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Kansas child support: schedules by age group, the parenting time table, and a worked example

Kansas is one of the few states that prices support by each child's age. The Supreme Court's guidelines, in effect since July 1, 2025, read both parents' combined gross income against a schedule with three age columns, then let the court trim the result when the other parent has the children 35% of the time or more.

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At a glance

ModelIncome shares on combined gross income (Kansas Child Support Guidelines, Supreme Court Administrative Order 2025-RL-121)
SchedulesPer child, by age: 0-5, 6-11 and 12-18; rows run to $18,000 combined a month, with an extended formula above that
Parenting time35% to 49% of the child's time with the other parent: 10%, 20% or 30% off that parent's share
Equal timeShared expense formula (written plan) or direct expense formula, both deviations under Section VI
Review triggerA 10% change in the Line I.2 amount, or a child moving into an older age group
Support endsAge 18; June 30 of the senior year if still in high school; by motion, through the school year the child turns 19
AgencyChild Support Services, Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF); payments through the Kansas Payment Center

How Kansas calculates child support

Kansas starts from domestic gross income: income from all sources, including bonuses, overtime, commissions, disability and workers' compensation payments, minus nothing for taxes, because federal and state taxes and Social Security are already priced into the schedules. Public assistance such as SSI, SNAP and TANF is left out. Military pay counts with BAH and BAS, and wages are taken before any cafeteria plan reductions. Self-employed parents subtract reasonable business expenses, which do not automatically equal what the tax return deducts.

Support a parent actually pays in other cases is subtracted, and court-ordered spousal maintenance is moved from one parent's income to the other's. For orders entered after 2018, maintenance is first grossed up by each party's marginal tax rate, or by 25% if the parties agree. What remains is child support income.

The combined figure is found in the schedule for the total number of children, and an amount is read for each child from the age column for that child's age at the nearest birthday: 0 to 5, 6 to 11, or 12 to 18. The amounts are added to get the gross child support obligation on Line D.4, which each parent owes in proportion to income. The younger columns are set at 84% and 94% of the teen amount. CoreParent's calculator reads these official schedules but does not ask for ages, so it uses the 6 to 11 column for every child.

Worked example: Kansas

  1. Parent A earns $5,000 a month gross and Parent B earns $3,000, so combined child support income is $8,000. Their children are 7 and 13.
  2. In the two-child schedule, the $8,000 row lists $980 for a child aged 6 to 11 and $1,042 for a child aged 12 to 18. Together that is a gross obligation of $2,022 on Line D.4.
  3. Parent A has 62.5% of the combined income, so Parent A's proportionate share on Line D.5 is $1,264 and Parent B's is $758.
  4. With the children living mainly with Parent B and no insurance or child care to add, Parent A's presumptive order is $1,264 a month, about $15,168 a year. When the 7-year-old turns 12, the higher column applies and the order can be reviewed.

This is an estimate, not legal advice. Figures are rounded to the dollar and leave out the insurance, childcare, and other adjustments your case may have. Try your own numbers in CoreParent's calculator, then confirm with the state's official calculator.

Parenting time in Kansas: the 35% table and the equal-time formulas

Kansas measures the share of the child's time, not a fixed overnight count, and time at school or day care is left out. When the parent without primary residency has the child 35% of the time or more, the court must decide whether an adjustment fits. The guidelines' table takes 10% off that parent's Line D.5 share at 35% to 39%, 20% at 40% to 44%, and 30% at 45% to 49%. If Parent A in the example has about 41% of the time, roughly 150 overnights a year, the 20% band cuts the order to $1,264 minus $253, or about $1,011 a month. In the 30% band it would be about $885.

Instead of the table, a court can credit the actual costs of the extra time, and separately it can cut support by up to 50% for stretches of 14 or more consecutive days, such as summer. When a court finds truly equal, regular time is best for the children, the presumptive amount gives way to one of two deviations: the shared expense formula, which needs a detailed written plan to split direct expenses such as clothing and school costs and has the higher obligation pay half the difference between the two Line D.5 amounts; or the direct expense formula, which starts from the same half difference and adds 7%, 10.5% or 15% of Line D.4, depending on combined income, to the parent who is not paying the children's direct expenses.

Health insurance, medical bills and child care

Premiums a parent's household pays for the children's physical health, mental health, dental, orthodontic and vision coverage are added to the obligation and credited to the parent who pays them. Uninsured medical costs, including deductibles and co-pays, are split by the Line D.3 income percentages. A parent asking to be repaid has 30 days from receiving the bill to send it with proof of payment, and the other parent then has 30 days to pay their share.

Actual, reasonable child care paid so a parent can work or look for work is added too, averaged over the year including school breaks and reduced first by the expected child care tax credit.

Ability to pay and lower incomes

Before an order is final, the worksheet runs an ability to pay check: the current federal poverty guideline for a household of one is subtracted from the paying parent's child support income. If what is left is less than the calculated support, the court sets an amount in the child's best interest. Income can be imputed to a parent who is deliberately unemployed or underemployed, with written findings, and incarceration alone is not treated as voluntary unemployment.

Other children, distance and out-of-state parents

A paying parent who supports other children living in their home may ask for the multiple family application, which uses the schedule for all the children that parent must support. The court may also adjust for substantial long-distance travel costs for parenting time, and, when a parent lives outside Kansas and outside the same metro area, apply a cost of living differential based on federal regional price data.

Since July 1, 2025, a court may also order support for an unborn child under K.S.A. 20-165, limited to a judgment for the mother's direct medical and pregnancy-related expenses.

When support ends and how orders change

Support stops at 18. A child still in high school keeps support until June 30 of that school year, and on motion a court may extend it through the school year in which the child turns 19 if both parents took part in or accepted the decision that delayed graduation. Parents can agree in writing, with court approval, to pay longer. With two or more children, the total drops proportionately as each child emancipates.

Within three years of the last order, a change requires a material change in circumstances, such as a 10% change in the Line I.2 amount or a child passing a 6th or 12th birthday. After three years, no material change has to be shown. A modification can reach back to the first day of the month after the motion is filed.

Payment and enforcement

Unless a court finds good cause, support is paid through the Kansas Payment Center; a filed written agreement for direct payment counts as good cause, but the payer must then keep proof of every payment. Unpaid support becomes a judgment as each payment comes due. DCF Child Support Services establishes and enforces orders at no cost to families and takes applications from anyone, regardless of income.

Documents you will need

Kansas child support FAQ

What are the current Kansas child support guidelines?

The guidelines adopted by Kansas Supreme Court Administrative Order 2025-RL-121, effective July 1, 2025. That order revised the rules on requests for financial information and on imputed income, both now mentioning retirement plans, and added support for an unborn child.

How much is child support for 2 kids in Kansas?

It depends on combined gross income and the children's ages. At $8,000 combined, a 7-year-old and a 13-year-old add up to $2,022 a month on the schedule; a parent with 62.5% of the income would owe about $1,264 before insurance and child care.

Does child support go up when my child turns 12 in Kansas?

It can. The schedules pay more for older children, and a child moving into the 6-11 or 12-18 age group is a material change that allows a review. The order does not change on its own; someone has to ask.

Does 50/50 custody mean no child support in Kansas?

Not usually. With equal time, Kansas uses the shared expense or direct expense formula, and the result depends on the income gap and on who pays the children's direct expenses. The 30% parenting time band, which covers 45% to 49% of the time, would leave Parent A in our example paying about $885.

Can Kansas child support be changed after three years?

Yes. Once three years have passed since the last order, K.S.A. 23-3005 lets the court modify support without a showing of material change. Sooner than that, you need one, such as a 10% change in the worksheet amount.

Next steps

Sources

Verified against these official sources in October 2026:

Child support in every other state

All states

This is general educational information, not legal advice, and official figures change. Last verified: October 2026. Consult a licensed family-law attorney in Kansas.