ESTIMATED CHILD SUPPORT DEBT

CHILD SUPPORT DEBT COUNTER

Mark A. Stephens Child Support Debt

Mark A. Stephens Child Support Debt: Estimated Balance and Monthly Shortfall

Estimated balance — rising now

Debt starting point $24,575.00 As of January 1, 2026 9:16 am

Estimated added since $2,906.52 Monthly shortfall spread continuously

Current estimated debt $27,481.52 Starting point plus estimated growth

Ordered monthly $496.50

Paid monthly $100.00

Monthly shortfall $396.50

Estimated increase $13.03 / day $0.00905 / minute

At the current rate of debt accrual

Debt Projection When the Child Turns 18

Projected estimated debt $34,600.73

Current estimated debt$27,481.52

Projected change from now$7,119.22

Projection assumes the configured monthly support and payment remain unchanged. It excludes interest, fees, credits, irregular payments, and future order changes.

What Child Support has to Cover

Rotating comparisons based on editable national benchmarks.

How the monthly child-cost basket is divided

Mark's: $100 paid • 3.7% of basket Other Parent: $2,636 estimated remainder

The debtor payment is counted once and distributed proportionally across the direct-cost basket. The other-parent figure is the remaining benchmark in each category after the debtor allocation. It illustrates the amount the receiving household would still have to cover; it is not a verified record of actual spending.

Food per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$223 Mark's Allocated Payment$8 Other Parent Estimated Payment$215 Share of Mark's Payment8.1%

USDA food-plan benchmark

Shelter / housing per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$342 Mark's Allocated Payment$13 Other Parent Estimated Payment$330 Share of Mark's Payment12.5%

Editable child-share shelter benchmark; utilities are separate

Clothing per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$84 Mark's Allocated Payment$3 Other Parent Estimated Payment$80 Share of Mark's Payment3.1%

Clothing, shoes, uniforms, and seasonal replacement

Utilities per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$70 Mark's Allocated Payment$3 Other Parent Estimated Payment$67 Share of Mark's Payment2.5%

Child share of household utilities and connectivity

Transportation per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$195 Mark's Allocated Payment$7 Other Parent Estimated Payment$188 Share of Mark's Payment7.1%

Child-related vehicle, fuel, transit, and travel costs

School and education per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$42 Mark's Allocated Payment$2 Other Parent Estimated Payment$40 Share of Mark's Payment1.5%

Direct family-paid school supplies, fees, technology, and learning costs

Personal care per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$42 Mark's Allocated Payment$2 Other Parent Estimated Payment$40 Share of Mark's Payment1.5%

Hygiene, haircuts, toiletries, and age-related personal needs

Activities and enrichment per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$42 Mark's Allocated Payment$2 Other Parent Estimated Payment$40 Share of Mark's Payment1.5%

Sports, lessons, clubs, recreation, and equipment

Miscellaneous needs per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$28 Mark's Allocated Payment$1 Other Parent Estimated Payment$27 Share of Mark's Payment1.0%

Ordinary unplanned and overlapping child-related expenses

Child care per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$1,099 Mark's Allocated Payment$40 Other Parent Estimated Payment$1,059 Share of Mark's Payment40.2%

Annual benchmark divided by 12

Family medical coverage per month Mark's covers 3.7%

Monthly benchmark$571 Mark's Allocated Payment$21 Other Parent Estimated Payment$550 Share of Mark's Payment20.9%

Worker family-plan contribution divided by 12

Context only — not allocated a percentage

Public education: $1,468 per month equivalent (public-system spending, not a parent invoice)
Birth-to-18 estimate: $926–$1,435 per month equivalent (overlaps the categories above)

Inflation-adjusted outlook

What Today’s Payment May Look Like When the Child Turns 18

Illustration using 3.50% annual inflation compounded until the child turns 18.

Current monthly basket$2,736

Projected monthly basket at 18$2,880

Current monthly payment$100.00

Payment needed at 18 to equal today’s value$105.28

Unchanged payment in today’s dollars$94.98

Basket coverage: now → age 183.7% → 3.5%

This is a constant-rate illustration, not an inflation forecast. Actual category prices, support orders, and payments may change differently. Rate source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, June 2026 CPI-U

Water is excluded because it is measured in gallons. Other-parent amounts are calculated benchmark remainders, not verified payments or a complete record of household spending.

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Food

One payment has to be divided before it buys food

The USDA food benchmark entered here is $222.70 per month. When the support amounts are divided proportionally across the full benchmark basket, about $40.42 of the ordered amount and only $8.14 of the actual payment are assigned to food. That paid share covers about 1.1 days, or 3.7%, of the food benchmark. The single payment is not counted again in full for every category. Total monthly benchmark basket: $2,735.56.

Source: USDA Food Plans — May 2026 Thrifty Plan, age 12–13

Housing

Housing receives only its share of the same payment

The entered housing benchmark is $342.36 per month. Under the proportional split, $62.14 of the ordered amount and only $12.52 of the actual payment are assigned to housing. That paid share covers about 3.7% of the housing benchmark. The same payment is still being divided across every direct household category.

Source: Editable housing benchmark in plugin settings

Child care

Child care receives only its share of the payment

The entered child-care benchmark is $1,098.67 per month. Under the proportional split, $199.41 of the ordered amount and $40.16 of the actual payment are assigned to child care. The paid share covers about 3.7% of this category—not the percentage produced by applying the entire payment to child care alone. Annual benchmark: $13,184.

Source: Child Care Aware of America — 2025 national average

Medical coverage

Medical costs must share the same limited payment

The entered worker contribution for family medical coverage is $570.83 per month. A proportional split assigns $103.61 of the ordered amount and only $20.87 of the actual payment to this benchmark, covering about 3.7%. This is a family-coverage comparison, not a child-only premium. Annual worker contribution: $6,850.

Source: KFF 2025 Employer Health Benefits Survey

Clothing

Clothing receives only its share of one payment

The entered clothing benchmark is $83.50 per month. The proportional household split assigns $15.16 of the ordered amount and only $3.05 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.

Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories

Utilities

Utilities receives only its share of one payment

The entered utilities benchmark is $69.60 per month. The proportional household split assigns $12.63 of the ordered amount and only $2.54 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.

Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories

Transportation

Transportation receives only its share of one payment

The entered transportation benchmark is $194.85 per month. The proportional household split assigns $35.36 of the ordered amount and only $7.12 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.

Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories

School and education

School and education receives only its share of one payment

The entered school and education benchmark is $41.75 per month. The proportional household split assigns $7.58 of the ordered amount and only $1.53 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.

Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories

Personal care

Personal care receives only its share of one payment

The entered personal care benchmark is $41.75 per month. The proportional household split assigns $7.58 of the ordered amount and only $1.53 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.

Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories

Activities and enrichment

Activities and enrichment receives only its share of one payment

The entered activities and enrichment benchmark is $41.75 per month. The proportional household split assigns $7.58 of the ordered amount and only $1.53 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.

Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories

Miscellaneous needs

Miscellaneous needs receives only its share of one payment

The entered miscellaneous needs benchmark is $27.80 per month. The proportional household split assigns $5.05 of the ordered amount and only $1.02 of the actual payment to this category, covering about 3.7%. The payment is divided once across the entire child-rearing basket.

Source: Editable household benchmark informed by USDA child-rearing expense categories

Education

Public education is context, not a household allocation

U.S. public schools spent an average of $17,619 per pupil in the entered benchmark—about $1,468 per month. This figure is shown for scale only. It is not included in the payment-allocation basket because it is public-system spending rather than a direct parent invoice.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau — FY2024 current spending per pupil

Water and utilities

Basic water needs are outside the dollar allocation

EPA affordability analysis uses 50.0 gallons per person per day as a basic-use assumption—about 1,522 gallons per person each month. Local rates vary, so water is not included in the dollar benchmark basket. It remains another necessity competing for a total payment of only $3.29 per day.

Source: U.S. EPA Water Affordability Needs Assessment

The full cost of childhood

The lifetime estimate is a separate, all-in comparison

Recent U.S. estimates place birth-to-18 costs around $200,000 to $310,000. A straight-line 18-year illustration at the current order totals $107,244—roughly 34.6% to 53.6% of that range. At the configured payment, the same illustration totals $21,600—roughly 7.0% to 10.8%. This lifetime estimate is not added to the category basket because it already includes overlapping types of expenses.

Source: Brookings — recent U.S. estimate range

Annual shortfall

The monthly gap becomes a much larger yearly loss

The configured order totals $5,958.00 per year. The configured payment totals $1,200.00, leaving an annual difference of $4,758.00. That shortfall is money the receiving household must replace across food, housing, utilities, medical needs, transportation, education, clothing, and other costs—not a separate gap for each category.

Source: Calculated from the plugin settings

What the balance represents

A balance is made of expenses someone else still had to cover

At page load, the estimated balance was $27,481.52. For scale, that is equivalent to about 123.4 months of the entered food benchmark or 25.0 months of the entered child-care benchmark. These are alternative comparisons, not a claim that the same balance was spent twice.

Source: Calculated from the current estimate and entered benchmarks

National benchmarks are illustrative, not a calculation of a specific child's expenses. Costs vary by age, location, household, insurance, school, and care needs.

Private browser-based estimate

Calculate Your Own Support Debt

Enter your figures to estimate the current balance and, when a birth date is provided, the projected balance when the child turns 18.

Starting support debt Balance as-of date and time Monthly support ordered Monthly amount paid Child birth date (optional) Annual inflation rate

Your entries stay in this browser and are not saved or submitted to this website.

Estimated balance = entered starting balance + accumulated monthly shortfall. The calculation does not automatically include court interest, penalties, fees, payment credits, irregular payments, enforcement adjustments, or later court orders.