Texas Child Support

Texas Child Support: Understanding the Basics

Child support can become a source of stress for both parents. One parent may be worried about having enough money to meet the child's everyday needs, while the other may be trying to understand how much they will be expected to pay and how that amount was calculated.

Texas has guidelines for calculating child support, but the calculation is not always as simple as multiplying income by a percentage. Income, other children a parent is legally required to support, health insurance, the child's needs, and other circumstances can affect the final amount.

Understanding the basics can make the process easier to navigate and help you know what questions to ask.

General Information — Not Legal Advice: This page provides general information about Texas family law. It is not legal advice for your particular situation and should not be relied upon as a substitute for speaking with an attorney. Texas law, court rules, and the facts of each family are different. Reading this page or contacting Chase Jones Law does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Last reviewed: August 2026.

What Is Child Support in Texas?

Child support is money ordered for the financial support of a child.

The parent ordered to pay support is commonly called the obligor, and the person entitled to receive the support is called the obligee.

Although one parent may be ordered to make a monthly payment to the other, Texas law recognizes that both parents have a responsibility to support their children. A court may order either or both parents to provide support.

Child support is separate from possession and access. A parent cannot simply stop paying court ordered support because the other parent is interfering with parenting time, and withholding child support does not provide a legal remedy for denied possession. Texas law specifically provides that child support is not conditioned on possession or access.

How Is Child Support Calculated?

Texas uses child support guidelines to provide a starting point for determining support.

For most parents, the court first determines the paying parent's monthly net resources. This is a legal calculation based on income and certain deductions allowed by Texas law. It is not necessarily the same amount as the parent's paycheck after taxes.

For one household, the standard guideline percentages are generally:

Children Before the Court Guideline Percentage

1 child20%

2 children25%

3 children30%

4 children35%

5 children40%

6 or more children - Not less than the amount for 5 children

These percentages are applied to the obligor's monthly net resources, subject to the guideline cap. Different calculations may apply when the parent's monthly net resources are below $1,000 or when the parent has other children whom the parent has a legal duty to support.

The guideline amount is presumed to be appropriate in many cases, but it is not an absolute rule. A court may consider other circumstances and order a different amount when application of the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate. Those circumstances can include the child's needs, each parent's financial resources, parenting time, child care expenses, health care expenses, travel costs associated with parenting time, and other relevant factors.

Is There a Maximum Income Used for the Guidelines?

Yes.

Effective September 1, 2025, the standard child-support percentages apply to monthly net resources up to $11,700. The prior cap was $9,200. The Attorney General adjusts the cap periodically for inflation.

That does not mean $11,700 is the maximum income a parent can earn or that a court can never order support above the guideline amount.

When an obligor's net resources exceed the cap, the guideline percentage is generally applied to the first $11,700. The court may order additional support when the evidence establishes additional proven needs of the child and the circumstances justify it.

What If a Parent Is Unemployed or Earning Less Than They Could?

Being unemployed does not automatically mean that no child support will be ordered.

If a court finds that a parent's actual income is significantly lower because the parent is intentionally unemployed or underemployed, the court may calculate support using the parent's earning potential rather than only the income the parent is currently receiving.

The court may consider circumstances such as employment history, education, job skills, health, barriers to employment, available jobs, and prevailing wages.

On the other hand, simply losing a job or earning less money does not automatically mean that a person is intentionally underemployed. The facts matter.

Does 50/50 Possession Mean No One Pays Child Support?

No. Equal or nearly equal possession does not automatically eliminate child support.

The amount of time each parent has possession of the child is one of the factors a court may consider when deciding whether the standard guideline calculation is appropriate. But Texas law does not establish a simple rule that equal parenting time means zero child support.

The parents' incomes, the child's needs, health care costs, other children the parents must support, and other circumstances may all matter.

For that reason, two families with similar parenting schedules can have very different child support orders.

How Long Does Child Support Last?

Texas child support generally continues until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever occurs later.

Additional requirements apply when support continues past the child's 18th birthday because the child remains in high school. Support may also end earlier in circumstances such as the child's marriage or other legal emancipation.

Texas law also allows support to continue for an indefinite period in qualifying cases involving a child with a disability.

What About Health and Dental Insurance?

A child support order generally also addresses medical support and dental support.

Depending on the circumstances, the court may order a parent to provide available health or dental insurance, reimburse the other parent for appropriate coverage, provide cash medical support when coverage is not available as required by law, and divide uninsured or unreimbursed health care expenses between the parents.

These obligations are in addition to ordinary monthly child support.

The law contains specific rules about when insurance is considered available at a reasonable cost. For that reason, it is better to look at the actual insurance available to the parents than to assume that the parent paying monthly child support must always be the parent providing insurance.

What Happens if Child Support Is Not Paid?

Falling behind on child support can become a serious problem.

Unpaid court-ordered support can become child support arrears, and Texas law provides a number of methods for enforcing support orders.

If your financial circumstances have changed and you can no longer reasonably make the ordered payment, ignoring the problem generally makes it worse. A modification may be available, but asking for a modification does not erase support that has already become due.

Likewise, if you are not receiving court-ordered support, there are legal procedures available to seek enforcement.

When Should I Speak With a Texas Child Support Lawyer?

Child support is sometimes straightforward. In other cases, determining the correct amount can become complicated.

It can be particularly helpful to obtain legal advice when:

• a parent is self employed or owns a business;

• income comes from several sources;

• bonuses, commissions, or overtime make income difficult to predict;

• a parent appears to be intentionally unemployed or underemployed;

• the parent paying support has children in another household;

• the parents have equal or nearly equal parenting time;

• the child's medical, educational, or other needs are unusually high;

• one parent earns substantially more than the guideline cap;

• an existing child support amount no longer fits the family's circumstances;

• support has not been paid; or

• one parent is being asked to sign an agreement that differs from the Texas guidelines.

Understanding how the calculation works before agreeing to an amount can prevent problems later.

Child Support Should Reflect the Child's Needs and the Family's Circumstances

Money can become an emotional subject when parents separate.

The parent receiving support may worry about paying for housing, food, school, clothing, medical expenses, child care, and the many ordinary costs of raising a child.

The parent paying support may worry about meeting the support obligation while also maintaining a home and providing for the child during that parent's own parenting time.

Those concerns are real on both sides.

At Chase Jones Law, the goal is to help clients understand how Texas law applies, identify the financial information that actually matters, and work toward an order that is legally sound and based on accurate information.

Talk With Chase Jones Law About Texas Child Support

Chase Jones Law represents clients in selected Texas child support and family law matters, with a primary focus on Harris County.

Whether child support is being established for the first time, calculated as part of a divorce or custody case, modified because circumstances have changed, or enforced because payments have not been made, understanding the numbers and the court order is important.

If you have questions about a Texas child support matter, you can schedule a consultation to discuss your situation and determine whether Chase Jones Law can assist.

Texas: 832-543-4060