Newly effective in 2025 and 2026
High-Income Child Support Caps
Six states rewrote how child support treats high earners in the last year. Each guideline formula stops applying its full math at a specific income line, called a cap or a ceiling. What happens next, a flat stop, a percentage add-on, a floor, or a judge's open discretion, is different in every one of these six states.
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Why child support guidelines have a ceiling
Every state guideline formula was built and tested around a normal range of incomes. Past a certain point, states worried that a flat percentage of income would produce a number far larger than any child actually needs, so most guideline statutes stop the formula at a published income line. Some states just freeze the number there. Others keep a formula running at a lower rate, set a floor a court cannot go under, or drop the decision entirely into a judge's hands. The cap itself also moves: legislatures and guideline commissions revisit it every few years, which is why five of the six caps below changed within the last 18 months.
All 6 caps, lowest to highest
| State | Cap | Effective | Statute | Above the cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | $11,700 a month in net resources | Tex. Fam. Code Sec. 154.125 | Flat cap: the guideline number stops growing; more needs proven child needs | |
| New York | $193,000 a year in combined parental income | FCA Sec. 413; DRL Sec. 240(1-b) | Mandatory formula stops at the cap; a judge decides the rest by factors | |
| Maryland | $30,000 a month in combined adjusted actual income | Md. Code, Fam. Law Sec. 12-204 | No formula and no floor above the cap; entirely the court’s discretion | |
| Colorado | $40,000 a month in combined adjusted gross income | C.R.S. Sec. 14-10-115(7) | Statutory floor: the top-row amount is a minimum, not a maximum | |
| Virginia | $42,500 a month in combined gross income | Va. Code Sec. 20-108.2 | Automatic percentage add-on: 2.6% to 5.0% of every dollar over the ceiling | |
| Washington | $50,000 a month in combined net income | RCW 26.19.020; RCW 26.19.065 | Table stays flat at the $50,000 row; more needs written findings by the court |
Read the mechanics, state by state
- Texas$11,700 a month in net resourcesFlat cap: the guideline number stops growing; more needs proven child needsSee the full cap pageOpen the Texas calculator
- New York$193,000 a year in combined parental incomeMandatory formula stops at the cap; a judge decides the rest by factorsSee the full cap pageOpen the New York calculator
- Maryland$30,000 a month in combined adjusted actual incomeNo formula and no floor above the cap; entirely the court’s discretionSee the full cap pageOpen the Maryland calculator
- Colorado$40,000 a month in combined adjusted gross incomeStatutory floor: the top-row amount is a minimum, not a maximumSee the full cap pageOpen the Colorado calculator
- Virginia$42,500 a month in combined gross incomeAutomatic percentage add-on: 2.6% to 5.0% of every dollar over the ceilingSee the full cap pageOpen the Virginia calculator
- Washington$50,000 a month in combined net incomeTable stays flat at the $50,000 row; more needs written findings by the courtSee the full cap pageOpen the Washington calculator
About the numbers on this page
Every cap figure, effective date, and statute citation on this hub and its six state pages comes from that state's own research pack and calculator, the same data behind this site's full state calculators. Each state page walks through a worked example at the cap and a second one above it, computed with the real guideline engine behind that state's calculator, not a hand-typed estimate.
Changelog: hub first published with 6 states. Material changes are dated in the update log.