Child Support in Texas — The Complete Guide

The Purpose of Child Support in Texas

Child support in Texas is based on a straightforward principle: both parents share a financial obligation to their children, and that obligation does not end because the parents’ relationship did. The Texas child support guidelines ensure that children maintain a reasonable standard of living in both households regardless of which parent they are with at any given time.

How Texas Child Support Is Calculated

Texas uses a percentage of income model based primarily on the net monthly resources of the obligor — the parent ordered to pay support.

Step 1: Determine Gross Monthly Income

Gross income includes virtually all sources (Tex. Fam. Code §154.062), including wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, self-employment income, overtime, rental income, interest and dividends, pension and retirement income, Social Security, disability, workers’ compensation, and unemployment benefits.

Step 2: Calculate Net Monthly Resources

From gross income, the following are deducted:

• Social Security taxes
• Federal income tax (based on a single person claiming one exemption)
• Health insurance premiums paid for the child
• Non-discretionary retirement contributions

Step 3: Apply the Guideline Percentages

Self-Employed Parents

Self-employment presents some of the most contested child support issues in Texas. For self-employed obligors, courts look at gross receipts minus ordinary and necessary expenses. Courts can and do impute income when they find a self-employed parent is artificially reducing reported income through:

• Excessive business expenses that are actually personal
• Running personal expenses through the business
• Voluntarily taking a reduced salary while the business retains profits
• Structuring business ownership to obscure true income

Imputed Income — When Courts Assign Income

Texas courts can impute income to an obligor who is voluntarily unemployed or underemployed. If the court finds that a parent is capable of earning more than they currently earn — and has reduced their income in bad faith or without justification — the court can calculate support based on what the parent could earn rather than what they currently report.

This is an important protection against a common high-conflict tactic: quitting a job, taking a significant pay cut, or reducing hours strategically to lower child support obligations ahead of or during litigation.

Medical and Dental Support

Texas courts order both parents to contribute to the cost of health insurance and medical care for their children. The parent with access to the most affordable employer-sponsored coverage is typically ordered to carry it, with the premium factored into the child support calculation.

Uninsured medical expenses — costs not covered by insurance — are typically split between the parents, usually 50/50 or proportionally, as specified in the court order. Courts also frequently order dental support requiring one parent to maintain dental insurance for the children.

Deviating from the Guidelines

The guideline amounts are presumed to be in the best interest of the child, but courts may order above or below guidelines when evidence warrants (Tex. Fam. Code §154.122). Factors that can justify deviation include:

• The age and special needs of the child
• Significant educational expenses
• Travel costs for possession and access
• The amount of time each parent spends with the child
• Other children the obligor is supporting
• The financial resources and earning potential of each parent

How Child Support Is Paid in Texas

Texas child support is almost always collected through income withholding — withheld directly from the obligor’s paycheck by their employer and remitted to the Texas Child Support Disbursement Unit (SDU), which forwards payment to the receiving parent. Income withholding is the default and provides an automatic enforcement mechanism.

Modifying Child Support in Texas

Child support can be modified when there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances since the last order (Tex. Fam. Code §156.401). Common triggering circumstances include:

• A significant increase or decrease in either parent’s income
• A change in the child’s medical needs or insurance coverage
• A change in the child’s primary residence
• The passage of three years and the current amount differs from the guideline by at least 20% or $100

Child Support Enforcement in Texas

Texas has some of the most robust child support enforcement mechanisms in the country.

When Does Child Support End in Texas?

Texas child support automatically terminates when the child:

• Turns 18 years of age and graduates from high school — whichever is later (Tex. Fam. Code §154.002)
• Marries or becomes legally emancipated
• Dies

If a child is still enrolled in high school at age 18, support continues until graduation or age 19, whichever comes first. Children who are disabled and cannot support themselves may receive indefinite support under a court order.

Child Support and High-Conflict Co-Parenting

In high-conflict situations, child support frequently becomes a battleground. Common tactics include:

The best protection against all of these tactics is documentation, experienced legal representation, and routing all payments through the official Texas SDU system so there is an unimpeachable payment record.