How long child support lasts in Texas (2026)

When does child support end in Texas?

Texas Family Code § 154.001(a) lets a court order support:

• until the child is 18 or graduates from high school, whichever occurs later;
• until the child is emancipated through marriage, through removal of the disabilities of minority by court order, or by other operation of law;
• until the child’s death; or
• for an indefinite period if the child is disabled as defined in chapter 154.

Does child support continue after 18 if the child is still in high school?

Yes, under conditions. Section 154.002 allows support past the 18th birthday only while the child is:

1. enrolled in an accredited secondary school in a program toward a high school diploma, in courses for joint high school and junior college credit, or full time in a private secondary school toward a diploma; and
2. complying with the minimum attendance requirements of the Education Code or of the private school.

A request for support through graduation can be filed before or after the 18th birthday, and the order may provide that payments continue through the end of the month in which the child graduates (§ 154.002(b) and (c)). The statute sets no separate age limit. Instead, § 154.006(a)(4) ends the order when a court finds that a child of 18 or older has not met the enrollment or attendance requirements.

What events end a Texas child support order?

Unless the parents agreed otherwise in writing or the order says otherwise, § 154.006(a) says the order terminates on:

• the child’s marriage;
• the removal of the child’s disabilities for general purposes;
• the child’s death;
• a court finding that the child is 18 or older and is not meeting the enrollment or attendance requirements;
• an order terminating the parent-child relationship after genetic testing excludes the paying parent as the genetic parent; or
• the child beginning active service in the United States armed forces.

Under § 154.006(b), current support also ends if the parents marry or remarry each other, unless a nonparent or agency has been appointed conservator.

What happens when support ends for one of several children?

The amount steps down to the guideline for the remaining children. Section 154.127 requires an order for more than one child to state the events that end support for each child and the reduced total payable after each one. For a paying parent on wages of $6,000 a month:

Children still covered	Guideline a month
2	$1,239.21
1	$991.37

The step down amounts in an order are set when the order is made.

Can child support continue for an adult disabled child?

Yes. Under § 154.302, a court may order either or both parents to support a child for an indefinite period if the child, whether institutionalized or not, requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a mental or physical disability and will not be capable of self-support, and the disability, or its known cause, existed on or before the 18th birthday. The court names who receives the support, which can be a parent, a guardian, the adult child, or, outside Title IV-D cases, a special needs trust.

Does child support end if the parent receiving it dies?

No. The obligation continues for the benefit of the child named in the order (§ 154.013), and the statute says who receives the payments, such as a managing conservator or the person who has taken on the child’s care.

What about overpayments and unpaid support after support ends?

• If the paying parent is not behind and the obligation has ended, the parent who received support must return any payment above the ordered amount; a court can order costs and fees if it is not returned (§ 154.012, amended in 2025).
• Unpaid support is not cancelled when current support ends. The Office of the Attorney General states that unpaid child support carries 6 percent interest.
• A court keeps jurisdiction to order retroactive support if the petition is filed no later than the fourth anniversary of the child’s 18th birthday (§ 154.131(f)).

Open this family in the Texas calculator

What this guide does not cover

This guide does not cover how payments and wage withholding are stopped in practice, enforcement of arrears, or support agreements that extend past the statutory end. The calculator shows the guideline amount for the children covered, not the end date. 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, and an existing order only changes when it is modified.