Texas Child Support Maximum: The $11,700 Net Resources Cap

The most a Texas court will order under the standard child support guidelines is a percentage of the first $11,700 of a parent’s monthly net resources. That translates to a Texas child support maximum of $2,340 per month for one child, $2,925 for two, $3,510 for three, $4,095 for four, and $4,680 for five or more children. The $11,700 cap took effect September 1, 2025, replacing the prior $9,200 figure. Courts can order more than these amounts, but only in a narrow set of high-income cases where the child’s documented needs exceed what the guideline covers.

The $11,700 Net Resources Cap

Texas Family Code Section 154.125 limits the income a court runs through the guideline formula. The percentages don’t apply to every dollar a parent earns; they apply only to monthly net resources up to the capped amount. Since September 1, 2025, that cap has been $11,700.¹ Income above $11,700 is set aside for guideline purposes, though it can still matter in above-cap cases.

The cap adjusts every six years for inflation. The Office of the Attorney General, acting as the state’s Title IV-D agency, calculates the new figure from the consumer price index over the preceding 72 months, rounds it to the nearest $50, and publishes it in the Texas Register before it takes effect on September 1 of the adjustment year.² The previous $9,200 cap had been in place since 2019, so the jump to $11,700 was a meaningful change for parents on both sides of an order.

What Counts as Net Resources

The cap applies to net resources, not gross pay. Whether you actually hit the maximum depends on this calculation, which starts with a broad view of income and then subtracts specific deductions. Resources include:³

Wages and salary, including commissions, overtime, tips, and bonuses
Interest, dividends, royalties, and capital gains
Self-employment income after business expenses
Net rental income after operating expenses and mortgage payments
Social Security (except SSI), VA disability (except non-service-connected pension benefits), unemployment, disability, and workers’ compensation
Severance pay, retirement benefits, pensions, trust income, annuities, gifts, prizes, spousal maintenance, and alimony

From that total, the court deducts Social Security taxes, federal income tax (computed as a single filer claiming one exemption with the standard deduction), state income tax, union dues, court-ordered health and dental insurance costs for the child, and mandatory retirement contributions for parents who don’t pay into Social Security.³ The number left is the monthly figure that gets measured against the $11,700 cap.

SSI and TANF payments don’t count as resources at all. They sit outside the calculation entirely.

Maximum Payments by Number of Children

Once the court has a parent’s net resources (up to $11,700), it applies the guideline percentage for the number of children:²

1 child: 20%, maximum $2,340 per month
2 children: 25%, maximum $2,925
3 children: 30%, maximum $3,510
4 children: 35%, maximum $4,095
5 or more children: 40%, maximum $4,680

For six or more children, the statute says the amount cannot be less than what five children would receive. The 40% rate works as both floor and ceiling for larger families under the standard guidelines. These dollar maximums only apply when net resources reach $11,700. A parent earning less pays the same percentage of a smaller base, so the actual order comes in below the maximum.

Credit for Children in Other Households

When a parent supports children from more than one relationship, the standard maximum drops. Texas Family Code Section 154.128 requires a four-step calculation that credits the parent for other children before setting the new order.⁴

A parent with $11,700 in net resources, one child from a prior relationship, and one child in the current case won’t owe the full $2,340 maximum. The court treats both children as if they lived in one household (25% of $11,700, or $2,925), divides by the two children to get $1,462.50 per child, subtracts that credit from the parent’s net resources to produce an adjusted figure of $10,237.50, and applies the one-child rate of 20% to land on roughly $2,047.50. Children living with the parent count toward the total the same way a child covered by a prior order does, and the credit applies whether or not the parent is current on the other obligation.⁴

Going Above the Cap

The $11,700 cap is not an absolute ceiling. Texas Family Code Section 154.126 allows additional support when a parent’s net resources exceed the cap and the child’s proven needs run higher than what the guideline amount covers.⁵ This is how high-income orders climb past the standard maximums.

The structure is specific. The court calculates the presumptive guideline amount at the cap, subtracts it from the child’s total proven needs, and allocates the remaining gap between the parents based on their financial circumstances. Proven needs are concrete expenses the child actually incurs or was accustomed to before the case: private school tuition, specialized medical care, therapy, established extracurricular commitments. The parent asking for an above-guideline order has to document those costs.⁵ A general argument that wealthy parents’ children deserve more doesn’t carry the day.

Even above the cap, there’s a hard ceiling: the paying parent can never be ordered to pay more than the greater of the presumptive guideline amount or 100% of the child’s proven needs. Above-cap orders are tied to documented expenses, not to how much the parent could theoretically afford.

Add-Ons That Sit on Top of the Cash Maximum

The dollar maximums above cover cash child support only. Every Texas child support order must also address medical and dental support, and those obligations stack on top of the monthly payment.⁶

If affordable health insurance is available through either parent’s employer or organization, the court orders that parent to enroll the child. If neither has access, the court looks for other reasonably priced private coverage. When no private option is reasonably available, the court orders cash medical support instead, capped at 9% of the paying parent’s annual resources. The same 9% figure defines “reasonable cost” for insurance in the first place.⁷

Unreimbursed medical, dental, and vision costs (copays, deductibles, anything insurance doesn’t cover) are allocated between the parents based on their circumstances.⁸ These amounts are legally treated as child support and can be collected through wage withholding.

Changing an Order After the 2025 Cap Increase

Orders calculated before September 1, 2025 were built on the $9,200 cap. The jump to $11,700 can itself open the door to modification. Texas allows a child support order to be modified when circumstances have materially and substantially changed, or when at least three years have passed and the current order differs by 20% or $100 from what today’s guidelines would produce.⁹

A high-income parent whose old order was pegged to the $9,200 cap could face a recalculated maximum that is noticeably higher under the new figure, and the gap may easily clear the 20% threshold even if nothing in the parent’s life has changed. The reverse is possible too, since a parent whose income has fallen may now owe less than the current order sets. Either side can file for a review.

1
Office of the Attorney General of Texas. 2025 Revised Tax Charts
2
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 154.125 – Application of Guidelines to Net Resources
3
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 154.062 – Net Resources
4
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 154.128 – Computing Support for Children in More Than One Household
5
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 154.126 – Application of Guidelines to Additional Net Resources
6
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 154.181 – Medical Support Order
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State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 154.182 – Health Care Coverage for Child
8
State of Texas. Texas Family Code FAM 154.183
9
State of Texas. Texas Family Code Section 156.401 – Grounds for Modification of Child Support