Child Support in Texas —
Everything Fathers Need to Know

Texas is one of roughly ten states that uses the percentage of income model rather than the income shares model used in most other states. That means your co-parent's income doesn't directly factor into your child support obligation. The calculation is based on your net resources alone. Understanding that distinction — and the specific deductions Texas allows before applying the percentage — is where most Texas Dads either save money or overpay for years.

The Texas Calculation — Net Income, Not Gross

Texas Family Code Section 154.125 governs child support calculation. It defines "net resources" as the income remaining after specific deductions are applied to gross income. These deductions are set by statute — they're not negotiable and they're not discretionary. Knowing what's deductible and what isn't is the foundation of an accurate Texas child support calculation.

What Counts as Income in Texas

Texas starts with all income from any source. Wages and salary, self-employment income, overtime, bonuses, commissions, rental income, interest and dividends, Social Security benefits, disability income, unemployment benefits — all of it goes into the gross income figure before deductions. Texas courts are broad on the income side. They're more specific on the deduction side.

The Allowable Deductions — What Texas Lets You Subtract First

Before the percentage is applied, Texas subtracts specific deductions from gross income. The result is called net resources — and that's the number the percentage applies to. Allowed deductions include federal income tax withholding, Social Security and Medicare taxes, and union dues. Health insurance premiums for children you are legally obligated to support also come off. Texas has no state income tax, so that deduction doesn't apply here.

What Texas does not allow as deductions: retirement contributions, 401(k) or IRA contributions, voluntary deductions from your paycheck that aren't specifically listed above. Dads sometimes assume their retirement contributions reduce their support obligation — they don't in Texas. Only the listed deductions apply.

The Exact Percentages Texas Uses — By Number of Children

The percentages under Texas Family Code Section 154.125 are fixed by statute. There is no income-sharing formula. There is no calculation based on what your co-parent earns. The amount is a direct function of your net monthly resources and the number of children you are supporting.

ChildCustodyPros.com · Texas child support calculation, modification triggers, and enforcement consequences

This infographic covers the core Texas framework. Study it before any court proceeding or modification filing. The "orders are static" point is critical — your Texas support order does not adjust automatically when your income drops. The amount stays fixed until a judge signs a new order. Every month of reduced income without a filed modification adds arrears that no future order can reach retroactively.

Also note the 6% annual interest rate on unpaid Texas child support — a Texas-specific figure that isn't well-known. Every dollar of arrears in Texas grows at 6% per year until paid. Unlike most other debt, child support arrears cannot be discharged in bankruptcy. The balance is permanent until paid, negotiated, or formally addressed through a state compromise program.

If you have children with more than one person, the percentages adjust. The statute includes a table for obligors supporting children in multiple households — the percentages for each household are reduced proportionally to reflect total obligations. The court calculates this based on all existing child support orders and the number of children in each household.

The Texas Income Cap — What Happens Above $9,200 Per Month

Texas sets a cap on the net monthly resources subject to the guideline percentages. As of the most recent update, the cap is approximately $9,200 per month in net resources. Below that cap, the statute applies directly and predictably. Above it, courts have discretion.

If your net monthly income exceeds the cap, the formula stops at that number. The court applies the percentage to the cap as a floor. Then it decides whether more is appropriate based on the child's actual needs. More can be ordered — but it isn't automatic. The cap is the ceiling on what the formula controls. Above it, you're in judicial discretion territory.

ChildCustodyPros.com · Texas child support modification process — 6 steps from petition to new court order

The 6-step process shown here is the formal Texas modification route. You file. You serve the other party. Both sides exchange sworn financial statements. You attempt mediation. If that fails, the case goes to a hearing. Most Texas modifications never reach Step 5. When both parties agree on a new amount and have documentation to support it, the case resolves at mediation — no hearing needed.

The imputed income warning deserves a close read. Texas courts don't have to accept your reported income at face value. If you voluntarily reduced your hours, left a job without cause, or structured your income to look smaller — the court can assign income based on what you're capable of earning. The question isn't what you earn now. It's what you could reasonably earn given your education, work history, and the local job market. A Dad who earned $90,000 and now reports $30,000 without documentation of an involuntary change will face hard questions. Have a clear explanation. Have documentation to back it up. Document every element of a genuine income reduction — termination notice, unemployment filings, job search records — before filing a modification based on reduced income.

Private agreements — verbal or written — are not shown in this process for a reason. They don't exist in the legal framework. Only a court order modifies a court order. A co-parent who agreed by text to accept $400/month instead of $650/month has made a personal commitment, not a legal one. She can file for the full $650 in arrears the day after she accepted the $400, and the court will enforce the original order. The Texas family court system sees this situation regularly. The outcome for the Dad who paid the agreed informal amount is always the same: arrears for the difference plus interest.

Self-Employed in Texas — Why Your Tax Return Isn't the Number Courts Use

Self-employed Dads in Texas face a more complex calculation. Net resources for a self-employed person are calculated from the business's net profit — gross revenue minus legitimate business expenses. Texas courts apply the same skepticism to self-employment deductions that other states do. Depreciation, home office deductions, and personal vehicle expenses may not reduce the income figure the court uses.

For self-employed Dads, the income figure on a Schedule C tax return is often not the same as the net resources Texas courts use. Courts look at the actual earning capacity and the pattern of business income over prior years. Large Schedule C deductions that reduce reported income significantly will be reviewed carefully. Bring documentation for every expense you want the court to accept as a genuine reduction of available income.

Modifying Child Support in Texas — What Has to Change

Texas allows modification of child support under two distinct circumstances. Either one qualifies — you don't need both.

Circumstance 1 — Material and Substantial Change. This is the standard modification route in most states. In Texas, it requires showing that circumstances have changed materially and substantially since the order was entered. A significant income change, a change in custody, a new child obligation, or a significant change in the child's needs all qualify. The threshold is meaningful — minor fluctuations in income don't typically meet it.

Circumstance 2 — The Texas 3-Year Rule. Texas has its own modification trigger that differs from the federal 3-year review standard. Under Texas Family Code Section 156.401, if three years have passed since the last order was entered and the current amount differs from the guideline by 20% or $100 — whichever is less — a modification can be requested. No material change in circumstances is required. This is the most underused modification trigger in Texas family law.

What the Texas OAG Does When You Stop Paying — And How Fast It Moves

In Texas, the Office of the Attorney General handles child support enforcement. The OAG is one of the largest child support enforcement agencies in the country — Texas processes more child support cases than almost any other state. When payments stop, the OAG has significant tools at its disposal, and it uses them.

The OAG can issue income withholding orders to your employer without a court hearing. It can intercept your state and federal tax refunds. It can report arrears to credit bureaus. It can suspend your Texas driver's license, professional license, hunting and fishing licenses, and any other state-issued license when arrears reach a certain threshold. It can place liens on your property. And it can refer cases to the Texas Attorney General's Criminal Law Division for criminal prosecution of Dads who willfully avoid support while having the means to pay.

Criminal nonsupport in Texas is a state jail felony. It applies when arrears exceed $10,000 or have been outstanding for more than two years. The sentence: up to two years in a state jail facility. This isn't a theoretical consequence. The OAG actively pursues criminal cases.

Paying Through the Wrong Channel Creates Arrears That Don't Exist

Texas child support payments are processed through the Texas Child Support State Disbursement Unit (SDU). Payments go to: Texas Child Support Disbursement Unit, P.O. Box 659791, San Antonio, TX 78265. Most Texas parents pay through income withholding — the employer remits directly to the SDU. If you're self-employed or your employer doesn't withhold, you pay directly to the SDU online, by mail, or through approved payment methods.

Never pay your co-parent directly in cash or through informal transfers. Texas courts look at the SDU records. If your payment doesn't appear in those records, it may as well not have happened. Every dollar that doesn't go through the official system is a dollar that could appear as arrears in an enforcement action even if your co-parent received it.

The Three Things About Texas That Catch Out-of-State Dads Off Guard

Texas is a percentage of income state in a majority income-shares world. Most Dads moving to Texas from another state are surprised to learn their co-parent's income doesn't factor into the calculation. A Dad earning $80,000/year in an income-shares state would pay a different amount depending on whether his co-parent earns $30,000 or $80,000. In Texas, the calculation is the same either way — it's 20% of his net resources regardless.

Texas uses net income as the base, not gross. This creates a more predictable calculation — but it also means deductions matter more. Getting your net resources figure right before any hearing or filing is critical. Using gross income instead of net — or vice versa — produces a meaningfully different number and can result in a modification being approved or denied based on a calculation error rather than facts.

The 3-year rule is Texas-specific. It's also underused. Most Dads with an order older than three years have never run the current guideline calculation. They don't know whether the gap exceeds $100/month. At many income levels, modest income changes over three years clear that threshold easily. That makes a modification available — no material change required. Most Dads eligible under this rule don't know they qualify until someone tells them to check.

Your Texas Order Is Based on a Net Income Figure.
Is That Figure Still Correct?