TEXAS SUPPORT GUIDELINE
Texas child support calculator & worksheet
Texas Family Code chapter 154 uses a percentage of the obligor’s net resources—20 / 25 / 30 percent for one, two, or three children—with a statutory cap on net resources.
Current module status
| State | Texas |
|---|---|
| Status | Active base worksheet module |
| Guideline model | percentage obligor monthly net resources |
| Primary income field | Monthly net resources |
How Texas child support law works
Legal starting point. Texas Family Code chapter 154 uses a percentage-of-net-resources guideline rather than the typical income-shares table. The court determines net resources under the statute, applies the child-count percentage framework, and may depart when the statutory factors support it. Read Texas Family Code §§ 154.061–154.070.
How the guideline is calculated
The standard calculation begins with monthly net resources and the number of children before the court. The statutory cap, children in other households, low-income percentages, health care, possession arrangements, and a requested deviation require the complete Texas analysis.
What this site’s worksheet covers
Uses monthly net resources, not gross income. The standard guideline is capped at $11,700 monthly net resources for this module. Net resources below $1,000 use the low-income percentages in § 154.125(c). Children outside this action require the multiple-family adjustment, which is not included.
Documents that make the worksheet more useful
Texas net-resources worksheet with OAG tax charts and any multiple-family adjustment. Gather the records that support the income, parenting-time, insurance, child-care, and other adjustment entries that apply to the family. Both parties are disclosed; the ordinary primary-custody percentage uses the paying parent’s net resources. The below-$1,000 reduced rates are implemented. Official standardized tax deductions and multiple-family adjustments require the full worksheet.
For a filing or agreement, complete the official court forms linked on this page. They use the same guideline structure explained here, and the court applies it to the facts of the case.
Before you enter your numbers
Why does Texas ask about children outside this case?
Texas has multiple-family provisions that can change the guideline percentage when the parent owes a duty of support to other children. Net resources, the applicable income limit, and the low-income rules must also be determined first. A standard percentage for the children before the court is not always the complete method.
Prepare this: List children in this case separately from other children the parent has a legal duty to support. Bring net-resource documentation and existing support orders for the official calculation.
Read the relevant official instructions: Texas Family Code chapter 154: support of a child; Texas Attorney General: children within and outside the action.
These preparation notes explain one part of the state guideline. A new estimate does not change an existing order; a modification request does.
How Texas cases actually get to a number
This is a percentage-of-obligor model, not an income-shares table. Compute net resources as chapter 154 defines them, apply the child-count percentage, then consider medical and dental support. The other parent’s income does not select a combined-income cell.
Texas Family Code chapter 154 uses a percentage of the obligor’s net resources—20 / 25 / 30 percent for one, two, or three children—with a statutory cap on net resources. That is a different path from neighboring states that use another model, so do not import a table, percentage, or overnight credit from somewhere else.
Parenting time in Texas
Expanded possession or 50/50 possession can support a deviation or an offset, but the starting guideline remains a percentage of the obligor’s net resources. Do not treat a standard possession order as a 50 percent reduction.
Costs Texas usually treats separately
- Medical support
- Dental support
- Child-care as the court includes it
- Cash medical support when insurance is not provided
When Texas courts leave the guideline
Family Code § 154.123 lists variance factors, including a child’s proven needs and the parents’ ability to contribute. Income above the net-resources cap is a proven-needs analysis, not an extra automatic percentage.
Official Texas forms to keep beside this guide
Texas net-resources worksheet with OAG tax charts and any multiple-family adjustment. Both parties are disclosed; the ordinary primary-custody percentage uses the paying parent’s net resources. The below-$1,000 reduced rates are implemented. Official standardized tax deductions and multiple-family adjustments require the full worksheet. The primary authority is the published Texas source. Fill the official form from source documents. Use this page only to check that you chose the right Texas path—primary versus shared, table versus percentage, add-ons versus basic support.
Where this is typically filed
District or county courts at law hear SAPCR cases; the OAG Child Support Division handles IV-D. Use the current net-resources cap, which the OAG updates.
Questions specific to Texas
Why doesn’t the other parent’s income change the table?
Texas’s basic guideline is a percentage of the obligor’s net resources, not a combined-income schedule.
What is the cap?
Net resources are capped by statute; the OAG publishes the current monthly cap. Above the cap, proven needs must be shown.
Are medical and dental support extra?
Yes. They are additional chapter 154 duties, not inside the percentage.
Run the calculator
Open the free support calculator, select Texas, complete the state worksheet, and print or export the output for review.
Example: the low-income percentage
One child, $900 in the paying parent’s monthly net resources, and no other children the parent is legally required to support.
- $900 is below the $1,000 boundary in Family Code §154.125(c).
- The one-child low-income percentage is 15%.
- $900 × 15% = $135 per month before separate medical support or any deviation.
At exactly $1,000, the standard one-child rate is 20%, producing $200. Do not use gross wages as net resources. Other supported children require the multiple-family calculation.
Original educational illustration checked September 17, 2026 against Family Code §154.125. See what the calculation includes.