Texas Child Support Guidelines in Sugar Land | The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC

Child Support Guidelines by Texas Texas sets child support with a formula, not a judge’s estimate. Under the Texas child support guidelines, a court applies a fixed percentage to the paying parent’s monthly net resources, starting at 20% for one child, and that amount is presumed reasonable. The number that matters most is net resources, which is not the same as take-home pay.

The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC helps Sugar Land and Fort Bend County parents see how a support figure was built, from the income that counts to the percentage applied. Virtual meetings are available. Call 832-662-1294 or contact us to talk through the number in your case.

How the Texas Child Support Guidelines Work

The standard schedule in Section 154.125 of the Texas Family Code applies when the paying parent’s monthly net resources are at least $1,000 and no more than a published cap:

Children	Share of net resources
1	20%
2	25%
3	30%
4	35%
5	40%
6 or more	Not less than the five-child amount

The percentage is not the whole obligation. Under Section 154.183, medical and dental support, including the cost of insurance, are added on top of the guideline amount and are enforced the same way as child support. That means 20% of net resources is not the full monthly cost of child support for one child.

How Texas Calculates Net Resources

Net resources start with almost all of the paying parent’s income. The court then subtracts only the costs the law allows. Section 154.062 puts each item into one of three groups:

Counted: Pay from work, including overtime, tips, commissions, and bonuses, plus business income, rental profits, interest, dividends, and royalties
Left out: Money the parent gets back from an investment, money owed to the parent but not yet paid, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits, and foster care payments
Deducted: Social Security taxes, income taxes, union dues, and the cost of health or dental insurance or medical support payments the court orders for the child

The tax the court subtracts may not match what comes out of a paycheck. The court figures federal income tax as if the parent filed as a single person with one personal exemption and the standard deduction, so a pay stub and the court’s number often differ.

Whether you pay or receive support, a number that does not match your family’s finances can be hard to accept. How each income item was sorted is one place to look for the reason. Managing partner Jeremy B. DuCote has more than 18 years of experience in family law and criminal matters, and our family law team can review that sorting with you.

What Is the Most Child Support a Court Can Order?

What Is the Most Child Support a Court Can Order? The guideline percentages apply only up to a cap on monthly net resources. The Texas Attorney General’s office, as the state’s child support agency, adjusts that cap for inflation every six years and publishes it in the Texas Register. The cap that took effect September 1, 2025, is $11,700 a month, so the guideline amount for one child tops out at $2,340.

Above the cap, Section 154.126 has the court apply the percentages to the capped portion first. The court may then add support based on both parents’ income and the child’s proven needs, but the paying parent cannot be ordered to pay more than the greater of the presumptive amount or 100% of those proven needs. For a high earner, evidence of what the child actually needs drives anything above the guideline figure. We can help put that proof together for a parent asking for more support or one worried about being ordered to pay beyond what the child needs.

What Happens If a Parent Earns Less Than $1,000 a Month?

When the paying parent’s monthly net resources are under $1,000, the law presumes a lower schedule instead:

Children	Share of net resources under $1,000
1	15%
2	20%
3	25%
4	30%
5	35%
6 or more	Not less than the five-child amount

Take a parent with $900 a month in net resources and one child. The low-income schedule gives $135 a month, while the standard 20% would give $180, a difference of $45 every month. The Attorney General’s free child support calculator runs these percentages on an estimate of net resources.

How Do Children in Another Household Change the Calculation?

When the paying parent also has a duty to support children who are not part of the current case, Section 154.129 lets the court use an adjusted percentage table instead of the standard schedule. The adjusted figures are lower. With one child before the court and one child in another household, for example, the table sets 17.5% instead of 20%. A matching low-income version applies below $1,000 in net resources. For a parent already supporting a child in another home, that adjustment recognizes both obligations.

Can a Judge Order a Different Amount Than the Guidelines?

Yes. The guideline amount is only presumed reasonable, and under Section 154.122 a court may find that applying the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate under the circumstances.

Under Section 154.130, the court must state findings in the order when a party files a written request before the final order is signed and no later than 20 days after the order is rendered, when a party asks at the hearing, or when the amount ordered varies from the guidelines. Those findings cover whether the guidelines would be unjust or inappropriate, both parents’ monthly net resources, the percentage applied, and the specific reasons for any variance. For a parent reading an order, they show where the number came from and where it left the formula. If you cannot tell why your order came out the way it did, those findings can explain it, and we can request them in writing before that window closes.

How Long Do Child Support Payments Last?

Under Section 154.001, a court can order support to last:

Until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later
Until the child is emancipated by marriage, by a court order removing the disabilities of minority (which gives a minor the legal status of an adult), or otherwise by law
Until the child dies
For an indefinite period if the child is disabled as the Family Code defines it

A guideline figure reflects the parents’ finances when the order is set, and finances change. When they do, a parent may ask the court to modify an existing support order.

Talk to a Sugar Land Attorney About the Texas Child Support Guidelines

A support order shapes your budget and your child’s stability for years, and it is hard to tell from the paperwork alone whether the number was built correctly. A wrong net resources figure produces a wrong amount no matter how carefully the percentages are applied. The Love DuCote Law Firm LLC can walk through how a proposed or existing order was calculated.

We work with parents in Sugar Land, Fort Bend, Houston, Harris County and Katy, Texas, and virtual meetings are available. Call 832-662-1294 or contact us today to talk about how the Texas child support guidelines apply to your family.

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Child Support Guidelines by Texas

How the Texas Child Support Guidelines Work

How Texas Calculates Net Resources

What Is the Most Child Support a Court Can Order?

What Happens If a Parent Earns Less Than $1,000 a Month?

How Do Children in Another Household Change the Calculation?

Can a Judge Order a Different Amount Than the Guidelines?

How Long Do Child Support Payments Last?

Talk to a Sugar Land Attorney About the Texas Child Support Guidelines

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