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If you are facing a potential divorce or separation in Michigan and you have children; custody, parenting time and child support may be at the top of the list of concerns you have for the future.  Child support is based upon a formula that takes into account a number of factors including the parents' incomes, the number of overnights the children have with each parent, the cost of providing health care insurance for the child and childcare until August after the child reaches age 12.  This begs the question of what determines income for the purposes of child support.  This blog is written to generally address whether home office expenses can be deducted from one's income for the purpose of determining child support.  If you have specific questions regarding divorce, separation, custody, parenting time or child support, please do not hesitate to contact us to schedule a consultation by clicking on this link or calling us at (248) 608-4123.

Can I Deduct Home Office Expenses When Calculating Income For Child Support?

Child support is calculated using the Michigan Child Support Formula.  Income and what determines income for the purposes of child support is defined by the Michigan Child Support Formula Guideline Manual.  When determining income for the purposes of child support, you are not allowed all of the same deductions that you would be allowed to take when calculating income for tax purposes.  For instance depreciation of business assets is not allowed when determining income for child support but it is under the Federal IRS rules nor is a company vehicle unless it is used specifically for business purposes and required as part of the business.

The manual is updated yearly and sometimes the definitions of income and what may be deducted from income changes when it is updated.  Previously, one could not deduct the expenses associated with a home office for the purpose of child support even if the same qualified for a deduction under the Federal IRS rules.  The changes for the 2025 Child Support Guidelines Manual includes a change which indicates specifically that the actual costs of a home office and other costs associated with running a business from home could be deducted so long as the space was dedicated specifically for an office and not other use and any deductions reflect actual costs incurred for business expenses. 

This seems like a fair and reasonable change.  Over the years there are many clients whom I have represented that specifically wanted or needed to keep the family home because they ran their business out of the home and needed the extra space in the home specifically for the business.  If they did not keep the home, they would not be able to afford to pay for an additional office outside of the home or may not qualify for a large enough loan to purchase the same size replacement home and would therefore have to close down the business.  These actual expenses that people actually incur to keep, purchase and/or maintain a larger home than they would otherwise need should be deducted from their income before calculating child support because these are required expenditures that are required to maintain the business just as if they were renting office space somewhere else at a higher rate.

This blog is limited to the general subject of the recent change in the law in Michigan to allow the deduction of some or all home office expenses from one's income when determining child support in 2025.  If you have questions regarding your own situation, please contact us by clicking on this link or calling (248) 608-4123.