Back child support (arrears) in Texas (2026)

Back child support, also called arrears or arrearages, is support that was ordered and not paid on time. Texas Family Code chapter 157 sets how it is confirmed, what interest it carries and how it is enforced. This guide describes those rules; it does not compute arrears, because the amount owed depends on the payment record of each case.

How much interest is charged on back child support in Texas?

Six percent simple interest a year (§ 157.265):

What is owed	Interest	From	Until
Delinquent support, on the part above one month’s support	6 percent simple, a year	The date the support is delinquent	It is paid, or confirmed as a money judgment
Arrears confirmed as a money judgment	6 percent simple, a year	The date the order is rendered	The judgment is paid
A judgment for retroactive or lump sum support	6 percent simple, a year	The date the order is rendered	The judgment is paid

A payment counts as delinquent for interest if the registry, the State Disbursement Unit or the person named in the order has not received it before the 31st day after the payment date in the order (§ 157.266). Accrued interest is part of the child support obligation and can be collected in all the same ways (§ 157.267).

Payments are applied in a fixed order: current support first, then support not yet delinquent, then unconfirmed arrears, then confirmed arrears, then interest, then fees and costs (§ 157.268). Interest is therefore paid after the principal.

Is there a back child support or arrears calculator for Texas?

Not on this site. The Coparent Math calculator works out the current guideline amount from income; it does not compute arrears or interest, which depend on the dates and amounts of every payment in a case. Parents with a case at the Attorney General’s office can see their payment records in the online account at childsupport.oag.texas.gov, and in court the payment record attached to an enforcement motion is the evidence of the dates, the payments, the accrued interest and the cumulative arrears (§ 157.162(c)).

Open the Texas calculator for the current guideline amount

How are child support arrears confirmed in Texas?

A child support payment that is not made on time is already a final judgment for the amount due, with interest (§ 157.261). To collect it as a court judgment, the parent owed support, the Attorney General or another enforcing party files a motion for enforcement asking for a money judgment. The court then confirms the arrears and renders a cumulative money judgment that includes (§ 157.263(b)):

• unpaid support not previously confirmed;
• the balance of any earlier arrears, retroactive or lump sum judgment;
• interest on the arrears;
• a statement that it is a cumulative judgment.

Medical and dental support arrears get their own cumulative judgments (§ 157.263(a)). The judgment can be enforced by any means available for a debt or for child support, and the court must order periodic payments on it, including by income withholding (§ 157.264).

What enforcement tools are used for back child support in Texas?

Tool	When it applies	Source
Income withholding	Up to half of disposable earnings in total. For arrears, an extra amount enough to clear them within two years, or 20 percent more than current support, whichever clears them sooner	Family Code §§ 158.003, 158.009
License suspension	Arrears of at least three months of support, after a repayment schedule was offered and not kept. Driver’s, professional, hunting and fishing licenses	Family Code § 232.003; Attorney General
Vehicle registration denial	No child support payment in more than six months; the renewal is blocked until payment arrangements are made	Attorney General
Child support lien	Arises by law on real and personal property for all support owed, with interest; the Attorney General lists bank accounts, retirement plans, life insurance, personal injury claims and insurance settlements	Family Code § 157.312; Attorney General
Federal tax refund intercept	Past-due support is taken from a federal tax refund through the Treasury Offset Program	42 U.S.C. § 664
Passport denial	Arrears certified at more than $2,500	42 U.S.C. § 652(k)
Contempt of court	A court order was not obeyed; see the next section	Family Code chapter 157, subchapter D

Texas has no state income tax (Texas Constitution article 8, § 24-a), so there is no state tax refund to intercept. The guide to child support and tax refunds covers the federal offset, its thresholds, how to contest it and the injured spouse claim.

Can you go to jail for not paying child support in Texas?

Yes, through contempt of court. When a motion for enforcement asks for contempt, the court sets a hearing and orders the parent to appear (§ 157.061). The Government Code sets the limits:

• Criminal contempt punishes past violations: up to six months in county jail and a fine of up to $500 for each violation (Government Code § 21.002(b)), with a cumulative limit of 18 months for the same matter (§ 21.002(h)).
• Civil contempt holds the parent until they comply with the order, for no longer than 18 months (§ 21.002(h)). The order must state the conditions for release (Family Code § 157.166(c)).

The court can place the parent on community supervision and suspend the jail term instead (§ 157.165). If jail is a possible result, a parent who cannot afford a lawyer is entitled to have one appointed (§ 157.163). A parent can defend against contempt by proving they could not pay, had no property to sell or borrow against, tried and failed to borrow, and knew of no other source of the money (§ 157.008(c)).

When is not paying child support a crime in Texas?

Criminal nonsupport is a separate offense under Penal Code § 25.05: intentionally or knowingly failing to support one’s child younger than 18, or a child covered by a support order. There is no dollar threshold. It is a state jail felony, punished by 180 days to two years in a state jail and a fine of up to $10,000 (Penal Code § 12.35). It is a defense that the parent could not provide support (§ 25.05(d)).

Federal law adds a crime when the child lives in another state. Willfully failing to pay support that has been unpaid for more than a year or is over $5,000 can bring up to six months for a first offense; unpaid for more than two years or over $10,000, up to two years (18 U.S.C. § 228). The court must order restitution of the full unpaid amount.

Can back child support be forgiven or reduced in Texas?

A court cannot do it. In confirming arrears, it “may not reduce or modify the amount of arrearages”, but it may allow a counterclaim or offset that the Family Code provides for (§ 157.263(b-3)). The Family Code provides for these:

• Voluntary relinquishment. If the parent owed support voluntarily gave the paying parent actual possession of the child for longer than the ordered possession periods, and the paying parent actually supported the child in that time, this is a defense in whole or in part, and the support provided can be claimed as an offset (§ 157.008(a), (b) and (d)).
• Disability benefits. A lump sum the child receives because of the paying parent’s disability, paid to the parent the children live with as representative payee, is credited against arrears and interest owed for that child (§ 157.009).

A modification does not reach back either: a new amount applies only to support that accrues after the other parent is served or appears in the modification suit (§ 156.401(b)). The guide to modifying a Texas order explains the timing. This guide could not confirm an arrears forgiveness program run by the Attorney General’s office, so it does not describe one.

Does back child support go away when the child turns 18 in Texas?

No. Support ending for the future does not end the debt. Section 157.005 keeps the court’s power to enforce, counted from the date the child becomes an adult or the date the support obligation ends:

Remedy	The motion must be filed within	Source
Contempt for not paying	two years	§ 157.005(a)
Confirming arrears and rendering a money judgment	ten years	§ 157.005(b)

Once rendered, a child support judgment does not become dormant, unlike other Texas judgments (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 34.001(c)), and the court keeps jurisdiction to enforce the order until all support, arrears, interest and fees are paid (Family Code § 157.269). When current support has ended, income withholding continues for the arrears, set to clear them within two years (§ 158.004).

Retroactive support for a period before any order existed is a separate claim, which can be filed up to the fourth anniversary of the child’s 18th birthday (§ 154.131). See the how long child support lasts in Texas guide.

What if the order or the other parent is in another state?

The law of the state that issued the order governs the computation of arrears and interest on them, and the longer of the two states’ time limits applies to collecting arrears (Family Code § 159.604). Wage withholding orders from another state can go directly to a Texas employer. The parents in different states guide covers registration and interstate enforcement.

What this guide does not cover

This guide does not compute arrears or interest, and it does not cover paternity, bankruptcy, the details of each enforcement procedure, credit reporting, or arrears owed to the state for public assistance. It describes the statute; it does not say how a particular court will rule.