Spousal Support in Texas: A Full Guide

Texas treats spousal support differently from most states. The law distinguishes between temporary spousal support during a pending divorce, court-ordered spousal maintenance under Family Code Chapter 8, and contractual alimony negotiated in a settlement. This guide explains who qualifies, how much a court can order, how long payments last, and when they can be changed or ended.

Types of Spousal Support in Texas

Texas law provides three distinct forms of spousal support, each with different rules for eligibility, enforcement, and modification:

• Temporary spousal support — Ordered while the divorce is pending under Family Code §6.502 to maintain the status quo. Temporary support is highly discretionary and is not subject to Chapter 8's caps or duration limits. It ends when the divorce is finalized.
• Court-ordered spousal maintenance (Chapter 8) — Post-divorce periodic payments from one former spouse's future income, available only when the applicant meets strict eligibility requirements. This is the form most people mean when they say “alimony” in Texas, and it carries hard caps on both amount and duration.
• Contractual alimony — A private agreement between spouses incorporated into the divorce decree under §7.006. Because it is contract-based, the parties can exceed Chapter 8's caps—but the obligation is enforceable as a debt, not by contempt, and the court generally cannot modify it later.

Who Qualifies for Court-Ordered Maintenance

Chapter 8 maintenance is not automatic. Before reaching the eligibility gates, the applicant must first show they will lack sufficient property—including separate property and property awarded in the division—to meet their minimum reasonable needs. Texas is not a marital-lifestyle state; the focus is on essentials like housing, utilities, transportation, food, and insurance, not preserving pre-divorce spending.

If that threshold is met, the applicant must also satisfy at least one of four statutory gates under §8.051:

• Family violence: The paying spouse was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a criminal act of family violence within two years before filing or while the case was pending. This gate applies even if the marriage lasted fewer than 10 years.
• Disability of the requesting spouse: The applicant has an incapacitating physical or mental disability that prevents earning sufficient income.
• Marriage of 10 or more years: The applicant lacks the ability to earn enough to meet minimum reasonable needs. A statutory presumption under §8.053 works against the applicant unless they can show diligence in pursuing employment or developing job skills during the separation.
• Disabled child: The applicant is the custodian of a child of the marriage (any age) who requires substantial care and personal supervision because of a physical or mental disability.

Once eligibility is established, courts set the nature, amount, and duration of maintenance by weighing the factors in §8.052, including both spouses' abilities to meet their own needs, education and employment history, marital misconduct, and the effect of any child support obligations.

How Much Can a Court Order

Texas imposes a hard cap on court-ordered maintenance. Monthly payments cannot exceed the lesser of $5,000 or 20% of the obligor's average monthly gross income. This ceiling applies to Chapter 8 orders only—contractual alimony can exceed it by agreement.

Gross income for Chapter 8 includes wages, salary, overtime, bonuses, commissions, interest, dividends, royalties, self-employment earnings, net rental income, severance, and retirement benefits. It excludes return of capital, federal public assistance, VA service-connected disability compensation, SSI, Social Security benefits, and workers' compensation.

A 2025 court of appeals decision (Harwood v. Harwood) confirmed that the cap must be calculated from the obligor's actual gross income, not from imputed earning potential. Unlike child support, Chapter 8 has no provision allowing courts to attribute income based on intentional underemployment.

Practical Tip: The cap is a ceiling, not a target. Courts frequently award less based on the applicant's documented needs shortfall and the obligor's ability to cover their own minimum needs while paying.

See how Texas spousal support might apply to your situation:

How Long Does Maintenance Last

Duration depends on the length of the marriage and the basis for eligibility. Courts must order the shortest reasonable period for the recipient to become self-supporting:

• Under 10 years (family violence gate only): Up to 5 years
• 10 to 20 years: Up to 5 years
• 20 to 30 years: Up to 7 years
• 30 or more years: Up to 10 years
• Disability or disabled child: Indefinite, as long as the eligibility criteria continue, subject to periodic court review

These are outer limits. Many awards are shorter—for example, a 15-year marriage might produce a 36- to 48-month order if the recipient is actively upskilling and improving job prospects.

Modification and Termination

Either party can request a modification of a Chapter 8 order by showing a material and substantial change in circumstances that occurred after the prior order. Changes apply prospectively only—courts cannot retroactively reduce past-due amounts, and they cannot increase the award above the original amount or extend the duration beyond the original term.

Maintenance terminates automatically upon:

• Death of either party
• Remarriage of the recipient
• Cohabitation: If the recipient cohabits with a romantic partner in a permanent place of abode on a continuing basis, the court must terminate future payments on motion and proof. A 2025 appellate decision (Begala v. Begala) confirmed this is a fact-intensive inquiry with no fixed minimum number of days. Past-due obligations remain owed even after termination.

Understanding how spousal support interacts with Texas marital property division is important, since the property each spouse receives in the divorce directly affects whether the need threshold for maintenance is met.

Enforcement and 2025 Updates

Courts can enforce Chapter 8 maintenance orders through contempt proceedings, wage withholding, property liens, and money judgments for arrearages. When both child support and maintenance are owed, total wage withholding cannot exceed 50% of disposable earnings, and maintenance must be routed through the State Disbursement Unit.

Effective September 1, 2025, a new §8.063 gives courts explicit authority to award reasonable attorney's fees, court costs, and expenses in proceedings to terminate, modify, or enforce maintenance. Related amendments also allow fee recovery when a recipient fails to return overpaid maintenance after the obligation has ended.

Tax Treatment

For divorce instruments executed after December 31, 2018, spousal maintenance is not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient under the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Pre-2019 orders keep the old deductible/taxable treatment unless a later modification expressly elects TCJA rules. IRS Publication 504 covers these rules and examples in detail.

Unlike California, Texas has no state income tax, so there is no separate state-level alimony deduction to consider. The federal rule is the only tax treatment that applies.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I get spousal support if my marriage lasted fewer than 10 years? Only if your spouse was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for family violence within two years before filing or during the case. Otherwise, court-ordered maintenance requires at least a 10-year marriage (or a qualifying disability).

Does adultery affect spousal support in Texas? Marital misconduct is one of the §8.052 factors courts consider when setting the amount and duration, but it does not create or block eligibility on its own. The family-violence gate is the only misconduct-related eligibility pathway.

Can we agree to more than the $5,000 cap? Yes, through contractual alimony under §7.006. The trade-off is that contractual obligations are enforceable as a debt (not by contempt) and generally cannot be modified by the court later. If you are weighing your options, see our guide on Texas uncontested vs. contested divorce.

What if my ex stops paying? File for an earnings assignment order directing their employer to withhold payments from wages. You can also pursue contempt proceedings or seek a money judgment for arrearages. Under the 2025 amendments, you may also recover attorney's fees in enforcement proceedings.