How Child Support Is Calculated in Texas

Texas uses a percentage-of-income model based on the paying parent's monthly net resources: 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four, 40% for five, and not less than the five-child amount for six or more. A lower schedule applies when the paying parent's net resources are under $1,000 a month. The guidelines apply to net resources up to a cap published by the Attorney General; the Attorney General's calculator states the cap is $11,700 per month. The Attorney General's online calculator gives an estimate for a single source of income.

The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) Child Support Division says applying online through its Child Support Online account is the fastest way to open a case. You provide information about yourself, the other parent and the children (such as Social Security and driver's license numbers, employment history and contact information). If you cannot apply online, you can call (800) 252-8014 to have a paper application mailed to you; mailed applications take longer. The OAG also offers a way to apply safely for people concerned about family violence.

A court may order child support until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later. Support may continue past 18 while the child is enrolled in a program leading to a high school diploma (or certain joint high school and junior college courses) and meets attendance requirements, through the end of the month the child graduates. Unless otherwise agreed or ordered, support ends earlier if the child marries, has disabilities of minority removed, dies, or begins active military service. For a child whose mental or physical disability existed (or whose cause was known) by age 18 and who needs substantial care and personal supervision and cannot support themselves, the court may order support for an indefinite period.

A court may change child support if the circumstances of the child or a person affected by the order have materially and substantially changed since the order (or the mediated or collaborative agreement it was based on), or if it has been three years since the order was set or last changed and the monthly amount differs by 20% or $100 from what the guidelines would give. Examples the OAG lists include a change in the paying parent's income, new children the paying parent is legally responsible for, changed medical coverage, or the child moving to the other parent. Parents with an open OAG case can submit a Request for Review online or by mail; the order can only be changed through the OAG's Child Support Review Process or a court hearing, and informal agreements between parents do not change the court-ordered amount.

The OAG can enforce child support orders with remedies up to and including contempt, probation and possibly incarceration. It can ask more than 60 licensing agencies to suspend driver's, professional, hunting and fishing licenses when a parent owes at least three months of support and does not follow a repayment schedule; deny a new or renewed passport; deny motor vehicle registration renewal; and file liens on property, bank accounts, retirement plans, life insurance, personal injury claims, settlements and other assets. By statute, unpaid support can also be collected through contempt, liens, levies on financial accounts, money judgments and income withholding, and overdue support accrues 6% simple interest per year.

Child support in Texas is handled by the Child Support Division of the Office of the Attorney General. It helps open child support cases, establish paternity (including the Acknowledgement of Paternity), set and modify orders, collect and distribute payments, and enforce orders through wage withholding and other tools. Parents can apply online, pay or receive support, and manage their case through an online account; the Division also runs an Access and Visitation Hotline and offers a child support calculator.

The Texas Office of the Attorney General (Child Support Division) offers an online Monthly Child Support Calculator. It provides an estimate for a single source of income, and the actual amount set or approved by the court may differ. The guidelines apply to monthly net resources up to $11,700, and the calculator does not calculate support above that amount (Texas Family Code Sec. 154.125(a)).