Child support in Mississippi is set as a flat percentage of the non-custodial parent’s adjusted gross income: 14% for one child, 20% for two, 22% for three, 24% for four, and 26% for five or more.1Justia. Mississippi Code 43-19-101 – Child Support Award Guidelines The Mississippi Department of Human Services (MDHS) Division of Child Support Enforcement establishes, collects, and enforces orders, and the obligation runs until the child turns 21, one of the latest cutoffs in the country.
How Much You Will Pay or Receive
The percentages in Mississippi Code 43-19-101 are a rebuttable presumption, meaning a judge applies them unless there is a specific reason to go higher or lower. They attach to the non-custodial parent’s adjusted gross income, not take-home pay and not the custodial parent’s income.
Adjusted gross income starts with everything the non-custodial parent reasonably has coming in: wages, salary, commissions, self-employment income, investment returns, retirement and disability benefits, workers’ compensation, unemployment, alimony, and other earned income. Self-employed parents start from total business income before personal deductions.2Mississippi Department of Human Services. Mississippi Code 43-19-101 – Child Support Award Guidelines
Three categories come off the top before the percentage is applied: actual federal, state, and local tax liability (not over-withholding); Social Security contributions; and non-voluntary retirement or disability contributions. A pre-existing court-ordered support obligation for another child is also subtracted first.2Mississippi Department of Human Services. Mississippi Code 43-19-101 – Child Support Award Guidelines
When a Judge Can Depart From the Percentages
If adjusted gross income is below $10,000 or above $100,000, the judge must make a written finding on whether the standard percentage produces a reasonable result. Very low earners can be left unable to cover their own basics; very high earners can be ordered to pay far beyond what the child actually needs.2Mississippi Department of Human Services. Mississippi Code 43-19-101 – Child Support Award Guidelines
Within the normal income range, a court can still deviate by making a written finding that the guideline amount would be unjust. Mississippi Code 43-19-103 lists factors a judge may weigh: extraordinary medical or dental expenses, the child’s own independent income, combined support and alimony burdens, seasonal income swings, the child’s age and growing needs, shared parenting time that cuts the custodial parent’s costs, the total assets of both parents and the child, and work-related or disability-related childcare costs.3Justia. Mississippi Code 43-19-103 – Criteria for Overcoming Rebuttable Presumption
Opening a Case Through MDHS
Parents who receive SNAP, TANF, or Medicaid are referred to the child support program automatically at no cost. Everyone else applies by submitting the MDHS Application for Child Support Services with a $25 application fee, by mail or in person at the Division of Child Support in Ridgeland.4Mississippi Department of Human Services. Receiving Child Support
Pull together the children’s birth certificates and Social Security cards, your state-issued photo ID, and any existing divorce order before you apply. Anything you can give MDHS about the other parent (Social Security number, date of birth, current address, employer, income) speeds up locating them and getting an order in place.5Mississippi Department of Human Services. Receiving Child Support – Section: Receive an Appointment Letter and Gather Documents
MDHS then schedules an appointment, prepares a complaint for support and a summons, and has the other parent served. A hearing follows the service.6Mississippi Department of Human Services. Division of Child Support Enforcement – Section: Court
Paternity Comes First
A court cannot order support from a father until paternity is legally established. Married fathers are presumed to be the legal father. Unmarried parents can sign an Acknowledgment of Paternity (ASAP) at the hospital at birth, which establishes legal fatherhood without going to court.7Mississippi Department of Human Services. Paternity Establishment Brochure Without the acknowledgment, paternity has to be decided in court, and MDHS can arrange DNA testing when it is disputed.8FindLaw. Mississippi Code 93-9-9 – Determination of Paternity
Paying and Receiving
Most Mississippi support flows through income withholding, where the employer deducts the amount from the paycheck and sends it to MDHS. If your employer does not withhold, or you are self-employed, you have several ways to pay:
- iPayOnline, which pulls scheduled payments from a bank account
- PayNearMe, for cash payments at participating retail locations
- MoneyGram, for cash or PIN-debit payments at MoneyGram counters
- Check or money order mailed to MDHS/SDU, P.O. Box 23094, Jackson, MS 39225, with your Social Security number and case number written on the payment
On the receiving side, MDHS mails a Way2Go debit card to the custodial parent after the first payment posts. Payments load onto the card automatically. You can check balances and transactions at GoProgram.com, through the Way2Go app, or by calling 1-855-709-1079. The card itself has no monthly fee, though ATM withdrawals and replacement cards can carry charges.10Mississippi Department of Human Services. Way2Go Debit Card
Health Insurance Is Part of the Order
Mississippi support orders typically include medical support. If health coverage is available to the non-custodial parent at a reasonable cost through an employer or other source, the complaint for support must request it, and this is not optional for MDHS-administered cases. If the non-custodial parent does not enroll the child, the custodial parent, Medicaid, or MDHS can enroll the child directly, and the insurer must provide the custodial parent with enough information to submit claims.11Justia. Mississippi Code 43-13-303 – Inclusion of Medical Support
When Child Support Ends
The age of majority for support in Mississippi is 21. Under Mississippi Code 93-11-65(8), the obligation ends when the child is emancipated, which happens automatically if the child:
- Turns 21
- Marries
- Joins the military full-time
- Is convicted of a felony and sentenced to two or more years of incarceration
A court may also find a child emancipated in other circumstances: stopping full-time school after turning 18 (unless the child has a disability), voluntarily leaving the custodial home to become self-supporting through full-time work while dropping out of school, or cohabiting with another person without the paying parent’s approval. These require a judge’s determination rather than happening automatically.12Justia. Mississippi Code 93-11-65 – Custody and Support of Minor Children
Emancipation stops future support. It does not wipe out arrears. Back support that built up before the child aged out survives the emancipation date and stays collectible until paid.12Justia. Mississippi Code 93-11-65 – Custody and Support of Minor Children
Changing the Amount
A support order stays in force at the ordered amount until a judge changes it. Private handshakes between parents do not count. If your income drops, the old amount keeps accruing until a new order is signed.
Every three years, MDHS notifies both parents of their right to a review. On request, MDHS runs the current order against the current guidelines, and either side can seek an adjustment if the numbers no longer match. No change in circumstances needs to be proven inside that three-year window, and reviews happen automatically for TANF families.13Justia. Mississippi Code 43-19-34 – Stipulated Agreement for Modification of Support Order
Between reviews, modification requires a material change in circumstances: a significant involuntary income drop, a serious medical situation, substantially higher costs of care. File through MDHS or a private attorney. One rule to know going in: downward changes only reach forward from the date of the new order. The statute allows retroactive adjustments only in the upward direction, and only where a court finds a downward change would have been inappropriate or the paying parent had the ability to pay more.13Justia. Mississippi Code 43-19-34 – Stipulated Agreement for Modification of Support Order
What Happens If You Fall Behind
MDHS has a wide enforcement toolkit and uses it. The methods available for collecting unpaid Mississippi child support include:
- Income withholding from wages, salary, commissions, retirement benefits, and workers’ compensation
- Interception of unemployment benefits
- Interception of federal and state tax refunds
- Seizure of bank and credit union accounts
- Suspension of state-issued licenses after being one or more months behind, failing to comply with a subpoena or warrant in a support case, or going 30 days behind on an agreed payment plan
- Passport denial or revocation once arrears reach $2,500
- Credit bureau reporting of arrears at least 60 days old, after advance notice
- Liens on workers’ compensation or personal injury settlements the paying parent recovers
- Contempt of court, used after other methods have been tried, which can result in jail until the parent pays an amount set by the judge
The license piece catches many parents off guard. “State-issued license” is not just your driver’s license. Nursing licenses, contractor licenses, and hunting licenses all fall under the same suspension rules, and a single month behind on current support plus arrears payments is enough to trigger one.