How Long Do You Have to Pay Child Support in Texas?

In Texas, you have to pay child support until your child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever happens later. That is the default under Texas Family Code Section 154.001, and it holds for most families.¹ A handful of situations shorten that timeline, one situation extends it indefinitely, and unpaid balances can outlast the order by years.

The Default Endpoint: 18 or High School Graduation

Two milestones matter: the child’s 18th birthday and the day they finish high school. A Texas court can order support to run until whichever of those arrives later.¹

What that looks like in practice depends on the calendar. If your child turns 18 in February of senior year, you keep paying through graduation, not through the birthday. If your child graduates early at 17, you keep paying until the 18th birthday. The court can also order that payments continue through the end of the month in which the child graduates, so a partial month after the ceremony is normal.

What Enrollment Is Required for Support to Continue Past 18

The extension beyond age 18 is not automatic. Under Section 154.002, the child must be enrolled in a qualifying program: an accredited public secondary school working toward a diploma, courses for joint high school and junior college credit, or a full-time private secondary school program leading to a diploma.²

The child also has to meet minimum attendance requirements, whether those are set by the Texas Education Code for public schools or by the school itself for private schools.² If an 18-year-old drops out, stops attending regularly, or was never in a qualifying program, the post-18 extension does not apply.

One common assumption to clear up: standalone GED programs are not on the statute’s list. The extension covers accredited secondary programs and joint high school/college credit courses, not GED coursework.

Events That End Support Before 18

Section 154.001 identifies specific events that end the obligation early:¹

Marriage of the child, which emancipates a minor under Texas law.
Removal of the disabilities of minority by court order, the formal name for a judicial emancipation.
Emancipation by other operation of law, a catch-all that can include enlisting in the U.S. military.
Death of the child, which ends the order immediately.

If any of these happen, the underlying obligation ends, but wage withholding does not stop on its own. That piece is covered further down.

When Support Continues Indefinitely: Disability

Texas law lets a court order child support to continue with no end date when a child has a significant disability. Under Section 154.302, a judge can order one or both parents to pay support for an indefinite period if two things are true: the child requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a mental or physical disability and will not be capable of self-support, and the disability (or its known cause) existed on or before the child’s 18th birthday.³

The court decides who receives the payments. That can be the other parent, a guardian, the adult child directly once they reach 18, or a special needs trust set up for the child’s benefit.³ These orders can be reviewed and modified if the child’s circumstances change.

Does Texas Require Child Support Through College

No. Unlike some states, Texas does not require a parent to pay child support while a child attends college. The statute caps the obligation at high school graduation or age 18, and there is no post-secondary extension.¹ Parents can agree voluntarily to help with college costs, and that agreement can be written into a divorce decree, but a court cannot order it as part of a standard child support order.

Arrears Do Not End When the Order Ends

Reaching the endpoint of the regular obligation does not erase any unpaid balance. A lot of parents assume that once the child graduates or turns 18, missed payments are forgiven. They aren’t. Unpaid child support becomes arrears, and arrears carry 6% simple interest per year from the date each payment became delinquent.⁴

The enforcement window runs well past the child’s 18th birthday. A court can hold you in contempt for unpaid support if the enforcement motion is filed within two years of the obligation ending. A motion to reduce the total owed to a money judgment can be filed up to 10 years after the support obligation terminates.⁵ The real endpoint of the obligation is the day every dollar of arrears and accrued interest has been paid.

Wage Withholding Doesn’t Stop on Its Own

If your child support is being collected through wage withholding, hitting the endpoint does not stop the deductions. Your employer has to keep withholding under the income withholding order until they receive a court order telling them to stop.⁶ Neither you nor your employer can end the deductions on your own.

To close it out, go back to the court that issued the original order and file a motion to terminate the withholding. You will typically need to show that a terminating event has happened, such as a copy of the child’s diploma or proof that the child is 18 and no longer enrolled in a qualifying school program. Some courts require a hearing; others handle it on paperwork alone. Once the judge signs the termination order, it goes to your employer and the deductions stop. If you do nothing, money keeps coming out of your paycheck after the obligation has ended, and clawing it back later is a slower process than filing the motion in the first place.

1
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 154.001 – Support of Child
2
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 154.002 – Child Support Through High School Graduation
3
State of Texas. Texas Family Code 154.302 – Court-Ordered Support for Disabled Child
4
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 157.265
5
State of Texas. Texas Code FAM 157.005
6
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. Termination Responsibilities