Is Alimony Tax Deductible in Florida?

For decades, alimony, also known as “spousal support” or “spousal maintenance” was tax deductible for the paying spouse and treated as income for the receiving spouse, but as of January 1, 2019, all that changed.

For all spouses who entered into a legal separation or a divorce agreement after December 31, 2018, alimony payments can no longer be deducted from a paying spouse’s income, and they can no longer be counted as taxable income for the receiving spouse.

However, if a couple did enter into a separation or divorce agreement by December 31, 2018, the old law still applies. Meaning, alimony is still tax-deductible for the paying spouse and counted as taxable income for the receiving spouse.

What Counts as Alimony?

According to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a payment has to meet the following requirements in order to be considered alimony:

• The spouses do not file a joint tax return together;
• The payment is in the form of cash, check, or money order;
• The payment is for a current or former spouse under a separation or divorce agreement;
• The separation or divorce agreement does not say the payment is not alimony;
• The spouses do not live together when the payment is made (this applies to legally separated or divorced spouses);
• The paying spouse is not required to make the payment after the receiving spouse passes away; and
• The alimony is not treated as part of the property settlement or child support.

The following types of payments are NOT alimony: 1) child support, 2) noncash property settlements, 3) payments that are the receiving spouse’s portion of community property income, 4) payments made by payers to keep their property, 5) use of the paying spouse’s property and 6) voluntary payments that are not required under the separation or divorce agreement.

For all of your family law needs, we invite you to contact our New Port Richey divorce firm at (727) 862-4411.