How is the Texas spousal maintenance cap calculated?

Under Texas Family Code Chapter 8, once eligibility is established, court-ordered spousal maintenance is capped at the lesser of $5,000 per month or 20% of the paying spouse's average gross monthly income.

What qualifies a spouse for spousal maintenance in Texas?

To qualify, the requesting spouse must first show they lack sufficient property to provide for their minimum reasonable needs. Additionally, they must meet one of four pathways: a marriage lasting 10+ years (with diligent efforts to earn income), a family violence conviction or deferred adjudication within 2 years, an incapacitating physical or mental disability, or being the custodian of a disabled child of any age.

When does spousal maintenance terminate in Texas?

Future maintenance obligations end automatically upon the death of either spouse or the recipient's remarriage. Maintenance can also be terminated by court order if the recipient cohabits with a romantic partner in a permanent place of abode on a continuing basis.

Practice Areas

Texas Spousal Maintenance Calculator

Q: Is alimony the same as spousal maintenance in Texas?

Not quite. What many people call 'alimony' is court-ordered spousal maintenance under Texas Family Code Chapter 8, which is strictly capped and limited by law. Alternatively, spouses can voluntarily agree to contractual alimony, which is not bound by statutory ceilings.

Estimate Your Texas Spousal Maintenance Cap

A clear starting point for one part of your transition. Use it to understand the statutory ceiling, then talk with us about what it means for your full financial picture.

Is alimony the same as spousal maintenance in Texas? Not quite. What many people call "alimony" is court-ordered spousal maintenance under Chapter 8, and it is capped and limited in ways ordinary alimony is not. This tool estimates that statutory ceiling.

ⓘ An estimate is a starting point, not an answer. Texas maintenance turns on your minimum reasonable needs. The figures below show only the maximum statutory ceiling allowed under Texas Family Code Chapter 8, not what a court is likely to order. Understanding where you actually stand takes a closer look at your full situation.

1 Initial Threshold Check

I confirm that, on divorce, I will lack sufficient property, including my separate property, to provide for my minimum reasonable needs.

This property test is the first gate for every pathway (Tex. Fam. Code § 8.051). It counts your separate property, not just what is divided in the divorce, so for spouses with meaningful assets it is often where the whole question is decided.

Due diligence check: Are you actively seeking employment, in an educational program, or disabled?

Yes

The hurdle most claims turn on. On the ten-year ground, Texas law presumes maintenance is not warranted unless you show diligence in earning enough to meet your minimum reasonable needs, or in building the skills to do so. That effort is measured from the date of separation and through the divorce, long before most people call a lawyer, which is why it pays to talk with us early.

HB 168: A person who was a minor in a void marriage may seek spousal maintenance as in a divorce. This applies to marriages entered into on or after September 1, 2025, where the person was younger than 18 when they married.

2 Eligibility Pathway

Select all conditions that apply:

Married for 10+ Years (subject to the § 8.053 diligence presumption above)

Family Violence Ground (marriage of any length qualifies)

This ground lets a marriage of any length, including one under ten years, qualify at all. It requires that the other spouse was convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, a criminal offense involving family violence against you or your child, either within two years before the divorce was filed or while the suit is pending. A case that qualifies on this ground alone is capped at five years.

Incapacitating Physical or Mental Disability

Custodian of a Disabled Child of Any Age

Was the immigrant sponsored via Form I-864?

3 Paying Spouse's Average Monthly Gross Income
i TFC § 8.055(a-1). Enter monthly averages of income actually received. Exclude (these do not count toward the 20% figure): Social Security and SSI, VA service-connected disability compensation, workers' compensation, public assistance and TANF, foster-care payments, accounts receivable, and any return of principal or capital.

Wages, Salary, Overtime, Commissions, Tips, Bonuses

Interest, Dividends, Royalties, Capital Gains

Self-Employment & Net Rental Income

Severance, Pensions, Retirement, Trust Income, Annuities

Include all income actually received (net rental income means rent after operating expenses and mortgage, not depreciation). Leaving out excluded sources matters: counting income the statute excludes, such as VA service-connected disability or Social Security, would overstate the cap.

Estimated Statutory Maximums

Maximum Monthly Payment Cap

Duration Ceiling

0 Years

Reality check: these are ceilings, not defaults. The figure above is the most the statute allows. On amount, a court awards only what is needed to meet minimum reasonable needs, often less than the lesser of $5,000 or 20% of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income. On duration, the court must set the shortest reasonable period that lets the recipient earn enough to meet those needs, so the tier applicable to a marriage is a maximum, not an entitlement.

Legal Disclaimers:

Contractual Alimony: Spouses can legally negotiate amounts higher than the statutory caps through collaborative divorce, mediation, or agreement. Note, though, that under § 8.059(a-1) a court cannot enforce by contempt any agreed maintenance that exceeds the amount or period it could have ordered under Chapter 8. Above-cap terms are still binding as a contract, but they do not carry the same enforcement power, which is worth understanding before signing anything.
Attorney's fees (HB 2524, eff. Sept. 1, 2025): In a proceeding to enforce, modify, or terminate spousal maintenance, a court may award reasonable and necessary attorney's fees, court costs, and expenses. This is at the court's discretion, not automatic.
Termination: The obligation to pay future maintenance ends automatically on the death of either party or the recipient's remarriage. It can also be terminated, but only by court order after a hearing, if the recipient cohabits with a person they have a dating or romantic relationship with in a permanent place of abode on a continuing basis.
The $5,000 cap is not indexed to inflation. It is a fixed statutory figure and does not rise automatically over time.
Federal tax treatment: For divorce or separation agreements executed after December 31, 2018, maintenance is not deductible by the payer and is not taxable income to the recipient.

This tool provides a general estimate for informational purposes only and is not legal advice. It does not create an attorney-client relationship. Consult Hicks Family Lawyers about your specific circumstances.

Spousal maintenance works differently in Texas than it does in most of the country. Rather than starting from the standard of living a marriage once supported, Texas courts start by asking whether a spouse can meet their own reasonable needs at all, then apply narrow eligibility rules and a hard dollar ceiling before any support is ordered.

To qualify, a spouse generally must show the marriage lasted at least ten years and that they cannot yet meet their own reasonable needs. Three narrower grounds can apply instead of the ten-year requirement: the paying spouse was convicted of, or received deferred adjudication for, a family-violence offense against the requesting spouse or their child within two years before filing or while the case is pending; the requesting spouse has an incapacitating physical or mental disability; or the requesting spouse is caring for a child of the marriage whose disability prevents them from earning sufficient income. Even once eligibility is established, the amount is capped at the lesser of $5,000 a month or 20% of the paying spouse’s average gross monthly income. How long payments last generally follows the length of the marriage, except that the family-violence ground caps duration at five to ten years depending on marriage length, and the disability-based grounds can extend indefinitely, subject to periodic court review.

For business owners and professionals whose income is not a simple paycheck, commissions, distributions, equity compensation, or earnings from a closely held business, getting that 20% figure right takes more than a calculator. Hicks Family Lawyers brings 27+ years of corporate law experience to identifying, verifying, and protecting what that income actually is, so the number a court relies on reflects reality rather than what the other side wants it to look like.

While this tool provides a helpful estimate based on the statutory ceiling, no calculator can weigh reasonable need, earning capacity, or the other factors a Texas judge considers case by case. To ensure your figures reflect your actual circumstances, we recommend speaking with our attorneys directly.

You can also explore our resources for a better understanding of Texas spousal maintenance, or return to Hicks Family Lawyers to learn more about our full range of services.

Hicks Family Lawyers is a trusted advisor for families navigating what comes next, not just a divorce battle shop. Schedule a consultation to talk through your situation with a team that treats your case as more than a filing.

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What Texas Courts Weigh Once Eligibility Is Established

Qualifying for spousal maintenance does not guarantee an award, and the statutory maximum is not an entitlement. Once eligibility is established, the court considers the statutory factors and the circumstances of the parties in deciding whether maintenance is appropriate and, if so, the amount and duration within the applicable limits.

Factors Texas Courts Consider

Once eligibility is established, courts weigh all relevant factors, which by law include the following:

Each spouse’s ability to provide for their own minimum reasonable needs independently, considering their financial resources after the divorce
The education and employment skills of both spouses, the time and training needed for the spouse seeking maintenance to become self-supporting, and whether that training is realistically available
The duration of the marriage
The age, employment history, earning ability, and physical and emotional condition of the spouse seeking maintenance
The effect on each spouse’s ability to meet their own needs while paying child support or maintenance
Any acts by either spouse that resulted in excessive spending, or the destruction, concealment, or fraudulent disposal of marital property
Contributions by one spouse to the education, training, or increased earning power of the other
Property each spouse brought into the marriage
Contributions as a homemaker
Marital misconduct, including adultery and cruel treatment, by either spouse during the marriage
Any history or pattern of family violence

Two Paths to Spousal Support in Texas

Texas recognizes court-ordered spousal maintenance and contractual alimony as two different paths. Court-ordered maintenance is the one bound by the eligibility rules and the statutory ceiling described above. Contractual alimony, negotiated between spouses as part of a settlement, is not subject to those same caps or duration limits, which makes negotiated resolutions a meaningful strategic option for spouses who want more flexibility than the courtroom path allows.

When Maintenance Terms Can Change

Spousal maintenance is not always the end of the conversation, and not every change ends an order the same way. Some events end maintenance automatically, while others require the paying spouse to go back to court and ask a judge to act.

Ends Automatically, No Hearing Required

Remarriage of the receiving spouse
Death of either spouse

Requires a Court Finding or Hearing

Cohabitation of the receiving spouse with another person in a dating or romantic relationship
A material and substantial change in either spouse’s ability to pay or need for support, which can support a modification rather than a termination
Resolution or worsening of a qualifying disability, which a court can revisit at a scheduled periodic review for an indefinite award

Every case is different, and it is impossible to calculate the exact outcome using a calculator alone.

Schedule a Consultation to work with a team that brings strategy, not just paperwork, to what comes next.

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What comes next for your family, whether that involves a business you built, a career you paused, or a future you are still deciding how to shape, deserves the same depth of planning as any other major transition.

The team at Hicks Family Lawyers brings that same strategic, corporate-caliber thinking to every family transition we handle.

Visit our Texas locations to discover how we can assist you with your legal needs statewide.

When you’re ready, our attorneys can talk through your income situation, your eligibility, and the path that actually protects your future.