If both parents have regular W-2 jobs, Texas child support is mostly arithmetic. Take net income, apply the percentage, done.

But what if one parent’s income comes from a business they own? Or distributions from a partnership, deferred compensation, or a trust? Then the arithmetic starts with a much harder question: what is the income?

Most family lawyers treat the financial side of custody as a side issue. In these cases, it’s the main one.

It starts with “resources”

Texas calculates child support from a parent’s net resources, and the law defines resources broadly. Along with salary and bonuses, the list includes:

  • self-employment income
  • interest, dividends, and royalties
  • trust income
  • capital gains
  • net rental income — and here’s a detail that matters, it’s figured without subtracting depreciation

Certain deductions, like taxes, then come off to get to net resources.

When income runs through a business, getting that number right is often the whole case. What the business paid out, what it kept, what was a real expense and what wasn’t — those questions can move the final figure more than anything else.

The guideline percentages

Once you have net resources, Texas uses a simple scale (for monthly net resources of $1,000 or more):

  • 1 child: 20%
  • 2 children: 25%
  • 3 children: 30%
  • 4 children: 35%
  • 5 children: 40%

There’s a cap

Those percentages presumptively apply only up to a maximum amount of monthly net resources. That number is published by the Texas Attorney General’s office and adjusted for inflation every six years. As of September 1, 2025, it’s $11,700 a month.

So for one child, guideline support tops out at $2,340 a month. For two children, $2,925.

What happens above the cap

If a parent’s net resources are higher than that, the court can order more — based on the parents’ incomes and the proven needs of the child.

“Proven” is the important word. It means documented: school tuition, activities, medical costs, and the real, itemized expenses of raising this particular child. It’s not just an argument about how much the other parent makes.

The court subtracts the guideline amount from those proven needs and divides what’s left between the parents. And there’s a ceiling on that, too: the paying parent can’t be ordered to pay more than the guideline amount or 100% of the child’s proven needs, whichever is greater.

Both sides need the numbers

If you’re the parent asking for more than the guideline, you’ll need the receipts. If you’re the parent paying, you’ll want to understand exactly what’s being counted as your income — and what isn’t.

Either way, these cases come down to the same thing: who understands the financial records best, and who can explain them clearly.

Facing a family law question in Texas?
Schedule a consultation or call WEBB Family Law at 214-871-2730.

This article is general information about Texas law, not legal advice. Every situation is different; talk to an attorney about yours.