Child support or alimony you receive can count as mortgage income when it's set by a divorce decree, court order, or other written legal agreement, you can document that it's actually been paid, and it will continue for at least three years under both Fannie Mae and FHA rules. Fannie Mae wants six months of receipt; FHA wants three months for court-ordered support. Support you pay works the other way: it counts as a monthly debt in your debt-to-income ratio, even though it doesn't show up on your credit report. In every case, the order and the payment record decide what counts.
The underwriter needs to answer three questions about support income:
All three answers come from documents. The order shows the amount and the end date. Bank statements, a state disbursement record, or canceled checks show receipt. The order, combined with the children's ages or the alimony term, shows how long it will continue.
Fannie Mae's Selling Guide B3-3.4-02 (updated Oct 7, 2026) covers alimony, child support, equalization payments, and separate maintenance:
Desktop Underwriter can sometimes validate support income through its validation service, and when it does, DU's message lists the documentation needed, which can differ from the standard list. Freddie Mac has its own requirements in its Guide, which wasn't accessible online to check for this update.
HUD Handbook 4000.1 II.A.4.c.xii(B) covers alimony, child support, and maintenance income:
These FHA standards are long-standing. They read the same in Update 17 of HUD's handbook, the version in effect today, and in Update 18, issued Aug 12, 2026, which lenders must use by Nov 10, 2026. See FHA loans for the rest of the program.
VA and USDA also count documented support income under their own handbooks, with their own receipt and continuance standards. Ask me how they apply to your file.
The cleanest proof of receipt is a payment history from the agency that processes the payments. Texas Family Code 154.004 generally requires court-ordered child support to be paid through the state disbursement unit, so most Texas orders have an official payment record through the Office of the Attorney General's Child Support Division. Bank statements showing regular deposits that match the order also work, and so can canceled checks or electronic payment records.
The history has to be consistent. Payments that were late, partial, or missing for stretches can lead the underwriter to reduce the amount used or average it. Cash support is hard to use. If support is paid in cash and spent without being deposited, there's no record of receipt, and the income usually can't count.
Support income has to be expected to continue for at least three years under Fannie Mae and FHA. The underwriter counts forward using the order. Under Texas Family Code 154.001, a court can order child support until the child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever is later, and longer for a child with a disability. Section 154.006 lists other events that end support, such as the child's marriage or enlistment. Alimony or spousal maintenance may end on a date, after a set number of payments, or on remarriage, as the decree says.
If you have more than one child, Texas Family Code 154.127 requires the order to spell out how support steps down as each child ages out. The underwriter may use only the amount that will continue for three years. A borrower whose youngest child is close to aging out may find that support can't be used at all, even though it's arriving every month today.
Child support generally isn't taxable to the person who receives it. Under the IRS rules for alimony, payments under a divorce or separation agreement executed after 2018 generally aren't deductible by the payer or taxable to the recipient, while many older agreements are treated differently. Your tax return shows which kind you have.
Because nontaxable income goes further than taxable wages, programs let lenders gross it up:
See nontaxable income for how gross-ups work across income types.
If you're ordered to pay child support, alimony, or separate maintenance, that payment counts in your debt-to-income ratio. It counts even though it doesn't appear as a loan on most credit reports.
The underwriter usually finds the obligation in the decree or support order, a wage withholding order on your pay stub, your bank statements, or your application. Past-due support, called arrears, is a separate issue. It can show up on credit and may need to be addressed before closing under the program's rules. Ask me how it applies to your file.
Some divorces produce payments that are neither child support nor alimony. A former spouse might be paying out your share of the house or a business over time under a property settlement, sometimes through a promissory note. Those payments can sometimes count as income under the program's rules for notes receivable, when the note or decree sets the terms, receipt is documented, and enough payments remain. A lump-sum property settlement is usually an asset. It can help with the down payment or reserves once it's deposited and documented with the decree.
A house awarded to one spouse in the decree raises its own question. If both spouses are still on that mortgage, the debt can still appear on both credit reports until it's refinanced or paid off, and the underwriter will ask for the decree and proof of who has been making the payments. Texas is a community property state, which can matter for debts during the marriage. See community property.
If your support order is being modified, tell me early. An increase in support you receive generally can't be used until it's been received for the period the program requires. A decrease applies right away. A pending modification can cause the underwriter to wait for the new order.
If you're in the middle of a divorce, the file usually needs the final decree, or at least a signed separation agreement or court order, before support can be counted on either side. A proposed agreement that hasn't been signed is weaker evidence. Texas divorces also have a waiting period between filing and the final decree, so timing a purchase during a divorce deserves planning.
This example is made up to show how the paper changes the answer.
Two borrowers in Fort Worth receive the same monthly child support. The first, Alicia, is paid in cash by the other parent, with no court order and no deposits. The support is real and pays real expenses, but it can't be used as qualifying income because nothing documents it. The second, Brianna, has a Texas court order stating the amount and the step-down dates, and her Attorney General payment history shows full, on-time payments for more than a year. Her youngest child is eight, so more than three years remain on the order. Her support can be counted, and on a conventional loan it may be grossed up. The children's expenses are the same in both households. The paper is what differs.
Receiving or paying support and wondering how it affects what you can buy? Send me the order, and I'll tell you how much can count, how long it lasts, and how it affects your debt-to-income ratio, usually in one conversation. Schedule a call, or when you're ready, start an application.
Links checked Oct 21, 2026.
About the author: McKade Lively, NMLS 2704474, American Pacific Mortgage Corporation dba True North Home Loans, NMLS 1850.
Equal Housing Opportunity.
Last reviewed: Oct 2026