Texas child support guidelines
Texas is a percentage-of-income state: child support is set as a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources, and the percentage steps up with each child. This page explains how that works and links you to the official calculator — it does not compute your figure.
How the Texas model works
Rather than combining both parents’ incomes, Texas applies a guideline percentage to the paying parent’s net resources alone:
- 1 child — 20%
- 2 children — 25%
- 3 children — 30%
- 4 children — 35%
- 5+ children — 40%
These come from the Texas Family Code child-support guidelines. Crucially, the base isn’t your gross pay or even your take-home — it’s net resources, a defined figure (income from most sources minus taxes, union dues, and the cost of the children’s health/dental insurance).
The net-resources cap, age, and modification
The guideline percentages apply only up to a cap on monthly net resources, which rose to $11,700 effective September 1, 2025 (Senate Bill 1936, up from the $9,200 that held from 2019). Income above the cap is reached only by proving the child’s proven needs require more. Support runs to 18 or high-school graduation, whichever is later. An order can be modified if three years have passed and the guideline amount differs by 20% or $100, or at any time on a material and substantial change. Getting net resources right — and applying the current cap and health-insurance credits — is exactly what the state’s tool does, so a number guessed from gross salary would be wrong. Use the official calculator above.
What can change it
The guideline is a starting point. A Texas judge can order more or less if the standard amount would be unjust for the child, and things like other children you support, extraordinary medical or educational costs, and travel for visitation can move the number. For anything tied to a real case, talk to a Texas family-law attorney.
Reviewed by Aqil Abbas Khan, Founder & Editor of ToolsNexus
This page is general information, not legal advice. Child support in Texas is set by Texas’s official guidelines, and the amount in any real case is determined by the court or the state child-support agency using the official worksheet — not by this page. Guideline figures, schedules, and adjustments change over time and depend on facts specific to your situation (each parent’s income, parenting time, health-insurance and childcare costs, and other factors a court may consider). Use the official Texas calculator for an actual estimate, and consult a licensed family-law attorney in Texas for advice about your circumstances. ToolsNexus is not a law firm and does not provide legal representation.
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Frequently asked questions
- How is child support calculated in Texas?
- Texas uses a percentage-of-income model applied to the paying parent's monthly net resources — that's income from most sources minus items like taxes, union dues, and the cost of the child's health insurance. The guideline percentage rises with the number of children before the court: it starts at 20% for one child and increases from there.
- What are the Texas guideline percentages?
- Under the Texas Family Code guidelines, the standard percentages of net resources are 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four, and 40% for five or more. These apply up to a cap on net resources that the state adjusts periodically; the official calculator applies the current cap and rules.
- What are "net resources" in Texas?
- Net resources is a defined term: wages, self-employment income, and many other income sources, minus Social Security/income taxes, union dues, and the cost of the children's health and dental insurance. It is not the same as take-home pay, so estimating it by eye is unreliable — the official calculator walks through it.
- Is there a cap, and until what age is support paid?
- Yes. The guideline percentages apply only up to a cap on monthly net resources, which rose to $11,700 effective September 1, 2025 (Senate Bill 1936, up from $9,200). Income above the cap is only reached by proving the child’s needs require more. Support generally ends at 18 or high-school graduation, whichever is later. An order can be modified if it has been three years and the guideline amount differs by 20% or $100, or on a material and substantial change.
- Can the amount differ from the guideline?
- Yes. A judge can order a different amount if the guideline result would be unjust or inappropriate given the child's needs and the parents' circumstances, and factors like other children the parent supports, medical costs, and travel for visitation can change it. The guideline is the starting point, not a guarantee.