Answer: Enter your values and the Texas Alimony Calculator returns the exact result instantly — formula, worked example, and a plain-English explanation are included below the tool.
Spousal maintenance under the Chapter 8 cap: 20% of gross income, never more than $5,000 a month
Texas is one of the hardest states in the country to get court-ordered alimony, which the Family Code calls spousal maintenance. Chapter 8 sets a high bar for eligibility: in the typical case you need a marriage of at least 10 years, plus proof that the requesting spouse can't earn enough to cover minimum reasonable needs. There are two exceptions to the 10-year rule, a family violence conviction or protective order within 2 years of the divorce filing, and a disability affecting the requesting spouse or a child in their care.
Even when a spouse qualifies, the amount is tightly capped. A judge can order at most the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20% of the payer's average gross monthly income. Duration is capped too: up to 5 years for marriages of 10 to 20 years, up to 7 years for 20 to 30, and up to 10 years for 30 or more, and courts must pick the shortest period that works. Couples can still agree to more generous contractual alimony in a settlement, but that's a deal, not an order. Enter a gross monthly income below to see the maximum a Texas court could award.
⚖️ Not legal advice. Real awards depend on the judge, state statutes, and negotiated agreements. These formulas are educational starting points; talk to a family law attorney.
| Payer Gross Monthly Income | 20% of Gross | TX Guideline Max (capped at $5,000) |
|---|---|---|
| $4,000 | $800 | $800 |
| $5,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| $6,250 | $1,250 | $1,250 |
| $7,500 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| $10,000 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| $12,500 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| $15,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
| $20,000 | $4,000 | $4,000 |
| $25,000+ | $5,000+ | $5,000 (cap reached) |
At $25,000 of gross monthly income, 20% lands exactly on the $5,000 cap. Above that, the cap does all the work: a $30,000 earner's 20% would be $6,000, but the court can still order at most $5,000.
| Route to eligibility | Key requirement | Max duration | Max amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Long marriage | 10+ years married and unable to meet minimum reasonable needs | 5 / 7 / 10 years by tier below | Lesser of $5,000/mo or 20% of gross |
| Family violence | Conviction or protective order against the other spouse within 2 years of filing | Up to 5 years (no 10-year minimum) | Same cap |
| Disability | Disability of the requesting spouse or a child in their care | As long as the disability continues, subject to review | Same cap |
Duration tiers for the long-marriage route: 10–20 years married, up to 5 years of maintenance; 20–30 years, up to 7; 30 or more, up to 10. Every number is a ceiling, not a default — the statute tells judges to order the shortest period that gets the receiving spouse self-supporting.
These are ceilings, not defaults. Judges are instructed to limit maintenance to the shortest reasonable period that lets the receiving spouse become self-supporting. For a fuller picture with other state formulas, try the main alimony calculator, and if kids are involved, the child support calculator covers the separate guideline that usually comes first.
Everything capped above describes court-ordered spousal maintenance, the remedy a judge can impose after a trial. But most Texas divorces settle, and in a settlement the spouses can write whatever alimony deal they want. Contractual alimony, as it's called, routinely runs longer and higher than the Chapter 8 caps: a 15-year marriage might settle on eight years of $3,500-a-month support in exchange for property concessions, and the court won't stop it.
The trade-offs are worth knowing before you negotiate. A court order is enforceable by contempt — a paying ex who falls behind can be hauled in front of the judge — while a contract is enforceable only through contract remedies like lawsuits and liens. Contracts can also be drafted as non-modifiable, which sounds safe until the paying spouse loses their income and discovers the flexibility they gave away. And the tax treatment follows the instrument's execution date, not the label on it. If your settlement includes support above the statutory caps, make sure the paperwork calls it what it is and says how it ends.
Texas maintenance self-destructs faster than most states' alimony. The obligation ends automatically when the receiving spouse remarries, and moving in with a romantic partner gives the paying spouse grounds to go back to court for termination. Death of either spouse ends it too. Beyond those, either ex can request a modification after a material and substantial change in circumstances — a layoff, a disabling illness, or retirement all qualify — though the requesting side carries the burden of proof, and courts read "material and substantial" literally.
One practical note on retirement: Texas judges can consider a paying spouse's good-faith retirement as a changed circumstance, which makes late-career maintenance orders less permanent than they look. And because the caps are already low by national standards, modification fights in Texas tend to be about duration more than amount. For how the Lone Star State's tight rules compare with community-property sibling California, see the California alimony calculator or the plain-English how alimony is calculated guide.
The main route is a marriage of 10 years or more where the requesting spouse can't earn enough to meet minimum reasonable needs. Two exceptions skip the 10-year rule: a family violence conviction or protective order against the other spouse within 2 years of filing, or a disability of the requesting spouse or a child in their care. Even then, the spouse asking for support carries the burden of proving they need it.
Court-ordered maintenance is capped at the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20% of the payer's average gross monthly income. The 20% rule controls until gross income reaches $25,000 a month; above that, the flat $5,000 cap takes over. Spouses can agree to higher contractual alimony in a settlement, but a judge can't order more.
Duration is tiered by marriage length: up to 5 years for marriages of 10 to 20 years (and for shorter marriages that qualify through family violence), up to 7 years for 20 to 30 years, and up to 10 years for 30 or more. Courts must order the shortest reasonable period, and support based on disability can continue as long as the disability does.
Texas levies no personal income tax, so only the federal treatment matters. For divorce instruments executed after 2018, maintenance isn't deductible by the payer or taxable income to the recipient on federal returns; orders signed before 2019 kept the old deductibility. Budget on the after-tax amount either way.
Court-ordered maintenance ends when the receiving spouse remarries or moves in with a romantic partner, or when either spouse dies, and either ex can seek modification after a material and substantial change in circumstances. Contractual alimony agreed in a settlement follows the contract instead: it can be set non-modifiable and survive remarriage if written that way, but it can't be enforced by contempt like a court order.