Texas Child Support Guidelines

Texas operates under the Percentage of Income model, one of 6 U.S. states using this framework. For a parent supporting one child, the base guideline applies roughly 20% of income, scaling to 25% for two children and 30% for three. That places Texas at rank #4 of 51 states by single-child base percentage. The state caps countable income at $9,200 per month, meaning earnings above that threshold fall to judicial discretion rather than the formula. Median household income across Texas is $67,321 annually, which shapes the real-world dollar obligations families face under these percentages.

On the enforcement side, the Texas child support program manages 1,210,000 active cases and collected approximately $2,600 million in the most recent OCSE reporting year. The state's collection rate of 61.2% compares to a national average of 60.6% across reporting states — placing Texas at rank #25 of 51 on collection efficiency, and rank #2 by caseload volume (national average: 285,686 cases per state). Paternity is established in 95.4% of Texas cases, compared to 94.9% nationally — a critical step because child support orders cannot be enforced without legal parentage on record. Orders are in place for 74.9% of the caseload.

Context matters when interpreting these numbers. A higher percentage-of-income figure does not automatically mean higher dollar obligations — the underlying income brackets, deductions, parenting-time adjustments, and self-support reserves vary meaningfully between states. Texas allows a parenting time adjustment, which can materially reduce the base obligation when the non-custodial parent exercises substantial overnight time. Our interactive Texas calculator applies these guidelines to specific income and custody scenarios. Data sources: OCSE FY2022 Annual Report, Texas Revised Statutes, and Census ACS 2022.