Child support guides
Plain answers about child support in Texas, New York and Virginia: how each state's guideline works, the situations that change the amount, and how the states compare. Every figure is computed by the same engine as the calculators, dated, and linked to the law it comes from. The guides describe the law; they are not legal advice.
State guides
Each state's guideline from start to finish, with every scenario linked.
- New York child support: how the guideline works (2026)New York sets child support with the Child Support Standards Act: a fixed percentage of both parents' combined income, after certain deductions, up to $193,000 a year, shared between the parents in proportion to their incomes. The other parent pays their share to the parent the children live with most, plus a share of child care and health costs, and a court may depart from that amount only for reasons the law lists.
- Texas child support guidelines (2026)Texas child support is a percentage of the paying parent's monthly net resources: 20% for one child, 25% for two, rising to 40% for five or more, applied to net resources up to $11,700 a month. Net resources are income after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and a few other deductions. Medical and dental support for the children is ordered on top.
- Virginia child support: the guideline from start to finish (2026)Virginia uses an income shares guideline. Both parents' monthly gross incomes are added, the schedule in Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 gives the basic amount for that income and number of children, the children's health insurance and work related child care are added, and the total is split by each parent's share of income. A shared custody formula applies above 90 days a year with each parent, and a court can order a different amount only with written findings.
- Virginia calculatorEnter your numbers and see every step of Virginia's formula.
- Texas calculatorEnter your numbers and see every step of Texas's formula.
- New York calculatorEnter your numbers and see every step of New York's formula.
Comparisons
The same family in two states, side by side.
- Which state has higher child support? Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)No state is always higher: it depends on the family. Texas takes a percentage of the paying parent's net income, New York a percentage of both parents' combined income split by income share, and Virginia uses an income shares schedule with a shared custody formula. For two children with incomes of $4,000 and $6,000 a month, the guideline is $1,239.21 in Texas, $1,385.25 in New York and $1,094.40 in Virginia.
- New York vs Virginia child support: which state is higher? (2026)For most middle income families New York's guideline is higher. For two children with incomes of $4,000 and $6,000 a month it is $1,385.25 in New York and $1,094.40 in Virginia, and New York support runs to 21 rather than 18. Virginia can come out lower still with shared custody, which its formula uses and New York's does not, while at very high incomes Virginia, which has no cap, can be higher.
- Texas vs New York child support: which state is higher? (2026)For a typical middle income family New York's guideline is higher than Texas's. For two children and a paying parent earning $6,000 a month, it is $1,385.25 in New York and $1,239.21 in Texas, and the gap widens when there is child care, which New York adds and Texas does not. At low incomes the order flips: New York's low income rules can bring support far below the Texas amount.
- Texas vs Virginia child support: which state is higher? (2026)It depends mostly on two things: the income of the parent the children live with, and custody time. Texas looks only at the paying parent's net income, so for two children and a paying parent earning $6,000 a month it is $1,239.21 whatever the other parent earns. Virginia uses both incomes and is $1,094.40 when the other parent earns $4,000, and $258.86 with 182 days a year of shared time. When the parent the children live with has no income, or at very high incomes, Virginia can be higher.
- Every state at the same numbersOne family in every formula the calculator covers, side by side.
Situations
Shared custody, high and low incomes, more children, costs, and orders over time.
- Back child support (arrears) in New York: interest, enforcement and jail (2026)Back child support (arrears) in New York stays owed: a court cannot reduce or cancel arrears that built up before a modification was asked for (Family Court Act § 451(1)). The court enters a money judgment for the arrears, with interest at the judgment rate of nine percent a year when the default was willful, and the Child Support Program collects through income withholding, driver's and professional license suspension, tax refund intercepts, liens, bank freezes and, above 2,500 dollars, passport denial. A willful violation can mean up to six months in jail, and non-support of a child is a crime under Penal Law § 260.05.
- Back child support (arrears) in Texas (2026)In Texas, every missed child support payment is a final judgment, and the unpaid amount carries simple interest of 6 percent a year until it is paid or confirmed as a money judgment, which then carries the same rate (Texas Family Code §§ 157.261 and 157.265). Arrears can be collected by income withholding, liens, license suspension, federal tax refund intercept and passport denial, and enforced by contempt with jail. A court cannot forgive or reduce confirmed arrears, and the right to collect continues after the child turns 18.
- Back child support (arrears) in Virginia: interest, enforcement and jail (2026)In Virginia, each child support payment that is not paid when due becomes a judgment by operation of law, and the arrears carry interest at the judgment rate of six percent a year unless the parent owed support waives it in writing (Code of Virginia §§ 20-60.3, 20-78.2, 6.2-302). Arrears are collected through income withholding, liens, tax refund offsets, credit reporting and license suspension, and a court can jail a parent for up to 12 months for contempt (§ 16.1-278.16). Arrears cannot be reduced retroactively, and they stay owed after the child turns 18 or 19.
- Changing a child support order in Texas (2026)A Texas court can modify a child support order in two cases: when the circumstances of the child or a person affected by the order have materially and substantially changed, or when it has been three years since the order was made or last modified and the monthly amount differs from the current guideline amount by either 20 percent or $100 (Texas Family Code § 156.401). Only a new order changes the amount; parents can apply to the Attorney General's Child Support Division for a review or file in court.
- Self-employed and imputed income in New York child support (2026)New York counts the income a parent reported, or should have reported, on the most recent federal tax return. For self-employed parents, accelerated depreciation and personal entertainment and travel deductions are added back. A court may also impute income: from resources such as assets, perks and money from family, or from former income if a parent reduced their income to avoid support. Imputation requires specific written findings based on the parent's circumstances (Family Court Act § 413(1)(b)(5)).
- Low-income child support in New York: the minimum and the self-support reserve (2026)If paying the guideline amount would leave the paying parent's income below the federal poverty guideline for one person ($15,960 a year), New York sets the basic obligation at $25 a month. If it would leave that parent below the self-support reserve ($21,546 a year) but above the poverty line, the basic obligation is $50 a month or the income above the reserve, whichever is greater. Both come from Family Court Act § 413(1)(d).
- Modifying a child support order in New York (2026)A New York child support order can be modified when there is a substantial change in circumstances, when three years have passed since it was entered, last modified or adjusted, or when either parent's gross income has changed by 15 percent or more since then (Family Court Act § 451(3); Domestic Relations Law § 236(B)(9)(b)(2)). Parents can opt out of the three-year and 15 percent grounds in a validly executed agreement or stipulation. Separately, the Child Support Program reviews orders it handles every two years for a cost of living adjustment.
- How a Virginia child support order is changed (2026)A Virginia child support order changes only when a court revises it, either on a parent's petition or after a review by the Division of Child Support Enforcement (DCSE), and the court needs a material change in circumstances. A change can reach back only to the date the other parent was given notice of the petition (Code of Virginia § 20-108). In DCSE reviews, a material change is deemed to exist when the guideline amount differs from the current order by at least 10 percent and at least 25 dollars a month (§ 63.2-1921 C).
- Child support with shared or 50/50 custody in New York (2026)Yes, child support can still be owed with shared or 50/50 custody in New York. The guideline has no shared custody formula: the parent the children live with most is treated as the one who receives support, and the other parent's share is worked out with the usual percentages. When time is truly equal, the appellate courts treat the parent with the larger share of combined income as the paying parent, and a court can depart from the guideline for reasons the statute lists, including the costs of extended time with the children.
- Child support above New York's combined income cap (2026)New York applies its child support percentages to combined parental income up to $193,000 a year, the cap in force since 1 March 2026. On income above that, Family Court Act § 413(1)(c)(3) leaves the amount to the court, which decides using the factors in paragraph (f) and/or the child support percentage. The cap is not a limit on support: it is the point where the fixed formula stops.
- Health insurance, child care and education costs in New York child support (2026)New York adds three kinds of costs to basic child support. Reasonable child care costs while the parent the children live with works or studies toward work are shared in proportion to income and must be added. The children's health insurance is shared the same way, along with medical costs insurance does not cover. Private, special, enriched or college education costs may be added if the court finds them appropriate.
- Child support for several children and other families in New York (2026)New York's percentage of combined parental income rises with the number of children: 17% for one, 25% for two, 29% for three, 31% for four and no less than 35% for five or more. Child support a parent actually pays for children in another family under an order or written agreement is deducted from that parent's income first, and the needs of other children can be a reason for a different amount.
- Self-employment, imputed income and what counts in Texas (2026)In Texas, self-employment income counts after the ordinary and necessary expenses needed to produce it, and a court may exclude depreciation or other expenses it finds inappropriate (Texas Family Code § 154.065). If a parent earns significantly less than they could because of intentional unemployment or underemployment, the court may apply the guideline to earning potential (§ 154.066); with no evidence of income at all, it presumes the federal minimum wage for a 40 hour week (§ 154.068).
- Child support above the income cap in Texas (2026)Since 1 September 2025 the Texas guideline applies to the paying parent's net resources up to $11,700 a month. For one child that caps the guideline at $2,340.00 a month. A court may order more than the guideline only depending on the parents' incomes and the proven needs of the child, and never more than the greater of the guideline amount or the child's proven needs (Texas Family Code § 154.126).
- Child support for more than one child in Texas (2026)In Texas the guideline percentage rises with each child: 20% of the paying parent's net resources for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four and at least 40% for five or more (Texas Family Code § 154.125). When the paying parent also supports children in another household, the court gives a credit for those children first (§ 154.128) or uses the multiple family table (§ 154.129).
- Child support on a low income in Texas (2026)When the paying parent's net resources are under $1,000 a month, Texas uses a low-income table: 15% of net resources for one child instead of 20% (Texas Family Code § 154.125(c)). When there is no evidence of a parent's income, the court presumes the federal minimum wage for a 40 hour week (§ 154.068), which the 2026 tax charts put at $1,256.67 a month gross.
- Shared custody and child support in Texas (2026)Texas has no shared custody formula. The guideline is a percentage of the paying parent's net resources whatever the possession schedule, and joint managing conservators can still be ordered to pay each other support (Texas Family Code § 153.138). The time children spend with each parent is one of the factors a court weighs when it decides whether to order a different amount (§ 154.123(b)(4)).
- Health insurance, dental and child care in Texas child support (2026)Texas orders medical and dental support for the children in addition to guideline child support (Texas Family Code § 154.064). The court orders health insurance through a parent's job when it costs no more than 9 percent of the paying parent's annual resources; if the parent the children live with provides it, the other parent pays that cost as additional support. Child care and custody days are not part of the Texas formula, but both are listed reasons a court can vary from it (§ 154.123).
- Child support for more than one child in Virginia (2026)Virginia's schedule has a column for each number of children from one to six, and each extra child adds less than the one before. For the same family, two children cost more than one but not twice as much: with incomes of $4,000 and $6,000 a month, the guideline is $750.60 for one child and $1,094.40 for two. Children from other relationships are handled by deductions from income, and split custody has its own formula.
- Child support above the Virginia schedule (2026)Virginia's schedule stops at $42,500 of combined monthly gross income, but support does not. Above that, the schedule amount at $42,500 is increased by a fixed percentage of the combined income above it: 2.6% for one child, 3.4% for two and 3.8% for three. The total is then split by income share like any other Virginia case.
- Health insurance, medical bills and child care in Virginia child support (2026)Virginia adds the cost of the children's health, dental and vision coverage, and child care needed because the parent the children live with works, to the basic obligation from the schedule. The total is split by income share, and a parent who pays the premium directly gets credit for it. Reasonable and necessary medical and dental bills that insurance does not cover are also shared in proportion to income, but outside the monthly amount (Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 D, E, F, G).
- Self-employment and imputed income in Virginia child support (2026)For a self-employed parent, Virginia counts gross receipts minus reasonable business expenses, and deducts half of any self-employment tax paid; the parent claiming the expenses has to prove them (Code of Virginia § 20-108.2 C). When a parent is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed, a court can base support on the income that parent could earn, within limits set by § 20-108.1 B 3.
- Child support at low incomes in Virginia (2026)At low incomes Virginia uses the bottom rows of its schedule, and when the sole custody amount would fall below what § 20-108.2 B calls the statutory minimum, that minimum is presumed instead. The subsection does not state a dollar figure; the words stand for the schedule's lowest amount for the number of children, $68 a month for one child. A court can set a lower amount when the paying parent's gross income is at or below 150 percent of the federal poverty level and there is no ability to pay, and some parents are exempt from the minimum altogether.
- Shared custody child support in Virginia (2026)Virginia uses its shared custody formula when each parent has the children for more than 90 days a year. The schedule amount is multiplied by 1.4, each parent owes their share for the time the children spend with the other parent, and the difference is paid. The shared figure applies unless a parent shows the sole custody figure is lower.
- How long child support lasts in New York (2026)In New York, parents must support a child until the child turns 21, not 18 (Family Court Act § 413(1)(a)). Support can end earlier if the child is emancipated, for example by marrying, joining the military, or being 18 or older and working full time. For an adult with a developmental disability who lives with and depends on a parent, support can be ordered until 26.
- How long child support lasts in Texas (2026)Texas child support usually lasts until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later (Texas Family Code § 154.001). Support past 18 requires the child to be enrolled in high school and meeting attendance requirements (§ 154.002). It ends earlier if the child marries, is emancipated by court order, dies or starts active military service, and it can continue indefinitely for a child with a disability (§§ 154.006 and 154.302).
- When child support ends in Virginia (2026)Virginia child support generally ends when the child turns 18. It continues past 18 for a child who is a full time high school student, not self supporting, and living in the home of the parent receiving support, until the child turns 19 or graduates from high school, whichever comes first (Code of Virginia § 20-124.2 C). A court can also order support for an adult child with a severe and permanent disability that began before 18, and parents can agree to extend support.
By income
The guideline amount at a range of incomes.
- New York child support by income: tables for 1 to 5 children (2026)New York guideline support is a fixed percentage of both parents' combined income, after Social Security and Medicare taxes, up to $193,000 a year, shared by income. Below the cap, the other parent's share works out to that percentage of their own income after those taxes: for example $784.98 a month for one child at $5,000 a month, and $1,154.38 for two.
- Texas child support by income (2026)Texas child support is 20% of the paying parent's net resources for one child, 25% for two and 30% for three, so it rises with income until net resources reach $11,700 a month. On a salary of $50,000 a year, the 2026 guideline for one child is $705.92 a month; on $100,000 it is $1,319.67.
- Virginia child support by income (2026)Virginia child support depends on both parents' gross incomes and the number of children. When the other parent earns $5,000 a month ($60,000 a year) and the parent the children live with earns $4,000, the guideline is $664.44 a month for one child and $977.78 for two, before health insurance, child care or shared custody. The tables below give the amount at other incomes.
Moving and other states
Which state sets the order when parents live apart.
- Child support when parents live in different statesWhen parents live in different states, the court that sets support applies its own state's law and guideline (Texas Family Code § 159.303). A state can make an order against a parent who lives elsewhere only on one of the jurisdiction bases in the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act (§ 159.201); otherwise the case is heard in the other parent's state, with the two states' child support agencies working together. An order from another state is registered to be enforced, and in Texas the other party has 30 days after notice to contest it (§ 159.605).
- Moving to another state: what happens to a child support orderMoving to another state does not change an existing child support order. The state that issued it keeps continuing, exclusive jurisdiction to modify it as long as either parent or the child still lives there, or the parents agree otherwise (28 U.S.C. § 1738B; Texas Family Code § 159.205). Once all of them have left, the order is usually modified in the state where the parent not asking for the change lives. The new state's guideline then sets the amount, but how long support lasts stays governed by the law of the state that issued the original controlling order (§ 159.611).
Explainers
How guidelines work, what counts as income, and how support and taxes interact.
- Child support and your tax refund: the offset rules (2026)Yes. Under 42 U.S.C. § 664, the Treasury withholds a federal tax refund to pay past-due child support that a state child support agency has certified, and sends the money to that state. A case qualifies when at least $150 is owed on support assigned to the state for public assistance, or at least $500 in other cases (45 CFR 303.72). The state must send a notice first that explains how to contest the amount, and a spouse on a joint return can claim their share back with IRS Form 8379.
- Does 50/50 custody mean no child support? Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)No. In Texas, New York and Virginia, equal time with each parent does not by itself end child support. Only Virginia's guideline uses the number of days: above 90 days a year with each parent, a shared custody formula lowers support, and with equal time the parent who earns more usually pays the difference. Texas and New York apply their usual formula; in Texas, parenting time is a factor a court may weigh to depart from it, and New York's statute has no shared custody formula, but with truly equal time its appellate courts make the parent with the larger income share the paying parent.
- How child support is calculatedEvery state sets a guideline formula in law, and courts apply it unless they find it unjust or inappropriate. The formula takes the parents' income (gross or net, one parent's or both), turns it into a base amount with a percentage or a schedule, adds some costs such as child care and health insurance, and in some states adjusts for parenting time and very low or high incomes. Texas, New York and Virginia each do these steps differently, so the same family gets a different figure in each.
- Income shares vs percentage of income: how child support models differ (2026)A percentage of income model sets support as a fixed share of the paying parent's income, and the other parent's income does not enter the formula. An income shares model starts from both parents' combined income, finds the basic support amount the guideline sets for that income, and splits it in proportion to each parent's income. Texas uses a percentage of the paying parent's net resources, Virginia uses income shares, and New York applies a fixed percentage to both parents' combined income and splits it by income.
- Child support and taxes: what the IRS says (2026)Child support is neither taxable nor deductible under federal tax law: the IRS says child support payments are not deductible by the parent who pays them and not taxable to the parent who receives them. Who claims the child is a separate question. The IRS treats the parent the child lived with for more nights in the year as the one entitled to claim the child; that parent can release the child tax credit to the other parent with Form 8332, but head of household status, the earned income credit and the child care credit stay with the parent the child lived with.
- What counts as income for child support in Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)All three states count wages, bonuses, self-employment income, investment income and most benefits, such as unemployment, workers' compensation, Social Security and pensions. They differ on the starting point and the deductions: Texas uses net resources after federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax; New York uses gross income on the tax return minus Social Security, Medicare, New York City or Yonkers taxes and a few other items; Virginia uses gross income. All three exclude supplemental security income or deduct it, and all three let a court count income a parent could earn but does not.
Guides for each state
Virginia
- Back child support (arrears) in Virginia: interest, enforcement and jail (2026)
- Child support and your tax refund: the offset rules (2026)
- Child support when parents live in different states
- Does 50/50 custody mean no child support? Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)
- How child support is calculated
- Income shares vs percentage of income: how child support models differ (2026)
- Child support and taxes: what the IRS says (2026)
- How a Virginia child support order is changed (2026)
- Moving to another state: what happens to a child support order
- New York vs Virginia child support: which state is higher? (2026)
- Texas vs Virginia child support: which state is higher? (2026)
- Virginia child support by income (2026)
- Child support for more than one child in Virginia (2026)
- Child support above the Virginia schedule (2026)
- Health insurance, medical bills and child care in Virginia child support (2026)
- Self-employment and imputed income in Virginia child support (2026)
- Child support at low incomes in Virginia (2026)
- Shared custody child support in Virginia (2026)
- What counts as income for child support in Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)
- When child support ends in Virginia (2026)
- Virginia calculator
Texas
- Back child support (arrears) in Texas (2026)
- Child support and your tax refund: the offset rules (2026)
- Child support when parents live in different states
- Does 50/50 custody mean no child support? Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)
- How child support is calculated
- Changing a child support order in Texas (2026)
- Income shares vs percentage of income: how child support models differ (2026)
- Child support and taxes: what the IRS says (2026)
- Moving to another state: what happens to a child support order
- Self-employment, imputed income and what counts in Texas (2026)
- Texas child support by income (2026)
- Child support above the income cap in Texas (2026)
- Child support for more than one child in Texas (2026)
- Child support on a low income in Texas (2026)
- Shared custody and child support in Texas (2026)
- Health insurance, dental and child care in Texas child support (2026)
- Texas vs New York child support: which state is higher? (2026)
- Texas vs Virginia child support: which state is higher? (2026)
- What counts as income for child support in Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)
- How long child support lasts in Texas (2026)
- Texas calculator
New York
- Back child support (arrears) in New York: interest, enforcement and jail (2026)
- Child support and your tax refund: the offset rules (2026)
- Child support when parents live in different states
- Does 50/50 custody mean no child support? Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)
- How child support is calculated
- Self-employed and imputed income in New York child support (2026)
- Income shares vs percentage of income: how child support models differ (2026)
- Child support and taxes: what the IRS says (2026)
- Low-income child support in New York: the minimum and the self-support reserve (2026)
- Modifying a child support order in New York (2026)
- Moving to another state: what happens to a child support order
- Child support with shared or 50/50 custody in New York (2026)
- Child support above New York's combined income cap (2026)
- New York child support by income: tables for 1 to 5 children (2026)
- Health insurance, child care and education costs in New York child support (2026)
- New York vs Virginia child support: which state is higher? (2026)
- Child support for several children and other families in New York (2026)
- Texas vs New York child support: which state is higher? (2026)
- What counts as income for child support in Texas, New York and Virginia (2026)
- How long child support lasts in New York (2026)
- New York calculator