TX Child Support Today Calculator App Tip: Using the Union Dues Window for More than Union dues.

The Union Dues window of the TX Child Support Today Calculator App (currently version 2.0) does not get very much love. There are not very many union workers in Texas, and consequently very few obligors elect to populate an amount in this box when calculating their monthly support amount.

Though used infrequently, the box remains because Texas law still gives obligor’s who pay union dues a credit against their gross earnings from which monthly union dues are drawn.

What other uses exist for this infrequently used entry window? Answer: any monthly dollar-for-dollar amount of credit an obligor should get. Amounts placed in this window lower the obligor’s after-tax income dollar-for-dollar (much the same way amounts work in the medical cost window) to give the resulting net income.

One amount that can be placed in the Union Dues window to help in calculating support in Texas is an obligor’s average monthly state income tax obligation. For example, an obligor working outside Texas in a state that has a state income tax (Texas does not), who agrees to do a Texas child support order, may wish to insert his average monthly state income tax obligation in the Union Dues window to help calculate a more correct net income amount.

More innovative ways can be thought up to use the dollar-for-dollar credit feature in the Union Dues windows.