-of-income state, but with a well-developed set of rules for different custody arrangements. Its standard lives in administrative rule DCF 150. This page explains the model and links to the official state tools — it doesn’t calculate your amount.
The percentage standard
In the base case — one parent has primary placement — Wisconsin applies a percentage of the paying parent’s gross income:
- 1 child — 17%
- 2 children — 25%
- 3 children — 29%
- 4 children — 31%
- 5+ children — 34%
That’s the headline number, but it’s only the starting point.
Placement, low-income payers, and deviation
Wisconsin’s rule has distinct calculations for:
- Shared placement — each parent has the child at least 25% of the time (about 92 overnights);
- Split placement — each parent has primary placement of at least one child;
- Serial family — a parent supporting children from more than one relationship;
- Low-income payers — Appendix C applies reduced percentages between 75% and 150% of the federal poverty guidelines, and below 75% the court sets an amount fitting the payer’s circumstances.
Because these can move the result well away from the flat percentage, the official DCF tools above provide the specific worksheets. Use them for an actual estimate rather than applying a percentage by hand.
When a court can deviate
The percentage standard is presumed correct, but a Wisconsin court can order a different amount if the standard would be unfair to the child or a party. For a real case, consult a Wisconsin family-law attorney.
Reviewed by Aqil Abbas Khan, Founder & Editor of ToolsNexus
This page is general information, not legal advice. Child support in Wisconsin is set by Wisconsin’s official guidelines, and the amount in any real case is determined by the court or the state child-support agency using the official worksheet — not by this page. Guideline figures, schedules, and adjustments change over time and depend on facts specific to your situation (each parent’s income, parenting time, health-insurance and childcare costs, and other factors a court may consider). Use the official Wisconsin calculator for an actual estimate, and consult a licensed family-law attorney in Wisconsin for advice about your circumstances. ToolsNexus is not a law firm and does not provide legal representation.
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Frequently asked questions
- How is child support calculated in Wisconsin?
- Wisconsin uses the percentage-of-income standard set in administrative rule DCF 150. In the simplest case — one parent has primary placement — a percentage of the paying parent's gross income is used: 17% for one child, 25% for two, 29% for three, 31% for four, and 34% for five or more.
- What if we share placement of the children?
- Wisconsin has separate calculations for shared placement (each parent has the child at least 25% of the time, about 92 overnights), split placement (each parent has primary placement of at least one child), and serial families (a parent supporting children from more than one relationship). These change the math substantially, which is why the official DCF tools include multiple worksheets.
- Does Wisconsin use gross or net income?
- The base percentages apply to gross income, but the rule includes adjustments for very low-income and high-income payers and for other support obligations. The official DCF worksheet applies those rules — a flat percentage of gross is only the starting point in the simplest arrangement.
- How does Wisconsin treat low-income payers?
- DCF 150 Appendix C sets a low-income payer schedule: for a payer earning between 75% and 150% of the federal poverty guidelines, reduced percentages apply and rise gradually as income increases. Below 75% of the guidelines, the court may set an amount appropriate to the payer’s total economic circumstances, which can be lower than the schedule’s minimum.
- Can a court order a different amount?
- Yes. A Wisconsin court can deviate from the percentage standard if applying it would be unfair to the child or a party, considering factors listed in the statute. The guideline is presumptively correct but not absolute.