How to Calculate Child Support in Texas

Calculating Guideline Child Support in Texas

Child support is usually calculated in Texas by applying the guidelines in Chapter 154 of the Texas Family Code.

Although the Texas child support system is complex, at its heart lies a simple formula that parents, attorneys, and judges rely on daily.

This video explains the simple formula for calculating guideline child support in Texas.

Criticism of the Texas Formula for Child Support

Texas is one of only a few states that use a simple guideline formula. Some people complain that the Texas approach is “SIMPLISTIC,” not simple, and “fails” to give consideration to modern family dynamics where children often have two working parents.

Another complaint about the Texas system is that it encourages parents to engage in legal battles over shared parenting time when the real issue is child support payment.

Advantages of the Texas System for Calculating Child Support

Despite these shortcomings, the Texas system does have some advantages.

First, it truly is simple. Once you understand the basic formula, it’s easy to determine what a court is likely to order for child support. This encourages the settlement of legal disputes without the expense and inconvenience of a contested trial.

Secondly, it encourages flexibility between parents regarding sharing time with the children. Some states have systems that motivate parents to keep track of the exact number of days the children spend with each parent because the exact amount of parenting time is a factor in determining the amount of child support paid or received.

Finally, the Texas child support guidelines are applied uniformly throughout the state, outside of extreme circumstances. Uniformity is an important aspect of a just legal system, and the Texas child support guidelines achieve that goal.

Step 1: Calculate Net Resources

In Texas, child support is usually calculated using a simple formula based on the obligor’s income. (The obligor is the person who “PAYS” child support.) Guideline child support is calculated as a percentage of the obligor’s net resources.

Net Resources is computed by taking the obligor’s gross income from all sources and subtracting these items:

Federal and state income taxes for a single person claiming one exemption.
Medicare and Social Security taxes.
Union dues.
The cost of health and dental insurance for the children.
Mandatory retirement contributions (such as TRS).

Step 2: Look Up the Child Support Factor

Next, we look up the child support factor. The child support factor depends on the number of children in the lawsuit and the number of other children for whom the obligor has a legal duty to support.

Here is the table of child support factors.¹ You can see, for example, that if two children are part of the lawsuit and the obligor has no other children, the child support factor is 25%.

If three children are the subject of the lawsuit and the obligor has two other children, then the child support factor is 25.2%.

Step 3: The Final Calculation

Once you calculate “Net Resources” and look up the “Child Support Factor, ” guideline child support is calculated by multiplying the two numbers together.

In its simplest form, guideline child support equals “Net Resources” multiplied by the “Child Support Factor.”

An Attorney Can Help

There are other considerations that an attorney can help you work through.

For example, the Texas courts have determined that scholarships and gifts regularly received by the obligor should be added to gross income to arrive at a higher amount of net resources.

If the obligor’s Monthly Net Resources are less than $1,000, then the child support factors are reduced by about five percent.

If the child’s proven needs cannot be met by applying the child support guidelines or if the obligor’s net income is significantly greater than the $9,200 cap, an attorney can help petition the court for above- or below-guideline child support.

So, even though the basic child support formula in Texas is simple, its application can be quite complex.

For these reasons, meeting with a qualified family law attorney is a good idea to see how subtleties in the statutes and developments in case law will affect your case.