Self-employment, imputed income and what counts in Texas (2026)

What income counts for child support in Texas?

Texas Family Code § 154.062(b) counts:

• 100 percent of wage and salary income and other pay for personal services, including commissions, overtime, tips and bonuses;
• interest, dividends and royalties;
• self-employment income;
• net rental income: rent after operating expenses and mortgage payments, without deducting depreciation;
• all other income actually received, including severance pay, retirement benefits, pensions, trust income, annuities, capital gains, Social Security benefits other than Supplemental Security Income, most Veterans Affairs disability benefits, unemployment, disability and workers’ compensation benefits, interest on notes, gifts and prizes, and spousal maintenance and alimony.

It does not count return of principal or capital, accounts receivable, TANF or other federal public assistance, or foster care payments (§ 154.062(c)).

How is self-employment income calculated?

Under § 154.065(a), self-employment income, positive or negative, includes benefits from a proprietorship, partnership, joint venture, close corporation, agency or independent contractor work, less the ordinary and necessary expenses required to produce it. Under § 154.065(b), the court may exclude amounts allowed as deductions for federal income tax, such as depreciation, tax credits or other business expenses, if the evidence shows they are inappropriate for working out the income available for support.

Each party must give the court information on net resources, including tax returns for the past two years, a financial statement and current pay stubs (§ 154.063).

How do taxes differ for a self-employed parent?

A self-employed parent pays both the employee and employer shares of Social Security and Medicare. The Attorney General’s 2026 tax charts therefore include a separate self-employed chart. In it, 6,000 dollars a month of self-employment income gives net monthly income of 4,661.32 dollars, while the employed chart gives 4,956.83 dollars for the same amount of wages.

The charts say they should not be used to estimate net income for owners of pass-through entities who take the qualified business income deduction, and that complex tax situations may need an income tax professional.

The calculator on this site computes net resources the way the employed chart does. Entering self-employment income as wages overstates net resources, so its figures do not apply to self-employed parents.

What is intentional underemployment in Texas?

Section 154.066(a): “If the actual income of the obligor is significantly less than what the obligor could earn because of intentional unemployment or underemployment, the court may apply the support guidelines to the earning potential of the obligor.” The court may consider evidence that the parent is a veteran seeking or receiving Veterans Affairs disability benefits (§ 154.066(b)), and it may not treat incarceration as intentional unemployment (§ 154.066(c)).

Applying the guideline to earning potential instead of actual income, for one child:

Monthly gross wages. If a court finds a parent could earn the higher figure, it may apply the guideline to that figure.

Other parent's income a month	1 child	2 children
$3,000	$518.43	$648.04
$4,000	$679.13	$848.92
$6,000	$991.37	$1,239.21

What does the court consider before imputing income?

The court relies on evidence of a parent’s resources where it can (§ 154.0655(b)). When there is none and it applies § 154.066 or § 154.068, it must consider relevant background circumstances (§ 154.0655(c)):

• the parent’s assets, residence, employment, earnings history, job skills, educational attainment, literacy, age, health, criminal history, barriers to employment and record of seeking work;
• job opportunities in the parent’s community;
• the prevailing wage in the community; and
• whether there are employers willing to hire the parent.

What is the minimum wage presumption?

When there is no evidence of a party’s resources, the court presumes income equal to the federal minimum wage for a 40 hour week (§ 154.068(a)). The Attorney General’s 2026 chart puts that at $1,256.67 a month gross, and the guideline for one child at that income is $232.11 a month. The presumption does not apply to a parent confined for more than 90 days at the time (§ 154.068(b)). The low income guide covers it in more detail.

Can income be assigned to assets?

Yes. The court may assign a reasonable amount of deemed income to assets that do not currently produce income, considering whether they could be sold without unreasonable loss, and to income-producing assets a party has voluntarily transferred or whose earnings were intentionally reduced (§ 154.067).

Open the earning potential example in the Texas calculator

What this guide does not cover

This guide does not cover how courts value a business, trace income, or decide which expenses are ordinary and necessary in a given case, and the calculator does not compute self-employment tax. 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.