Texas Alimony Calculator
Sketch Texas spousal maintenance from both incomes and marriage length. Texas allows maintenance only in narrow circumstances with statutory duration caps — many divorces involve no maintenance. This tool uses a conservative difference share (default 20%) and short duration bands for planning. Click any i for detail.
Texas planning inputs
Income figures are
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Income basis
Use comparable figures for both spouses (both annual or both monthly). |
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Payor income ($)
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Payor income
Spouse with greater ability to pay. Net is preferable when available. |
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Recipient income ($)
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Recipient income
Spouse seeking support — include wages and steady other income. |
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Marriage length (years)
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Marriage length
Texas duration discussions often track short / moderate / long marriages. We sketch a duration ceiling from your years married. |
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Share of income difference (%)
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Difference share
Planning dial for amount. Texas does not mandate this percent — adjust to match settlement talks. |
How to use this calculator
- Enter both incomes on the same annual/monthly basis.
- Enter years married.
- Set the difference-share percent used for the amount sketch.
- Compare the monthly estimate with the modeled duration band for your marriage length.
Results explained
Texas spousal maintenance is harder to obtain than alimony in many other states. Fam. Code ch. 8 limits eligibility, amount (often capped at $5,000/month or 20% of gross), and maximum duration. This page is a simplified gap-percent sketch when maintenance might be on the table.
Quick reference: Texas Alimony bands
Educational duration ceilings — not a substitute for current statute analysis.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Amount model | % of income difference (default 20%) — not statutory cap |
| Under 10 yrs marriage | Duration sketch ~25% of years if eligible |
| 10–20 yrs | Up to ~30% of marriage years (statutory caps may be shorter) |
| 20+ yrs | Up to ~35% sketch — statutory max often ~10 years |
For house equity in a divorce, see the divorce buyout calculator.
How the estimate is built
Monthly = diff% × income gap ÷ 12. Duration bands are conservative; statutory caps may be lower.
Example scenario
Payor $130,000, recipient $42,000, 20% → $17,600/year (~$1,467/month) — compare to Texas gross-income caps in real cases. Fifteen-year marriage → mid band ~4.5 years sketch vs possible statutory limit.
FAQ
Will I get alimony in Texas?
Many Texas divorces award no spousal maintenance. Eligibility requires statutory grounds — consult an attorney first.
What are the amount caps?
Maintenance is often capped at the lesser of $5,000/month or 20% of payor’s average monthly gross income — not fully modeled here.
Contractual alimony?
Parties can contract for payments outside maintenance rules — this tool does not distinguish contract alimony.
Educational only?
Yes — not a prediction of court outcomes.