Quick answer: Texas does not use an income-shares model. Under Tex. Fam. Code § 154.125 the court applies a percentage to the paying parent’s monthly net resources: 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four and 40% for five or more (at least the five-child amount for six or more), on net resources up to $11,700 a month (the cap rose from $9,200 on September 1, 2025). For an obligor with net resources under $1,000, lower percentages apply: 15%, 20%, 25%, 30% and 35%. Net resources (§ 154.062) are resources such as wages, self-employment income, interest, dividends, net rental income, spousal maintenance and other income actually received, less Social Security taxes, federal income tax for a single person with the standard deduction, state income tax (none in Texas), union dues and the cost of the child’s court-ordered health or dental insurance. The Attorney General’s annual tax charts do the gross-to-net conversion. Above the cap the guideline applies to the first $11,700 and the court may order more only on proof of the child’s needs (§ 154.126). For obligors with other children in another household, § 154.128 gives a credit. The guideline amount is rebuttably presumed to be in the child’s best interest; the court may vary it on the factors in § 154.123, which include the time of possession of and access to the child.
How Texas child support works
- Net resources. See how Texas calculates net resources.
- Percentages and the cap. See the guideline percentages and the $11,700 cap.
- Other households and medical support. See children in more than one household and medical support.
What this calculator checks
The calculator reproduces all 352 rows of the Attorney General’s 2026 Employed Persons and Self-Employed Persons tax charts to the cent, applies the statutory percentages and the $11,700 cap, and was checked against an independent re-implementation. It computes the obligor’s side only, as the guidelines do; it does not compute cash medical support, the alternative table in § 154.129 or deviations. The charts do not cover owners of pass-through businesses with qualified business income deductions or other complex tax situations.
Child support across Texas
The guidelines apply in every district court, from Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth or El Paso, and in cases handled by the Office of the Attorney General. The order must include the findings required by § 154.130 when it varies from the guidelines.
Frequently asked questions
How is child support calculated in Texas?
A percentage of the paying parent's monthly net resources: 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four and 40% for five or more, up to a cap of $11,700 a month in net resources.
What is the Texas child support cap in 2026?
$11,700 a month of net resources, effective September 1, 2025; the guideline percentages apply to the first $11,700.
What is the maximum guideline child support in Texas?
$2,340 a month for one child, $2,925 for two, $3,510 for three, $4,095 for four and $4,680 for five or more.
Does Texas count the other parent’s income for child support?
No. The guideline applies a percentage to the obligor's net resources; the obligee's resources are a deviation factor.
Does Texas reduce child support for parenting time?
Not in the guidelines. The time of possession of and access to the child is a factor the court may consider in deviating.