Child support disputes touch nearly every family case we handle from our Downtown Dallas office at 2001 Ross Ave, Suite 700 — divorces, custody suits between unmarried parents, enforcement actions, and modifications when life changes. Whether you are the parent who will pay or the parent who will receive, understanding how the Texas Family Code actually calculates and enforces support puts you in a position to negotiate intelligently instead of guessing. A child support lawyer at The Piri Law Firm can run the numbers, pressure-test the other side’s figures, and make sure the order fits your family’s real circumstances.
How Texas Calculates Child Support: The Guideline Percentages
Texas uses a guideline formula based on the paying parent’s (the “obligor’s”) net monthly resources — not gross salary, and not both parents’ combined income as some states use. The court first determines gross income from all sources: wages, overtime, bonuses, commissions, self-employment income, rental income, and even unemployment or disability benefits. From that, the statute subtracts specific items — federal income taxes for a single person claiming one exemption, Social Security taxes, union dues, and the cost of the child’s health and dental insurance — to reach net resources.
The guideline percentages then apply:
- 1 child: 20% of net monthly resources
- 2 children: 25%
- 3 children: 30%
- 4 children: 35%
- 5 or more: 40%
Those percentages step down slightly when the obligor also supports children in another household. Critically, the guidelines apply only up to a statutory cap on net monthly resources, which the Texas Office of the Attorney General adjusts every six years for inflation. Above the cap, additional support requires proof of the child’s actual needs. High earners in Downtown Dallas’s finance, legal, and tech sectors are often surprised by how the cap changes the math — in both directions.
Medical and dental support are ordered on top of the percentage: one parent must provide health insurance for the child, with the cost credited in the calculation.
When Courts Deviate From the Guidelines
Guideline support is presumptively in the child’s best interest, but Dallas County judges can deviate when evidence justifies it. Common grounds include:
- The child’s extraordinary educational, medical, or special needs
- Significant travel costs to exercise possession
- 50/50 or near-equal possession schedules, where some courts offset the two parents’ guideline amounts
- Intentional unemployment or underemployment — a court can impute income to a parent who quits a job or hides cash earnings to dodge support
- Resources beyond paycheck income, such as businesses, trusts, or assets that produce little reported income
Self-employed obligors are a recurring battleground. Business owners can legitimately deduct expenses, but personal spending run through a company — vehicles, meals, travel — is fair game to add back. We use discovery, tax returns, and where warranted forensic accounting to establish true net resources.
Enforcement: What Happens When Support Isn’t Paid
An order is only as good as its enforcement. When an obligor falls behind in Dallas County, the receiving parent (or the Texas Attorney General’s Child Support Division, which enforces many orders) can pursue:
- Wage withholding — the default in Texas; support is deducted directly from paychecks
- Contempt of court — a motion for enforcement can result in fines and even jail time for willful nonpayment
- License suspension — driver’s, professional, and hunting/fishing licenses can all be suspended
- Liens and intercepts — against bank accounts, property, tax refunds, and lottery winnings
- Judgment with interest — arrears accrue interest and are reduced to judgment
If you are the parent who owes and has fallen behind, do not wait for a contempt motion. Courts distinguish sharply between a parent who lost a job and came to court proactively and one who ignored the order. We negotiate arrears payment plans and, where circumstances have genuinely changed, file modifications that stop the hole from getting deeper. Note that informal side deals — “she said I didn’t have to pay while I was laid off” — are unenforceable; only a court order changes a court order.
Modification: When the Numbers Should Change
Texas allows modification of child support when there has been a material and substantial change in circumstances, or when three years have passed since the last order and the guideline amount would differ by 20% or $100 from the current order. Qualifying changes we see most often include job loss or a significant raise, a new child in either household, changes to the possession schedule, a child’s new medical or educational needs, and incarceration.
Two timing rules matter enormously. First, modifications are generally not retroactive past the filing date — every month you wait is a month at the old number. Second, support obligations continue accruing until a court says otherwise, even if the child is now living with you. If your circumstances changed, file promptly. Modifications frequently travel together with custody changes; our child custody lawyer team handles both in a single proceeding when the facts call for it.
Child Support for Unmarried Parents
If the parents never married, support starts with establishing paternity — voluntarily through an Acknowledgment of Paternity or by court order with genetic testing. From there, a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR) establishes conservatorship, a possession schedule, and support in one order. Mothers should know that support can be ordered retroactively in appropriate cases; fathers should know that paying informally without an order builds no credit against a later retroactive claim unless payments can be documented. Keep records of everything.
How Support Interacts With the Rest of Your Case
Child support does not exist in a vacuum. It interacts with the possession schedule (more time can mean different numbers), with spousal maintenance (which affects both parties’ resources), and with property division in a contested divorce. For immigrant parents, support orders can also surface in immigration processes as evidence of good moral character — or, when badly in arrears, as a problem. Because The Piri Law Firm practices both family and immigration law, we plan for those intersections rather than reacting to them.
Why Downtown Dallas Parents Call The Piri Law Firm
Michael Piri is a Texas attorney practicing Family Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Immigration — credentials you can verify on his State Bar of Texas profile. He earned his J.D. from St. Mary’s University School of Law and is fluent in Spanish and French. Our office at 2001 Ross Ave sits minutes from the Dallas County family courts, and the firm offers free 30-minute consultations, flat fees and payment plans on many matters, and 24/7 phone availability. Read client reviews on our Google Business Profile.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much is child support for one child in Texas?
Guideline support for one child is 20% of the paying parent’s net monthly resources, subject to a statutory cap on the resources counted. Health and dental insurance for the child are ordered in addition.
Until what age is child support paid in Texas?
Until the child turns 18 or graduates high school, whichever is later. Support can continue indefinitely for a child with a qualifying disability.
Can child support be dropped if we agree between ourselves?
No private agreement changes a court order. Parents can agree to modify, but the agreement must be entered as a new court order to be enforceable — otherwise arrears keep accruing.
What happens if I lose my job and can’t pay?
File for modification immediately; changes generally aren’t retroactive past the filing date. Courts respond far better to a parent who comes forward than one who silently stops paying.
Can a father be ordered to pay support before paternity is established?
No — but once paternity is established, Texas courts can order retroactive support, so delay does not make the obligation disappear.
The Piri Law Firm — Downtown Dallas Office
2001 Ross Ave, Suite 700, Dallas, TX 75201 · (833) 600-0029 · Free 30-minute consultation, 24/7 · Nosotros hablamos español
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This article is for general information only and is not legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship.
