Texas child support guidelines (2026)

Texas uses a percentage of income guideline. The court works out the monthly net resources of the parent who will pay support and applies a fixed percentage for the number of children. The guideline is in Texas Family Code chapter 154, subchapter C, and the amount it produces is presumed reasonable and in the child’s best interest (§ 154.122). The figures on this page apply the guideline in force on the date shown with each result, using the Attorney General’s 2026 tax charts.

How is child support calculated in Texas?

The guideline has five steps:

1. Gross resources. Add up the paying parent’s income: wages, salary, overtime, commissions, tips and bonuses, plus self-employment, rental and investment income and most other income actually received (§ 154.062(b)). Gross income is worked out for the year, then averaged per month (§ 154.061(a)).
2. Net resources. Subtract federal income tax for a single person with the standard deduction, Social Security and Medicare, state income tax, union dues, and the cost of the children’s health and dental insurance paid by that parent (§ 154.062(d)).
3. The cap. If net resources are above $11,700 a month, the percentage applies to that amount only (§ 154.126).
4. The percentage. Apply the percentage for the number of children before the court. A lower table applies when net resources are under $1,000 a month (§ 154.125).
5. Medical and dental support. The court also orders health and dental coverage, or cash medical support, in addition to the guideline amount (§ 154.064).

Here is the whole calculation for one family, with the arithmetic written out by the engine:

Two children, the other parent paid in wages

In Texas: 2 children; the other parent earns $6,000 a month before tax.

1. Take off taxes§§ 154.061 and 154.062, net resources

   $6,000 gross − $372.00 Social Security − $87.00 Medicare − $584.17 federal income tax = $4,956.83 of net resources a month.

   $4,956.83

2. Apply the guideline for 2 children§ 154.125, guideline percentages and cap

   $4,956.83 × 25% = $1,239.21.

   $1,239.21 a month

What percentage of income is child support in Texas?

Section 154.125 sets two tables, one for net resources of $1,000 a month or more and one for less:

Children before the court	Net resources at or above the line	Net resources below the line
1	20%	15%
2	25%	20%
3	30%	25%
4	35%	30%
5	40%	35%
6 or more	not less than the amount for 5 children	not less than the amount for 5 children

These tables are for a parent whose children all live in one household. When the paying parent also has a legal duty to support children in another household, the court uses the multiple household computation in §§ 154.128 and 154.129 instead. The multiple children guide explains both.

What is the Texas child support chart?

There is no single dollar chart in the statute. What people call the Texas child support chart is two things used together:

1. The percentage chart in § 154.125, shown in the table above: the share of net resources for each number of children, with a lower table under $1,000 a month.
2. The Attorney General’s tax charts, which § 154.061(b) requires the Title IV-D agency to publish every year. They turn monthly gross wages into net resources by subtracting Social Security, Medicare and federal income tax for a single person with the standard deduction. The 2026 tax charts have one chart for employed people and one for self-employed people, and a footnote with the current cap of $11,700 a month.

The calculator on this site uses the same arithmetic as the employed persons chart; the Texas calculator page shows how its net resources are checked against the tax charts. The table in the next section is the chart turned into dollar amounts at a range of wages.

How much is child support at different incomes?

The guideline amount by the paying parent’s monthly wages, before tax:

Wages only, with net resources from the 2026 tax charts. Income other than wages, and deductions other than federal tax, Social Security and Medicare, change the result.

Other parent's income a month	1 child	2 children	3 children
$2,500	$438.08	$547.61	$657.13
$4,000	$679.13	$848.92	$1,018.70
$6,000	$991.37	$1,239.21	$1,487.05
$8,000	$1,272.77	$1,590.96	$1,909.15
$10,000	$1,554.17	$1,942.71	$2,331.25
$15,713.51	$2,340.00	$2,925.00	$3,510.00
$20,000	$2,340.00	$2,925.00	$3,510.00

The Texas child support by income guide has a longer table, including yearly salaries.

What counts as net resources?

Section 154.062 counts 100 percent of wages and salary, including commissions, overtime, tips and bonuses, and also interest, dividends, royalties, self-employment income, net rental income, and other income actually received, such as severance, pensions, retirement benefits, Social Security benefits other than Supplemental Security Income, unemployment benefits, gifts and prizes, and spousal maintenance or alimony. Return of principal, accounts receivable, TANF and other federal public assistance, and foster care payments are not counted.

Self-employment income is business income less ordinary and necessary expenses (§ 154.065). When a court finds a parent is intentionally unemployed or underemployed, it may apply the guideline to what that parent could earn (§ 154.066), and when there is no evidence of income at all, it presumes the federal minimum wage for a 40 hour week (§ 154.068). The self-employed and imputed income guide covers these rules.

A new spouse’s income is never added to either parent’s net resources (§ 154.069).

What is the maximum child support in Texas?

The guidelines apply to net resources up to an amount the Attorney General publishes in the Texas Register and adjusts every six years for inflation (§ 154.125(a) and (a-1)). Since 1 September 2025 that cap is $11,700 a month (from 1 Sep 2025; Texas OAG 2026 tax charts (net resources cap effective 1 September 2025, in the chart's footnotes), checked 31 Oct 2026).

Above the cap, the court applies the percentage to the capped amount and may order more only “depending on the income of the parties and the proven needs of the child” (§ 154.126). The high income guide shows how that works.

Does custody time or 50/50 possession change Texas child support?

Not in the arithmetic. The percentages in § 154.125 have no step for the time children spend with each parent, and naming both parents joint managing conservators does not stop the court ordering one to pay the other (§ 153.138).

Time with each parent matters in another way: the amount of possession and access is one of the factors a court must consider when deciding whether applying the guideline would be unjust or inappropriate (§ 154.123(b)(4)). The shared custody guide covers this.

Is health insurance included in Texas child support?

It is ordered on top. Texas guidelines assume the court will also order medical and dental support (§ 154.064). The court orders health insurance through a parent’s job if it is available at a reasonable cost, which for health insurance means not more than 9 percent of the paying parent’s annual resources (§§ 154.181(e) and 154.182). If the parent the children live with provides the insurance, the other parent pays that cost as additional child support, up to the same limit (§ 154.182(b-1)). Child care is not part of the formula, but work related child care is a listed reason to vary from it (§ 154.123(b)(6)). The health insurance and child care guide has the details.

How long does child support last in Texas?

Until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later, and for an indefinite period for a child with a disability (§ 154.001). Support past 18 requires the child to be enrolled and meeting attendance requirements (§ 154.002). The how long it lasts guide lists every event that ends an order.

How is a Texas child support order changed?

Only by a new order. A court may modify support when circumstances have materially and substantially changed, or when it has been three years since the order and the amount differs from the guideline by either 20 percent or $100 (§ 156.401). The Attorney General’s Child Support Division can review an open case on request. See the modifying an order guide.

What happens if child support is not paid in Texas?

Each missed payment becomes a judgment that carries 6 percent simple interest a year (§§ 157.261 and 157.265). The Attorney General or the parent owed support can collect it through income withholding, liens, license suspension, a federal tax refund intercept and passport denial, and a court can enforce the order by contempt, including jail. Arrears are not forgiven when the child turns 18. The back child support guide covers interest, each enforcement tool and the time limits, and the tax refund offset guide explains how a refund is taken and how to contest it.

What are the Texas child support phone numbers, online account and payment options?

All of these are run by the Office of the Attorney General, Child Support Division, the state’s child support agency:

What	Official contact	Notes
Phone	(800) 252-8014	Child support questions; the contact page also offers chat and an office locator
Online account	childsupport.oag.texas.gov	Case status, payment records, verification forms, court dates and contact details. Payments are not made here. Some older Attorney General pages still call it Child Support Interactive (CSI)
Local offices	Office locations	Child support offices across the state
Pay online, by card or e-wallet	Smart e-Pay, run by the Texas State Disbursement Unit	Credit and debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, Venmo or bank draft. A convenience fee applies; allow seven business days to post
Pay by phone	(855) 853-8286	Smart e-Pay by phone, with the same fee
Pay by mail	State Disbursement Unit (SDU), P.O. Box 659791, San Antonio, TX 78265	Check or money order payable to the Office of the Attorney General, with the 10 digit case number and the cause number
Pay with cash	Smart e-Pay cash locations and TouchPay kiosks	Retail stores and pharmacies, or a kiosk with the case number and last name. Fees apply
Other ways to pay	MoneyGram, wage withholding, bank autodraft	Listed on the Attorney General’s how to pay child support page
Request a review	Child Support Order Modification Request	Online, for an open case

Official law and tools:

• The guideline itself: Texas Family Code chapter 154, and modification in chapter 156.
• The Attorney General’s 2026 tax charts, which courts use to turn gross wages into net resources, with a separate chart for self-employed people.
• The Attorney General’s own monthly child support calculator.
• How child support works and the support modification process at the Office of the Attorney General.

Open this family in the Texas calculator

What this guide does not cover

This page explains the guideline for children in one household. It does not cover paternity, enforcement beyond the summary above (see the back child support guide), retroactive support beyond a mention, or conservatorship and possession schedules except where they touch support. The engine also leaves out these parts of the Texas guideline:

• For children in one household. Children in more than one household are computed with a credit for the other children (154.128), or with the alternative table in 154.129; not modeled.
• Dental support (up to 1.5% of the paying parent's resources, 154.1825), cash medical support when no health insurance is available (154.182(b)(3)) and uninsured medical costs (154.183(c)) are ordered on top of this, not modeled.
• Self-employment income is not modeled. The engine deducts an employee's Social Security and Medicare; for self-employment income the Attorney General's self-employed chart deducts self-employment tax instead, which gives lower net resources.
• Net resources here only count wages. Other income and some deductions (154.062) are not modeled.

The figures are estimates of the guideline amount. A court can order a different amount when it finds the guideline unjust or inappropriate (§ 154.123), and an existing order only changes when it is modified.