Child Support for Texas Teachers and Other TRS Members
If you teach in Texas, your paycheck probably looks nothing like the one a standard child support calculator assumes. Two lines are different, and both change the number.
Why teachers are a special case
Most Texas school districts do not participate in Social Security — by most counts around 95% of them. In those districts:
- No Social Security tax comes out. No 6.2% line on the stub.
- TRS contributions come out instead, and they are mandatory.
A generic calculator subtracts 6.2% you never paid and ignores a retirement contribution you had no choice about. Both errors push the support number in the wrong direction.
The statute
Texas Family Code § 154.062(d) lists what gets subtracted from resources to reach net resources. The last item is the one that matters here:
> (6) if the obligor does not pay social security taxes, > nondiscretionary retirement plan contributions.
And § 154.062(f) defines the term:
> a nondiscretionary retirement plan is a plan to which an employee is > required to contribute as a condition of employment.
TRS membership is not optional for eligible Texas public school employees, and the member contribution is set by statute — not chosen by the employee. That is the definition of nondiscretionary.
The condition is what matters. The deduction is available only if you do not pay Social Security taxes. A teacher in one of the minority of Texas districts that does participate in Social Security pays the 6.2% and does not get to deduct the retirement contribution on top of it. You do not get both.
What this looks like in dollars
Take a teacher earning $6,000 a month with a $500 monthly TRS contribution, two children before the court:
| Generic calculator | Correct § 154.062 math | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross | $6,000 | $6,000 |
| Social Security (6.2%) | −$372 | not withheld |
| Medicare (1.45%) | −$87 | −$87 |
| Federal income tax (standardized) | −$584 | −$584 |
| Required TRS contribution | ignored | −$500 |
| Monthly net resources | $4,957 | $4,829 |
| Support at 25% for two children | $1,239 | $1,207 |
About $32 a month, or roughly $380 a year — and over a twelve-year support obligation, more than $4,600.
The two errors partly cancel, which is exactly why this one is so easy to miss: the bottom line looks plausible either way. It is still wrong.
Run your own numbers → — tick "Pays no Social Security" and enter the required contribution.
Check your pay stub first
Texas coverage is district by district, not statewide. Before relying on this deduction:
- Look for a Social Security or OASDI line. If 6.2% is coming out, your district participates, and § 154.062(d)(6) does not apply to you.
- Find the TRS member contribution line. That figure — the required contribution, not voluntary 403(b) or 457 savings — is what goes in.
- Bring the stub to court. The deduction is proved with evidence, not asserted.
Voluntary retirement savings do not qualify. A 403(b) you chose to fund is discretionary, and § 154.062(f) excludes it by definition.
Who else this applies to
TRS members are the largest group, but the statute is written around the Social Security question, not the job title. It can also reach:
- Municipal police and firefighters in Texas cities whose pension systems replace Social Security
- Certain other state and local government employees in non-participating systems
- Some federal employees under the older CSRS system
In every case the test is the same: no Social Security tax, and a contribution required as a condition of employment.