Opinion ID: 4170968
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Income Calculation

Text: [¶11] The trial court must assess both parties’ gross incomes when calculating a child support entitlement. 19-A M.R.S. § 2006(1) (2016). “Gross income includes income from an ongoing source, including . . . wages [and] commissions . . . .” 19-A M.R.S. § 2001(5)(A) (2016). To arrive at the gross income for a child support order when a party is self-employed, the court calculates “gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses.” Id. § 2001(5)(C) (2016). 7 [¶12] Although Robert’s 2015 tax return listed gross receipts of only $11,764 by his business, at trial he admitted that the bank account he uses solely for the business showed total deposits of $18,538.48 between May and October of 2015. Robert acknowledged that the deposits to that account constituted the gross receipts of his business. His testimony supports the court’s finding that Robert’s tax return misrepresented the earnings from his landscaping business, and its finding that his gross income from the business for child support calculation purposes—gross receipts less business expenses indicated by the tax return—was in fact close to $12,000, rather than the $6,615 as he had represented. The court therefore did not commit clear error or an abuse of discretion in calculating Robert’s gross income.