The biggest of the new Texas child support laws took effect on September 1, 2025: the monthly net resources cap used to calculate guideline support rose from $9,200 to $11,700.1Office of the Attorney General. 2025 Revised Tax Charts For a higher-earning parent, that $2,500 jump can add several hundred dollars to a monthly obligation. Texas also tightened the affordability standards for court-ordered health and dental coverage, giving parents and judges concrete numbers to work with.
The New $11,700 Net Resources Cap
Texas child support is calculated as a flat percentage of the paying parent’s monthly net resources, but only up to a statutory cap. Income above the cap is left to the court’s discretion rather than automatically pulled into the guideline formula. The cap sat at $9,200 from July 2019 until September 1, 2025, when it moved to $11,700 for orders entered on or after that date.1Office of the Attorney General. 2025 Revised Tax Charts
The numbers show what this means at the top of the schedule. A parent with one child pays 20% of net resources under the guidelines. At the old cap, the maximum guideline amount for one child was $1,840 per month. At the new cap, it is $2,340. A parent earning below $9,200 sees no change; a parent earning at or above $11,700 sees the full increase; a parent earning between the two caps sees a partial increase.
Below the cap, nothing about the percentages has changed. Guideline support remains:
- One child: 20% of net resources
- Two children: 25%
- Three children: 30%
- Four children: 35%
- Five or more children: 40%
A separate table applies when the paying parent also supports children from another relationship.1Office of the Attorney General. 2025 Revised Tax Charts
Why the Cap Moved
The cap is not a political number; it adjusts on a schedule. Every six years, the Title IV-D agency (the Office of the Attorney General’s Child Support Division) recalculates it using the percentage change in the consumer price index over the preceding 72 months, then rounds to the nearest $50.1Office of the Attorney General. 2025 Revised Tax Charts Federal regulations separately require each state to review its child support guidelines at least once every four years to confirm they still produce appropriate amounts.2eCFR. 45 CFR 302.56 – Guidelines for Setting Child Support Orders The next scheduled cap adjustment will be six years from the September 2025 change.
What Net Resources Actually Means
Because the cap is applied to net resources rather than gross pay or take-home pay, running the numbers requires the statutory definition. The court starts with income from all sources, then subtracts a fixed list of items under the Texas Family Code:3State of Texas. Texas Family Code Chapter 154 – Child Support
- Social Security taxes
- Federal income tax, calculated as if you were a single person claiming one exemption and the standard deduction, regardless of your actual filing status
- State income tax, which applies only if you earn income in a state that has one
- Union dues
- The cost of the child’s health and dental insurance as ordered by the court
- Mandatory retirement contributions if you do not pay Social Security taxes, which is common for some government employees
What is not on that list matters just as much. Voluntary retirement contributions, rent or mortgage, car payments, and credit card debt do not reduce your net resources. The calculation also uses a hypothetical single-with-one-exemption tax figure rather than your actual withholding, so adjusting your W-4 allowances will not lower your support obligation.
Medical and Dental Support Thresholds
Every Texas child support order carries a medical support component, and Texas has now put concrete affordability limits on it. The paying parent is presumed to provide the child’s health coverage, usually through an employer plan, but only if the premium falls within the statutory thresholds:4State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 154.182 – Health Care Coverage for Child
- Health insurance is considered reasonable in cost if it does not exceed 9% of the paying parent’s annual net resources.
- Dental insurance is considered reasonable if it does not exceed 1.5% of annual net resources.
If the paying parent’s available coverage costs more than that, the obligation can shift. The receiving parent may obtain coverage and be reimbursed for the reasonable premium, or, when neither parent has affordable access, the court may order cash medical support toward the child’s out-of-pocket medical costs.
Applying the New Cap to an Existing Order
The cap change does not automatically rewrite orders already on the books. An order calculated under the $9,200 cap stays in place until someone files to modify it. Texas allows modification on two grounds:
- A material and substantial change in the financial circumstances of a parent or the needs of the child since the order was last set. Job loss, a significant raise, a new disability, or a child’s new medical needs can qualify.
- The three-year rule: at least three years have passed since the order was entered or last modified, and the amount that would be calculated today differs from the current order by at least 20% or $100, whichever is greater.
The three-year rule is the one to watch after this change. If your existing order was set at the old $9,200 ceiling and your income is now at or above $11,700, running the new numbers may show a difference well over 20%. That gives the receiving parent a direct path to seek higher support without proving anything else about changed circumstances. It also means paying parents whose orders were capped at $9,200 should not assume their obligation stays frozen; a modification petition can pull the new cap into the calculation.
Filing the Petition
Modification is filed in the court that issued the original order or the most recent modification. The document is a Petition to Modify the Parent-Child Relationship. Pull together your current order, recent pay stubs, and tax returns before you start. Filing fees in Texas district courts run roughly $250 to $350 depending on the county.5Texas Judicial Branch. District Court Civil Filing Fees If you cannot afford the fee, you can file a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment of Court Costs to request a waiver.
Once the petition is filed, the other parent must be formally served with a copy and a citation by a constable, sheriff, or private process server. After service, the court typically routes the case to mediation before setting a contested hearing, and many modifications settle at that stage.
Interstate and Military Situations
If one parent has left Texas, jurisdiction over modification is governed by the Uniform Interstate Family Support Act. The state that issued the original order generally keeps exclusive authority to modify it as long as one of the parties or the child still lives there.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 159.611 – Modification of Child Support Order of Another State Once nobody involved still lives in the issuing state, another state can register the order and take over. These rules are technical enough that most interstate modifications call for an attorney.
Active-duty service members who receive a modification petition while deployed or stationed away have protections under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. A service member can request a stay of at least 90 days with a statement explaining how military duties prevent appearance and a letter from a commanding officer confirming that leave is not authorized. Additional stays are available if active-duty obligations continue to interfere.
For most parents, the practical takeaway is straightforward. If your income exceeds $9,200 per month in net resources, or you receive support from a parent whose income does, the new cap can change your numbers, but only through an order that reflects it. Run the calculation before deciding whether a modification is worth filing.