Section 75-02-04.1-01 - Definitions1. "Child" means any child, by birth or adoption, to whom a parent owes a duty of support.2. "Child living with the obligor" means the obligor's child who lives with the obligor most of the year.3. "Children's benefits" means a payment, to or on behalf of a child of the person whose income is being determined, made by a government, insurance company, trust, pension fund, or similar entity, derivative of the parent's benefits or a result of the relationship of parent and child between such person and such child. Children's benefits do not mean benefits received from public assistance programs that are means tested or provided in the form of subsidy payments made to adoptive parents.4.a. "Gross income" means income from any source, in any form, but does not mean: (1) Benefits received from public assistance programs that are means tested such as the temporary assistance for needy families, supplemental security income, and supplemental nutrition assistance programs, or that are provided in the form of subsidy payments made to adoptive parents;(2) Employee benefits over which the employee does not have significant influence or control over the nature or amount unless:(a) That benefit may be liquidated; and(b) Liquidation of that benefit does not result in the employee incurring an income tax penalty;(3) Child support payments;(4) Atypical overtime wages or nonrecurring bonuses over which the employee does not have significant influence or control;(5) Overseas housing-related allowances paid to an obligor who is in the military to the extent those housing-related allowances exceed the housing allowance in effect at the Minot air force base;(6) Nonrecurring capital gains; or(7) Early withdrawals from retirement accounts.b. Examples of gross income include salaries, wages, overtime wages, commissions, bonuses, employee benefits, currently deferred income, dividends, severance pay, pensions, interest, trust income, annuities income, gains, social security benefits, workers' compensation benefits, unemployment insurance benefits, distributions of retirement benefits, receipt of previously deferred income to the extent not previously considered in determining a child support obligation for the child whose support is under consideration, veterans' benefits (including gratuitous benefits), gifts and prizes to the extent they annually exceed one thousand dollars in value, spousal support payments received, refundable tax credits, value of in-kind income received on a regular basis, children's benefits, income imputed based upon earning capacity, military subsistence payments, and net income from self-employment.c. For purposes of this subsection, income tax due or paid is not an income tax penalty.5. "In-kind income" means the receipt from employment or income-producing activity of any valuable right, property or property interest, other than money or money's worth, including forgiveness of debt (other than through bankruptcy), use of property, including living quarters at no charge or less than the customary charge, and the use of consumable property or services at no charge or less than the customary charge.6. "Net income" means total gross annual income less: a. A hypothetical federal income tax obligation based on the obligor's gross income, reduced by that part of the obligor's gross income that is not subject to federal income tax and reduced by deductions allowed in arriving at adjusted gross income under the Internal Revenue Code, and applying: (1) The standard deduction for the tax filing status of single; and(2) Tax tables for a single individual for the most recent year published by the internal revenue service;b. A hypothetical state income tax obligation equal to eleven percent of the amount determined under subdivision a;c. A hypothetical obligation for Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA), Railroad Retirement Tax Act (RRTA) tier I and tier II, Medicare, and self-employment tax obligations based on that part of the obligor's gross income that is subject to FICA, RRTA, Medicare, or self-employment tax under the Internal Revenue Code;d. A portion of premium payments, made by the person whose income is being determined, for health insurance policies or health service contracts, including coverage for dental and vision care, intended to afford coverage for the child or children for whom support is being sought, determined by: (1) If the cost of single coverage for the obligor and the number of persons associated with the premium payment are known:(a) Reducing the premium payment by the cost for single coverage for the obligor;(b) Dividing the difference by the total number of persons, exclusive of the obligor, associated with the premium payment; and(c) Multiplying the result times the number of insured children for whom support is being sought; or(2) If the cost of single coverage for the obligor is not known: (a) Dividing the payment by the total number of persons covered; and(b) Multiplying the result times the number of insured children for whom support is being sought;e. Payments made on actual medical expenses of the child or children for whom support is sought to the extent it is reasonably likely similar expenses will continue;f. Union dues and occupational license fees if required as a condition of employment;g. Employee retirement contributions, deducted from the employee's compensation and not otherwise deducted under this subsection, to the extent required as a condition of employment;h. Subject to documentation, unreimbursed employee expenses for:(1) Special equipment or clothing required as a condition of employment:(2) Lodging expenses, not exceeding ninety-six dollars per night, incurred when engaged in travel required as a condition of employment; or(3) Noncommuting mileage incurred for driving a personal vehicle between work locations when required as a condition of employment, computed at the rate of sixty-five and one-half cents per mile, less any actual mileage reimbursement from the employer; andi. Employer reimbursed out-of-pocket expenses of employment, if included in gross income, but excluded from adjusted gross income on the obligor's federal income tax return.7. "Obligee" includes, for purposes of this chapter, an obligee as defined in North Dakota Century Code section 14-09-09.10 and a person who is alleged to be owed a duty of support on behalf of a child.8. "Obligor" includes, for purposes of this chapter, an obligor as defined in North Dakota Century Code section 14-09-09.10 and a person who is alleged to owe a duty of support.9. "Parent with primary residential responsibility" means a parent who acts as the primary caregiver on a regular basis for a proportion of time greater than the obligor, regardless of descriptions such as "shared" or "joint" parental rights and responsibilities given in relevant judgments, decrees, or orders.10. "Self-employment" means employment in one or more related activities that results in an obligor earning income from any business organization or entity which the obligor is, to a significant extent, able to directly or indirectly control. For purposes of this chapter, it also includes any activity that generates income from rental property, royalties, business gains, partnerships, trusts, corporations, and any other organization or entity regardless of form and regardless of whether such activity would be considered self-employment activity under the Internal Revenue Code.11. "Split parental rights and responsibilities" means a situation where the parents have more than one child in common, and where each parent has primary residential responsibility for at least one child.N.D. Admin Code 75-02-04.1-01
Effective February 1, 1991; amended effective January 1, 1995; August 1, 1999; August 1, 2003; October 1, 2008; April 1, 2010; July 1, 2011.Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 371, January 2019, effective 1/1/2019.Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 2023-389, July 2023, effective 7/1/2023.General Authority: NDCC 50-06-16, 50-09-25
Law Implemented: NDCC 14-09-09.7, 50-09-02(16); 42 USC 667