Glossary
Net resources
The income figure a percentage-of-income child support guideline applies its percentage to, defined by statute rather than by what lands in a bank account.
States that set child support as a percentage of the paying parent's income do not use gross pay, and they do not use take-home pay either. They use a statutory figure — Texas calls it net resources — arrived at by adding up a defined list of income sources and subtracting a defined list of deductions. The lists are the whole point, and they are narrower than most people expect. Texas deducts social security taxes, federal income tax computed as though the payer were single claiming one exemption and the standard deduction, state income tax, union dues, and the cost of the child's health or dental insurance. It does not deduct a mortgage, a car payment, or other ordinary living costs. Because the deduction list is fixed, two people with identical take-home pay can have different net resources, and someone's net resources can exceed the amount they actually receive each month.