Texas law provides relatively easy guidelines that non-custodial parents can use to calculate the amount they need to pay in child support. But it is only easy if one household is involved. If children living in different households are involved, calculating child support can be confusing and difficult.
You can always talk to an experienced Texas child support lawyer to help you calculate what you have to pay or whether you need to receive child support.
How Much Child Support Do You Get With Two Moms In TX?
How To Calculate Child Support For More Than One Child?
In Texas, child support is often requested by the parent that has physical custody of the child, and it’s the other parent’s responsibility to pay child support. The non-custodial parent is expected by law to pay child support until the child turns 18 or graduates high school. There are exceptions where the non-custodial parent has to pay child support beyond the child’s high school graduation.
Generally, the court calculates the amount you have to pay in child support based on your net resources. According to Family Code Section 154.061:
“(a) Whenever feasible, gross income should first be computed on an annual basis and then should be recalculated to determine average monthly gross income. (b) The Title IV-D agency shall annually promulgate tax charts to compute net monthly income, subtracting from gross income social security taxes and federal income tax withholding for a single person claiming one personal exemption and the standard deduction.
What Are Included In Net Resources?
What Is The Percentage Of Child Support For Different Mothers In Texas?
Net resources include your paychecks, bonuses, salary, rental property income, dividends, retirement benefits, pension, tips, and unemployment. Income sources that do not count include:
- Return of principal or capital
- Accounts receivable
- Benefits paid in accordance with the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program or another federal public assistance program
- Payments for foster care of a child.
- Federal income tax withholdings
- Social Security FICA taxes
Since child support payments are made every month, net resources are calculated on a monthly basis. The cap for net resources is a specified amount by law even if you earn more in monthly resources.
Child Support For Multiple Children In One Household
For multiple children in one household, child support guidelines provide percentages of the monthly net resources you need to pay. These include:
- 20% for one child
- 25% for two children
- 30% for three children and so on
- 35% for four children
- 40% for five or six children
These percentages may not be helpful if you have more than five children.
Child Support For Multiple Children In Multiple Households
Non-custodial parents that pay child support for multiple children in multiple households have a much more complex way of calculating child support. When calculating child support in this situation, calculate what you pay if the children lived together then credit the amount you would have sent to the other household against your net resources. Then use the adjusted net income to calculate the child support you owe to this household.