Texas Child Support Guideline Amounts to Increase September 1, 2013
September 1, 2013
Effective September 1, 2013, new child support guidelines will become effective in Texas. Under the law prior to September 1st, a payer’s child support obligation was based on his income up to the first $7,500 per month in “net monthly resources”. After September 1st, child support will be calculated using the first $8,550 in “net monthly resources”.
Current child support amounts will NOT automatically increase. Instead, new and modified court orders after September 1 will use the new cap, and administrative reviews by the Office of the Attorney General will be based on the revised presumptive maximum of $8,550. The 2013 “cap” increase is applicable to everyone meeting the higher income requirements, even those who already have a divorce decree or a court order about child support.
The new Texas 2013 amounts will increase September 1, 2013 from $1,500 per month for one child to $1,710; from $1,875 for two children to $2,137.50; and from $2,250 for three children to $2,565 (unless there are other children to be considered).
Neither the Texas Attorney General nor the family court will automatically increase the amount of child support on September 1, 2013 if the payer’s income is high enough to meet the new cap (although the AG’s office does periodically review child support over time). In other words, to actually increase child support, the parent who receives child support must bring the increased payment responsibility to the attention of the paying parent for his or her voluntary agreement to start paying more, or to the Texas Attorney General for action if the paying parent will not cooperate.
Also, remember that parties can always make an agreement to a child support amount different from Texas guideline child support requirements. Whatever way it happens whenever it happens – through the Texas Attorney General or by agreement – if there is any change in the amount a parent pays in Texas child support up or down for any reason, the parties will need a modification of their divorce decree or child support order that is approved and ordered by the court for the new amount to be enforceable.
Calculating Child Support in Texas
Texas calculates child support based solely on the payer or obligor’s income. There are some unique circumstances where the court can deviate from the guidelines, but those are rare. The formula for calculating child support is stated in Texas law and is relatively straightforward. You divide the payer’s annual income by 12 to get the monthly amount. You then subtract required withholding and social security taxes for one person claiming only one dependent, the cost of the children’s health insurance (not the parent’s), and any union dues. There are charts that will show you the amount of tax to deduct and a link to them at the end of this article.
After you subtract the deductions you apply the following percentages to the net monthly resources to calculate the amount of child support. Before September 1, 2013 the percentages apply up to $7,500 in net monthly resources. After that the percentages apply up to $8,550 per month.
For one child 20%
For two children 25%
For three children 30%
For four children 35% and
For five children 40%.
Texas Family Code section 154.125 requires the Office of the Attorney General to review and adjust the amount of monthly net resources used to calculate child support every six years. This is done based on inflation and using the consumer price indexIf the payer’s income is less than the presumptive max. then the guideline percentages apply to the actual monthly net resources.
NOTE: Be careful using the charts. First, there are two charts, one for employed persons and one for the self-employed. Also, although an experienced attorney can do the calculation quickly, a thorough review and analysis should be completed that addresses payer’s earnings history, deductions to gross resources, special needs of the children, etc (an error of $100 per month will equal $1.200 per year….or thousands of dollars over the years).