Texas spousal maintenance amount limit
How Texas limits monthly spousal maintenance.
Texas Family Code §8.055 states that a court may not order monthly maintenance above the lesser of $5,000 or 20% of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income. This calculator performs that ceiling calculation and shows which limit controls. [2]
Lower of $5,000 or 20% of average monthly gross income.
The result is a legal maximum under the amount provision. It is not a prediction that a court will order that amount.
Eligibility comes first. Section 8.051 requires the spouse seeking maintenance to lack sufficient property to provide for minimum reasonable needs and to satisfy one of the statute's additional eligibility paths. The statute also contains separate duration rules. Because those questions depend on facts that this amount calculator does not resolve, the page does not turn the maximum into an expected award or a lifetime total. [1]
Questions about the Texas alimony calculation.
Is Texas alimony always capped at $5,000 per month?
$5,000 is one side of the statutory amount ceiling. The other side is 20% of the paying spouse's average monthly gross income. The court may not order more than the lower of those two figures under §8.055. [2]
Does a result from this calculator mean the receiving spouse qualifies for alimony?
No. Texas calls court-ordered alimony “spousal maintenance.” Section 8.051 contains separate eligibility requirements. This calculator does not decide whether those requirements are satisfied. [1]
How long can Texas spousal maintenance last?
Section 8.054 contains duration limits that depend on the eligibility path and marriage length, and it directs courts in many cases to use the shortest reasonable period that allows the receiving spouse to meet minimum reasonable needs. This calculator does not produce a duration because it does not determine the eligibility path. [3]
Texas alimony sources and calculator limits
- 01Texas Legislature: Family Code §8.051, eligibility for maintenance
- 02Texas Legislature: Family Code §8.055, amount of maintenance
- 03Texas Legislature: Family Code §8.054, duration of maintenance order
Public-source check: September 6, 2026. Current calculator rules release: 0.18.0. Source checking and automated testing are not attorney review or a guarantee of legal correctness.