Child support San Antonio courts order is arithmetic before it is argument. Texas applies a percentage of the paying parent’s net resources, capped at a figure the attorney general republishes every six years. Knowing the formula tells a parent roughly what to expect, long before anyone files anything.
The figure at the center of that formula changed recently, and most published guidance has not caught up. As of September 1, 2025, the guidelines apply to monthly net resources up to $11,700. The previous ceiling, $9,200, governed from 2019 through August 2025 and still appears across the internet.
The Percentages, and the Tier Most Articles Omit
Section 154.125 sets the guideline percentages of net resources: 20 percent for one child, 25 for two, 30 for three, 35 for four, and 40 for five. Six or more is not less than the amount for five.
A second schedule applies below $1,000 in monthly net resources. There the percentages drop to 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35. Any explanation presenting 20 through 40 as universal has left out the low-income guidelines entirely.
Applying the cap gives the guideline maximums. At $11,700 in net resources, one child produces $2,340 a month, two produce $2,925, three produce $3,510, four produce $4,095, and five produce $4,680.
What “Net Resources” Actually Includes
Net resources is not take-home pay, and that difference decides child support San Antonio cases more often than the percentages do. Section 154.062(b) counts 100 percent of wage and salary income, including commissions, overtime, tips, and bonuses. It also counts interest, dividends, royalties, self-employment income, and net rental income after operating expenses and mortgage payments but without depreciation.
The list keeps going. Severance, retirement benefits, pensions, trust income, annuities, capital gains, unemployment, disability and workers’ compensation, spousal maintenance, alimony, gifts and prizes all count. Social security counts except supplemental security income. Veterans disability counts except non-service-connected disability pension benefits.
Only five deductions exist. Social security taxes. Federal income tax computed for a single person claiming one exemption and the standard deduction. State income tax. Union dues. And the cost of health, dental, or cash medical support ordered for the child.
Notice what is absent. A parent’s own health insurance is not deductible. Neither is rent, a mortgage, a car payment, or an ordinary retirement contribution. Only a nondiscretionary retirement plan — one an employee must fund as a condition of employment — is deductible, and only where the parent pays no social security taxes.
What a Child Support San Antonio Parent Earns When Nobody Reports Income
Courts have tools for parents whose paperwork is thin. Section 154.068 presumes, absent evidence of resources, that a party earns the federal minimum wage for a 40-hour week.
Section 154.066 goes further. Where actual income falls significantly below earning capacity because of intentional unemployment or underemployment, the court may apply the guidelines to earning potential instead. One express limit applies: the court may not treat incarceration as intentional unemployment.
Self-employment income gets computed as gross receipts less ordinary and necessary business expenses. A court may exclude depreciation, tax credits, or expenses the evidence shows are inappropriate.
Above the Cap, and Below the Guidelines
High earners do not escape the percentages. Section 154.126 directs the court to apply them presumptively to the portion of net resources within the cap. Beyond that, the court may order more based on the proven needs of the child.
A ceiling still applies. The obligor may never be required to pay more than the greater of the presumptive amount or 100 percent of the child’s proven needs.
Going the other direction, Section 154.122 makes the guideline amount presumptively reasonable and in the child’s best interest. A court may find it unjust or inappropriate, and Section 154.123 lists 17 factors for doing so. Among them are the age and needs of the child, the amount of time of possession and access, child care expenses needed to maintain employment, health insurance and uninsured medical costs, extraordinary educational or health care expenses, and the cost of travel to exercise possession.
Whenever the ordered amount varies from the guidelines, findings are mandatory. The order must state each parent’s monthly net resources, the percentage applied, and the specific reasons for the variance.
Two Children, Two Households
Section 154.128 handles a parent supporting children in more than one household. The computation runs in four steps. Calculate support as if all the children lived together. Divide by the total number of children and multiply by the number not before the court. Subtract that credit from net resources. Then apply the single-household percentage to what remains.
Section 154.129 offers a shortcut table instead. One child before the court with one other child yields 17.50 percent. Two before the court with two others yields 20.63 percent. One before the court with three others yields 14.75 percent. A parallel table exists for low-income obligors.
Why Child Support San Antonio Orders Come With Two More Orders Attached
Health coverage is not folded into the percentage. Section 154.181 requires a medical support order in any case where periodic support is ordered or modified. Since 2018, Section 154.1815 has required a separate dental support order as well.
The two carry different reasonable-cost ceilings, and they get confused constantly. Health insurance is reasonable where the premium does not exceed 9 percent of the obligor’s annual resources. Dental insurance uses 1.5 percent.
Where neither parent can obtain coverage at reasonable cost, the court orders cash medical support, again capped at 9 percent. Medical and dental support are child support obligations in their own right, enforceable by wage withholding, and they sit on top of the guideline amount. Courts also allocate unreimbursed health, vision, and dental expenses, including deductibles and copayments, between the parents.
How Long It Lasts, and What Happens When Child Support San Antonio Obligors Fall Behind
Support runs until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever comes later, and indefinitely for a disabled child. Past 18, it continues only while the child stays enrolled and meets minimum attendance requirements. Marriage, removal of disabilities, death, and enlistment in active service all terminate it.
Arrears accrue interest at 6 percent simple per year, and a payment counts as delinquent for that purpose if it is not received before the 31st day after the date the order set. Accrued interest is part of the support obligation.
Each missed payment becomes a final judgment for the amount due. On confirmation, the court renders three separate cumulative money judgments — child support, medical support, and dental support — and may not reduce the arrearage, though it may allow an offset or counterclaim.
License suspension is available where a parent owes three months of support, has been offered a repayment schedule, and has failed to comply. The definition of license is broad: professional and occupational licenses, a driver’s license, and recreational licenses including hunting and fishing. Our guide to how the calculation works covers a different formula under Arizona law.
The Bottom Line
The percentages are the easy part. What actually moves a number is whether a bonus counted as income, whether a retirement contribution was truly nondiscretionary, and whether the parent asking for a variance can point to one of the 17 statutory factors. Either parent may also ask the attorney general’s office to review an order once every three years, which is a quieter route than filing a modification and costs nothing. Most disputes here are arguments about inputs, not about the formula, and they are won with pay records rather than positions.
Frequently asked questions
$11,700 in monthly net resources, effective September 1, 2025. The prior figure of $9,200 applied from 2019 through August 2025 and still appears in a great deal of outdated guidance.
20 percent of net resources for one child, 25 for two, 30 for three, 35 for four, and 40 for five. A separate lower schedule applies where monthly net resources fall below $1,000.
No. Only social security taxes, federal income tax computed for a single filer, state income tax, union dues, and the cost of the child’s health, dental, or cash medical support are deductible.
Yes. Since 2018 a separate dental support order has been required. Health insurance is reasonable at up to 9 percent of annual resources; dental insurance uses 1.5 percent.
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This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The guideline cap is adjusted periodically by the Office of the Attorney General, and net resource calculations depend on individual circumstances. Parents should confirm current figures and consult a licensed Texas family law attorney before relying on any estimate.
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