The Reserve, Health Insurance and Child Care in South Dakota

By the FigureMyTax Editorial Team · How we calculate

South Dakota includes an $871 self-support reserve in the emboldened areas of its schedule, apportions the children’s health insurance by income and may allocate work-related child care, with the federal credit counted at 25%.

The self-support reserve

“The emboldened areas of the schedule include a self-support reserve of eight hundred seventy-one dollars per month that accounts for the subsistence needs of the obligated parent with a limited ability to pay. If the obligation using only the noncustodial parent’s monthly net income is an obligation within the emboldened areas of the schedule, that amount must be compared to the noncustodial parent’s proportionate share using both parents’ monthly net incomes. The lesser amount establishes the noncustodial parent’s child support order” (SDCL 25-7-6.2).

An example

A non-custodial parent with $1,300 of gross income ($1,201 of net) and a custodial parent with $3,000, two children: the proportionate share of the $1,286 schedule amount is higher, but the obligation using only the non-custodial parent’s income, in the emboldened area, is $379, the lesser, so the order is $379. With one child it is $275.

The emboldened area

The emboldened cells run through $1,200 of net income for one child, $1,350 for two, $1,550 for three, $1,700 for four, $1,850 for five and $2,000 for six, and the lowest rows show the minimum amounts: $79 a child at $950 of combined net income or less. A $900 earner with a $3,000 custodial parent owes $79 for two children.

Health insurance

The medical support order must provide for medical insurance if accessible and available to a parent at reasonable cost, meaning the cost attributable to the child is at most 8% of the parent’s net income. The cost attributable to the child is apportioned between the parents by income, with a credit or reimbursement to the parent who pays it. Health care costs above $250 per child a year not covered by insurance are apportioned in proportion to each parent’s obligation, and the primary custodian pays the first $250 (SDCL 25-7-6.16). A $250 premium paid by the non-custodial parent lowers the order to $965; paid by the custodial parent it raises it to $1,215.

Child care

The court may allocate the reasonable child care expenses due to a parent’s employment, job search or training, and may consider the federal child care tax credit, calculated at 25% of the eligible expense (SDCL 25-7-6.18). With $600 of child care paid by the custodial parent the order is $1,339.

Documents to gather

Premium statements showing the cost for the children, child care invoices and records of uninsured medical costs.

Hardship and deviation

If the total obligation, with health insurance and child care, exceeds 50% of the obligor’s monthly net income, it is presumed to impose a financial hardship, and the court may deviate on specific findings (SDCL 25-7-6.10).

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• SDCL 25-7-6.2: support obligation schedule
• SDCL 25-7-6.7: allowable deductions from monthly gross income
• SDCL 25-7-6.27: shared parenting child support cross credit

This is general information, not legal advice. It is based on the cited South Dakota statutes, rules and court opinions, and every case turns on its own facts. Confirm how the law applies to your situation with a licensed South Dakota attorney.