Alimony in Texas: Spousal Maintenance Eligibility, Limits and How Long It Lasts

Texas does not use the word "alimony" in its statutes, and it makes court-ordered support after divorce hard to get. The Family Code calls it spousal maintenance, and a judge can order it only if the spouse asking for it meets strict eligibility rules, and only up to a capped amount for a limited time.

There are really three kinds of support between spouses in Texas:

Who can receive court-ordered maintenance

Family Code § 8.051 sets two requirements. First, the spouse asking must "lack sufficient property, including the spouse's separate property, on dissolution of the marriage to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs." Second, one of these must also be true:

(1) the spouse from whom maintenance is requested was convicted of or received deferred adjudication for a criminal offense that also constitutes an act of family violence, as defined by Section 71.004, committed during the marriage against the other spouse or the other spouse's child and the offense occurred: (A) within two years before the date on which a suit for dissolution of the marriage is filed; or (B) while the suit is pending; or (2) the spouse seeking maintenance: (A) is unable to earn sufficient income to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs because of an incapacitating physical or mental disability; (B) has been married to the other spouse for 10 years or longer and lacks the ability to earn sufficient income to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs; or

The last ground covers a spouse who is the custodian of a child of the marriage "of any age" who needs substantial care because of a disability that prevents the spouse from earning enough (§ 8.051(2)(C)).

The diligence presumption

For the most common ground, a marriage of ten years or more, Texas adds a hurdle. Family Code § 8.053(a):

(a) It is a rebuttable presumption that maintenance under Section 8.051(2)(B) is not warranted unless the spouse seeking maintenance has exercised diligence in: (1) earning sufficient income to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs; or (2) developing the necessary skills to provide for the spouse's minimum reasonable needs during a period of separation and during the time the suit for dissolution of the marriage is pending.

A spouse who wants maintenance should be able to show job applications, training or classes, not simply need.

How the court decides the amount and terms

Once a spouse is eligible, the court considers "all relevant factors" under § 8.052, including each spouse's resources and earning ability, education and time needed for training, the length of the marriage, age and health, contributions as a homemaker or to the other's education, property brought into the marriage, and misspending or hiding community property. Unlike most of Texas divorce law, this list expressly includes fault: "marital misconduct, including adultery and cruel treatment, by either spouse during the marriage" and "any history or pattern of family violence."

The cap: $5,000 or 20 percent

Family Code § 8.055(a):

(a) A court may not order maintenance that requires an obligor to pay monthly more than the lesser of: (1) $5,000; or (2) 20 percent of the spouse's average monthly gross income.

"Gross income" is defined broadly in § 8.055(a-1): wages, bonuses, interest, dividends, rental income, retirement benefits and more. It excludes, among other things, Social Security and SSI, veterans' service-connected disability compensation, and workers' compensation. The cap has not changed since 2011.

A spouse earning $10,000 a month gross can be ordered to pay at most $2,000 (20 percent). A spouse earning $40,000 a month can be ordered to pay at most $5,000, because that is less than 20 percent.

How long maintenance lasts

Family Code § 8.054(a) sets maximum terms:

Within those limits, the court "shall limit the duration of a maintenance order to the shortest reasonable period that allows the spouse seeking maintenance to earn sufficient income," unless a disability, care of an infant or young child, or "another compelling impediment" stands in the way (§ 8.054(a)(2)).

The exception is disability. For a spouse eligible because of their own incapacitating disability or because they care for a disabled child, maintenance can continue "for as long as the spouse continues to satisfy the eligibility criteria" (§ 8.054(b)), subject to periodic review.

When maintenance ends or changes

Family Code § 8.056:

(a) The obligation to pay future maintenance terminates on the death of either party or on the remarriage of the obligee. (b) After a hearing, the court shall order the termination of the maintenance obligation if the court finds that the obligee cohabits with another person with whom the obligee has a dating or romantic relationship in a permanent place of abode on a continuing basis.

Note the word "shall": in Texas, proven cohabitation in a romantic relationship requires the court to end maintenance, not merely allows it.

Modification. Either party can ask to change the amount on "a material and substantial change in circumstances" (§ 8.057(c)). The change applies only to payments that come due after the motion is filed, and the court may not raise maintenance above the original amount or extend it beyond the original term. And a job loss or disability arising after the divorce cannot be used to start maintenance that wasn't ordered in the decree (§ 8.057(d)).

Attorney's fees. Since September 1, 2025, a court may award reasonable and necessary attorney's fees, court costs and expenses in proceedings to terminate, modify or enforce maintenance (§ 8.063).

Contractual alimony: agreeing to more

Spouses can agree to support that goes beyond what a court could order: more money, a longer term, or support where no one is eligible. Family Code § 7.006(a) allows a written agreement on "maintenance of either spouse," and courts routinely approve these as part of an agreed decree.

There is a catch on enforcement. Under § 8.059(a-1), a court "may not enforce by contempt any provision of an agreed order for maintenance that exceeds the amount of periodic support the court could have ordered under this chapter or for any period of maintenance beyond the period of maintenance the court could have ordered." Contempt, the court's power to jail or fine a payer who defies an order, is not available for that excess. How the agreement is worded, and how the rest of it can be enforced, is worth a lawyer's review.

Temporary support during the divorce

While the case is pending, the court can order payments "for the support of either spouse" under the temporary orders statute, § 6.502(a)(2). None of chapter 8's eligibility rules, caps or time limits apply to temporary support; it ends when the divorce is final.

Taxes

Texas has no state income tax; the Texas Constitution bars one (art. VIII, § 24-a). Federal law controls. For divorce or separation agreements executed after 2018, the IRS says the payer "can't deduct alimony" and the recipient doesn't report it as income. Child support is never deductible and never income.

Frequently asked questions

Does Texas have alimony?

Yes, but it is limited. Texas law calls it spousal maintenance and allows it only for spouses who lack enough property for their minimum reasonable needs and who meet one of the grounds in § 8.051: family violence, disability, a marriage of 10 years or more, or care of a disabled child.

How much alimony can a Texas court order?

No more than the lesser of $5,000 a month or 20 percent of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income (§ 8.055). Spouses can agree to more.

How long does spousal maintenance last in Texas?

At most 5 years for marriages under 20 years, 7 years for 20 to 30 years, and 10 years for 30 years or more, and the court must choose the shortest reasonable period. Disability-based maintenance can last indefinitely.

Do I have to be married 10 years to get alimony in Texas?

Only for the ground based on inability to earn enough. Family violence, your own disability, or caring for a disabled child can qualify you after a shorter marriage.

Does cohabitation end alimony in Texas?

Yes. If the court finds the recipient lives with a romantic partner in a permanent home on a continuing basis, it must terminate maintenance (§ 8.056(b)).

Is spousal maintenance different from spousal support in Texas?

Yes. Temporary spousal support is ordered while the divorce is pending and has no statutory cap. Spousal maintenance is ordered in the decree under chapter 8, with eligibility rules, a cap and time limits.

Is alimony taxable in Texas?

Texas has no state income tax. Under federal law, for agreements executed after 2018, alimony is not deductible by the payer and not taxable to the recipient.

Where these sections live

• Family Code § 6.502 — Temporary orders, including support
• Family Code § 7.006 — Agreement incident to divorce
• Family Code § 8.051 — Eligibility for maintenance
• Family Code § 8.054 — Duration
• Family Code § 8.055 — Amount
• Family Code § 8.056 — Termination
• Family Code § 8.057 — Modification
• IRS Topic 452 — Alimony and separate maintenance