Texas Child Support Calculator

Wondering how much child support you will pay — or receive — under the Texas guidelines? Use our free calculator below for an instant estimate based on the current guideline percentages and the $11,700 monthly net resources cap that took effect September 1, 2025.

Texas child support follows a formula set by the Legislature: a percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources, based on how many children are being supported. This calculator estimates net resources from your gross income (including the employment taxes and health-insurance deductions the state allows), applies the guideline percentage — including the reduction for other children you support — and shows your estimated monthly payment.

Questions about your specific situation? Our Austin child support lawyer page explains how the process works, and a free consultation takes about 15 minutes.

Texas Family Code Chapter 154 sets guideline percentages of the obligor’s monthly net resources: 20% for one child, 25% for two, 30% for three, 35% for four, and 40% for five or more. If you also support children in another household, the percentage drops slightly under the state’s multiple-family table — the calculator handles that automatically.

Two important limits shape the number. First, the guidelines only apply to the first $11,700 of monthly net resources (adjusted every six years for inflation; the current cap took effect September 1, 2025). A parent earning above the cap pays the guideline maximum — $2,340/month for one child, $2,925 for two, $3,510 for three — unless the child’s proven needs justify more. Second, for parents with monthly net resources under $1,000, a lower low-income schedule applies (15% for one child, 20% for two, and so on).

On top of guideline support, the court typically orders the paying parent to provide the children’s health and dental insurance (or reimburse the other parent for it) — that is a separate obligation not included in the percentage.

Net resources start with nearly all income — wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, self-employment income, rental income, retirement, even unemployment benefits. From that, the state subtracts federal income tax (calculated as a single person claiming one exemption), Social Security or self-employment taxes, union dues, and the cost of the children’s health and dental insurance premiums.

What does not reduce net resources surprises many parents: your rent or mortgage, car payment, credit card debt, and the cost of supporting a new spouse are not deductions. And courts can look past paper income — if a parent is intentionally unemployed or underemployed, the judge can calculate support based on earning potential instead of actual earnings.

Our calculator estimates these deductions automatically from your gross pay using current tax rates, so enter your gross (before-tax) monthly income and let it do the work.

The guideline number is a presumption, not a guarantee. Courts can order more or less based on the child’s age and needs, the cost of travel for visitation, extraordinary medical or educational expenses, who pays for childcare, and how possession time is actually split. In high-income cases, support above the cap is possible when the child’s proven needs justify it. In 50/50 possession arrangements, some courts offset the two parents’ guideline obligations against each other.

That is where representation matters: the difference between a guideline order and a well-argued deviation can be hundreds of dollars a month, for years. If custody is part of your situation too, see our Austin child custody lawyer page — and if divorce is on the horizon, our Texas Divorce Cost Calculator estimates what the process itself might cost.

Want a number you can actually rely on? SMB Law, PC handles child support, custody, and enforcement across Austin and Central Texas. Request a free consultation or call (512) 561-5003.