Child Maintenance Calculator Launched in Ireland

Ireland Department of Justice

Published February 26th, 2026

Detected March 24th, 2026

Summary

The Irish Department of Justice has launched a new online child maintenance calculator to assist parents in determining child support payments. This tool follows the recent publication of Ireland's first Child Maintenance Guidelines and aims to facilitate direct arrangements between parents or with professional assistance.

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What changed

The Irish Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has launched a new online child maintenance calculator, available at childmaintenancecalculator.ie. This tool is designed to help parents estimate child maintenance payments based on factors such as parental income, parenting time, and child ages. It aims to facilitate direct discussions between parents or assist them when working with solicitors or family mediation services.

While this calculator provides a starting point and does not cover every unique situation, it represents a new resource for parents navigating child support arrangements. Its development is linked to Ireland's first set of Child Maintenance Guidelines, published the previous month, which were a recommendation from the 2024 Review of the Enforcement of Child Maintenance Orders. No specific compliance deadlines or penalties are associated with the use of this calculator, as it serves as an informational tool.

What to do next

Familiarize parents with the child maintenance calculator tool.
Consider using the calculator as a starting point for discussions with the other parent or legal/mediation services.

Source document (simplified)

News

Child Maintenance Calculator Launched

From: Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration
Published on: 26 February 2026
Last updated on: 9 March 2026

Today an innovative new online child maintenance calculator was launched to help parents in coming to arrangements on child maintenance payments.

The launch of the calculator follows on from the publication last month of Ireland’s first set of Child Maintenance Guidelines. Development of the guidelines was a key recommendation of the 2024 Review of the Enforcement of Child Maintenance Orders.

Click here to use the Calculator

What is child maintenance?

The regular financial support a parent gives to help with the costs of raising a child. This payment usually goes to the parent who the child lives with most of the time.

What is a child maintenance calculator?

The calculator will help parents to work out an amount of child maintenance for their children. It will help parents to make arrangements directly or with help from a solicitor or a family mediation service.

While the calculator cannot cover every individual's situation, it can provide parents with a starting point to discuss with the other parent.

How will it calculate child maintenance?

The calculator estimates the amount of child maintenance that should be paid by looking at:

Both parents’ eligible income (gross income minus a self-support allowance and deductions for other dependent children)
How much parenting time each parent has
The child/children’s age(s)