Delinquent child support in Texas triggers enforcement from the first missed payment. The Office of the Attorney General Child Support Division runs collection statewide,1Office of the Attorney General of Texas. All Divisions – Section: Child Support and its tools escalate quickly: wage withholding, 6% interest, license suspension at three months behind, passport denial at $2,500, liens on your property and bank accounts, tax refund seizure at $500, jail for contempt, and ultimately felony prosecution. Arrears cannot be reduced retroactively, so what you owe today is what you owe, and the only reliable protection is to seek a modification the moment your circumstances change.
What Happens to Your Paycheck First
Income withholding is the default, and it starts before anyone is behind. Every Texas child support order carries an automatic directive to the obligor’s employer to deduct support from each paycheck, beginning no later than the first pay period after the employer receives the order.2Justia. Texas Family Code Chapter 158 – Withholding From Earnings for Child Support
Once arrears exist, the withholding grows. Texas requires an additional amount on top of your current monthly obligation, calculated to pay off the arrears within two years or by adding 20% to the current monthly amount, whichever clears the debt faster.2Justia. Texas Family Code Chapter 158 – Withholding From Earnings for Child Support The total pulled from your check for current support plus arrears cannot exceed 50% of your disposable earnings.3State of Texas. Texas Family Code 158.009 – Maximum Amount Withheld From Earnings Federal law can push that ceiling higher in specific situations, reaching 55% or 65% once arrears are more than 12 weeks old.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S.C. 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
Interest Keeps Adding Up
Unpaid child support accrues interest at 6% simple interest per year, with the clock starting on the date each payment becomes overdue.5Texas Constitution and Statutes. Texas Family Code 157.265 – Accrual of Interest on Child Support The same rate applies to arrears a court has confirmed as a money judgment and to lump-sum or retroactive awards.
One detail trips people up. Interest does not run on the entire delinquent balance right away. It runs only on the portion exceeding one month’s periodic support.5Texas Constitution and Statutes. Texas Family Code 157.265 – Accrual of Interest on Child Support If you owe $1,000 a month and miss three months, interest accrues on $2,000, not $3,000. Once a court confirms your total arrears and enters a money judgment, the 6% rate applies to the full judgment from that date forward. These rules cover any payment that came due on or after January 1, 2002, and partial payments do not stop interest from accumulating on what remains.
Licenses, Passports, and Property
Texas can suspend almost any state-issued license once you fall three months behind, provided you have been given a chance to make payments under a repayment schedule and have not followed through.6State of Texas. Texas Family Code 232.003 – Suspension of License That threshold is lower than many parents assume.
The list reaches well past your driver’s license. Professional licenses in medicine, law, real estate, and education can be suspended, which can end your ability to work in your field. Hunting, fishing, and recreational licenses are in scope too. Before any suspension takes effect, you receive notice and have 20 days to request a hearing. Miss that window and the suspension order can issue by default.7Justia. Texas Family Code Chapter 232 – Suspension of License
Passports work through a separate federal program. Once your arrears reach $2,500, the state reports your case to the U.S. Department of State, which will deny new passport applications and may revoke an existing one.8Administration for Children and Families. Passport Denial Program 101 That restriction lasts until you pay the arrears in full or make satisfactory arrangements with the state agency.9U.S. Department of State. Pay Your Child Support Before Applying for a Passport
A child support lien arises by operation of law against your real and personal property for everything you owe, including accrued interest.10State of Texas. Texas Family Code 157.312 – General Provisions Once perfected, it blocks you from selling, refinancing, or transferring real estate until the debt is cleared. Banks and credit unions cooperate with the state to identify and freeze accounts belonging to parents who owe support, and insurance settlements and personal injury awards can be captured the same way.11Administration for Children and Families. Financial Institution Data Match Freeze and Seize Interstate Processing Because perfected liens sit in the public record, they damage credit for years.
Tax Refund and Lottery Intercepts
When you owe $500 or more in past-due support, the state can refer your case to the federal tax refund offset program. The U.S. Treasury will withhold your federal refund and send it toward the balance.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 U.S.C. 664 – Collection of Overpayments From Federal Tax Refunds Texas lottery winnings are subject to similar intercepts, so a large prize can be seized before you ever see it.
No separate court order is required. If you filed a joint return with a new spouse, that spouse can file an injured spouse claim with the IRS to recover their share, but your portion still goes to child support.
Jail for Contempt of Court
When administrative tools do not produce payment, the custodial parent or the Attorney General’s office can file a motion for enforcement asking a judge to hold you in contempt.13State of Texas. Texas Family Code 157.001 – Motion for Enforcement A contempt finding can bring up to 180 days in jail for each separate violation of the order. Judges often set a purge amount, meaning you can secure release by paying a lump sum toward arrears.
The court must also order you to pay the other side’s reasonable attorney fees, court costs, and related expenses. That is mandatory, not discretionary, when the court finds you failed to pay. A judge can waive fees for good cause, but if you owe $20,000 or more, a waiver is available only when you are involuntarily unemployed or disabled and lack the resources to pay.14State of Texas. Texas Family Code 157.167 – Respondent to Pay Attorney’s Fees, Court Costs, and Expenses
Instead of jail, a court can suspend the commitment and place you on community supervision for up to 10 years. Conditions typically include regular reporting, counseling, consistent payment of current support and arrears, and employment assistance through the Texas Workforce Commission where appropriate. Violating those terms can send the suspended jail sentence into effect.
The Inability-to-Pay Defense
You have one meaningful defense, and the bar is high. To raise genuine inability to pay as an affirmative defense, you must prove all four of these: you lacked the ability to pay the ordered amount, had no property that could be sold or pledged, tried unsuccessfully to borrow the money, and knew of no other legal source for the funds.15State of Texas. Texas Family Code 157.008 – Affirmative Defense to Motion for Enforcement of Child Support The burden sits entirely on you, and vague claims of hardship without documentation will not carry it. Most defenses fail here: parents who truly cannot pay can usually prove some elements but not all four.
When Nonpayment Becomes a Felony
If you have the ability to pay and refuse over a long period, the case can leave civil enforcement entirely. Texas Penal Code Section 25.05 makes intentional or knowing failure to support a child under 18 a state jail felony.16State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 25.05 – Criminal Nonsupport A conviction carries 180 days to two years in a state jail facility, plus a possible fine of up to $10,000.17State of Texas. Texas Penal Code 12.35 – State Jail Felony Punishment
Prosecutors generally reserve criminal nonsupport for chronic cases where administrative tools and civil contempt have already run their course. The criminal case runs separately from the civil proceeding, so a conviction leaves a permanent felony record affecting employment, housing, and voting rights. Contempt is about coercing compliance; criminal nonsupport punishes willful refusal.
Fix It Before It Grows
Arrears that already exist are nearly impossible to undo. Under federal law, each missed payment becomes a judgment by operation of law on the date it comes due and cannot be retroactively reduced.18eCFR. 45 CFR 303.106 – Procedures to Prohibit Retroactive Modification of Child Support Arrearages A modification can take effect, at the earliest, from the date the other party is served with the modification petition. Six months of waiting before filing creates six months of arrears no court can erase.
Texas allows modification in two situations: when the circumstances of the child or a parent have materially and substantially changed since the order was issued, or when the order is at least three years old and the current monthly amount differs by 20% or $100 from what the guidelines would produce today. Job loss, a significant pay cut, disability, and incarceration exceeding 180 days all qualify as material and substantial changes.19State of Texas. Texas Family Code 156.401 – Grounds for Modification of Child Support
Filing promptly matters more than anything else. The most expensive mistake parents make is paying what they can afford and assuming a court will eventually forgive the gap. Courts do not have that power. File the moment your circumstances change, because every day between the change and the filing date adds to a debt that will follow you.