Child Support in Texas: Net Monthly Income & The Consumer Price Index

August 12, 2014

NET RESOURCES: The soft “cap” of $7,500 has gone up.

In Texas, the presumptive upper limit (without additional child support ordered) of net income per month, that the parent/guardian would have his or her child support obligation subtracted from, used to stop at $7,500.

The presumption has gone up to $8,550.00.

In other words, a parent who was going to pay 20% of his or her net resources per month, for one child, would not normally pay 20% out of anything above and beyond the $7,500 soft cap if he or she made more than that.

EXAMPLE: Let’s look at Janice, the mother of one child. Her child is taken care of, on a full-time basis, by Lawrence, the father of the child. Lawrence and Janice are divorced and live separately. Janice makes more than $8,550.00 per month (in fact, Janice does very well for herself and she makes $9,500.00 per month), so she will be affected by the revision in the law.

Janice is paying 20% of her net income in child support, however once that amount per month reaches the cap the court will not order more support, unless Lawrence can show that he needs it to cover extra expenses for the child.

In this case, the child has no additional needs and Lawrence simply wants the basic, presumptive child-support. The court would give him (prior to the revision in the law) 20% of Janice’s net monthly income up to $7,500.00; so Lawrence would still only get $1,500.00 per month, even though Janice makes $9,500.00 per month. Because of the law, the court would consider 20% of $7,500.00 NOT 20% of $9,500.00 per month.

With the new presumptive cap, Janice will be paying 20% of $8,550.00 instead, even though she still makes $9,500.00 per month. This comes out to $1,710.00, and a change of $210 in monthly child-support.

It is better to call the limit a soft cap and not a ceiling because a court can order additional child support if the other parent/guardian demonstrates a “proven need of the child,” and the “obligor” (usually the parent paying — the person obligated to pay) for the child support makes more than the $8,550 per month. Texas Family Code §154.126(a).

There are not many set definitions for what can be used to order additional child support above and beyond the guidelines or net resources soft cap: classic examples would be (1) additional medical expenses or (2) tutoring in school. Courts in Texas have very broad discretion in this area, and they will always look at the proven needs of the child first and foremost when deciding whether to order additional support. Texas Family Code §154.123(b)(1).

The law does not specifically state the new amount. It is based on the Attorney General’s Office’s determination and the Consumer Price Index. So where did the extra $50 come from?

You might be wondering why the new cap is $8,550.00 and not simply $8,500.00. A quick look at the way the law is worded helps explain this. The law requires the Title IV-D (for purposes of this article, the Attorney General’s office) agency to create a new tax chart annually, for the purpose of computing net monthly resources. Texas Family Code §154.061(b).

However, the section in the Family Code that deals with the soft cap (discussed above) has its own special subsection. Texas Family Code §154.125(a-1). This subsection is extremely specific regarding when and how the Title IV-D agency will actually adjust the soft cap. Even though the Attorney General’s office creates a new tax chart every year for computing net resources, the dollar amount for the net resources soft cap is only adjusted every six years.

Under this provision, the net resources cap is likely always going to go up every six years (due to inflation).

The Attorney General’s office is supposed to use the consumer price index (as designated in Section 341.201 of the Texas Finance Code) to adjust the soft cap. After the determination has been made, the agency is required to publish the adjusted amount in the Texas Register before September 1 “of the year in which the adjustment takes effect.” That means that the soft cap on net resources could go up late in the year, and the best way to make sure that you are correct about the law is to look for the Attorney General’s publications in the Texas Register.

As for the $50, the Attorney General’s office is obligated by the law to post the change “as rounded to the nearest $50 increment.” Texas Family Code §154.125(a-1).

Timothy Neal Tesch Jr.
Texas Attorney

*This is indented to simply discuss a change in Texas law and should not be construed as legal advice. Child support matters can become very complicated and are not something to be done alone, without an attorney.*