What is alimony and how is it calculated?

Why alimony exists

During a marriage, spouses often make choices that leave one of them earning much less — staying home with children, moving for the other's career, or supporting the other through school. Alimony aims to soften the financial gap when the marriage ends. It is not automatic: many divorces, especially short marriages or those between spouses with similar incomes, involve no alimony at all.

Types of alimony

• Temporary (pendente lite) — paid while the divorce is pending, to keep both households afloat.
• Rehabilitative — paid for a limited time while the recipient gets education, training or work experience to become self-supporting.
• Durational or term — paid for a set period, often linked to the length of the marriage.
• Reimbursement — repays a spouse who supported the other through a degree or career-building.
• Permanent or indefinite — paid until death, remarriage or a court order ends it; now rare and generally limited to long marriages where the recipient cannot become self-supporting. Florida abolished permanent alimony in 2023.
• Lump-sum — a single payment or property transfer instead of monthly payments.

How judges decide — the factor approach

Most states list factors the judge must consider, typically:

• The length of the marriage.
• Each spouse's income, earning capacity, education and job skills.
• The standard of living during the marriage.
• Each spouse's age and physical and emotional health.
• Contributions as homemaker or to the other's career.
• The property each receives in the divorce.
• Childcare responsibilities.
• In some states, marital misconduct such as adultery.

States that use formulas

Several states use guideline formulas for at least some cases. Illinois, for couples with combined income under $500,000, sets maintenance at 33.33 percent of the payer's net income minus 25 percent of the recipient's net income, capped so that the recipient does not end up with more than 40 percent of the combined net income, and ties duration to the length of the marriage. Other states, such as Massachusetts, New York and Colorado, have their own formulas or duration limits, and many counties use guidelines for temporary support. Judges can usually deviate from a formula when it would be unfair.

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A worked example (Illinois guideline)

If the payer nets $8,000 a month and the recipient nets $2,000: 33.33 percent of $8,000 is about $2,667; 25 percent of $2,000 is $500; the difference is $2,167. The cap is 40 percent of $10,000 combined, or $4,000, minus the recipient's $2,000 — $2,000. So the guideline amount is $2,000 a month.

Taxes

For divorces finalized after December 31, 2018, alimony is no longer deductible by the payer or taxable to the recipient for federal income tax purposes. Older agreements keep the previous treatment unless modified to adopt the new rule. Some states still treat alimony differently for state income tax.

When alimony ends or changes

Alimony usually ends on the recipient's remarriage or either spouse's death, and in many states it can be reduced or ended if the recipient lives with a new partner. Either spouse can ask to modify it after a substantial change in circumstances — a job loss, a disability, a significant raise — unless the agreement says it is non-modifiable. Retirement at a normal age can justify modification in many states.

Alimony vs. child support

Child support is for the children, is set by state guidelines, and cannot be waived by the parents. Alimony is for the spouse, is more discretionary, and can be waived in a prenuptial or settlement agreement in most states.

Enforcement

Unpaid alimony can be collected through wage garnishment, liens and contempt of court. Alimony debts generally cannot be discharged in bankruptcy.

Getting advice

Because alimony depends heavily on state law and on judges' discretion, a family lawyer's view of what courts in your county actually award is often more useful than any formula. Bring recent tax returns and pay stubs for both spouses to the first meeting.