Alimony

In the course of a marital dissolution, spouses may divvy up their financial assets. Some may take the form of property settlements, which are tax-free events, or alimony, which is taxable to the recipient and deductible by the payer.

Amounts paid to a spouse or a former spouse under a divorce or separation instrument (including a divorce decree, a separate maintenance decree, or a written separation agreement) may be alimony or separate maintenance payments for federal tax purposes.

Alimony, also called spousal support or spousal maintenance, is the payment of money by one spouse to the other after separation or divorce. Its purpose is to help the lower-earning spouse cover expenses and maintain the same standard of living after divorce.

Beginning Jan. 1, 2019, alimony or separate maintenance payments are not deductible from the income of the payer spouse, or includable in the income of the receiving spouse, if made under a divorce or separation agreement executed after Dec.

Divorce, alimony and taxes: What you need to know.For recently divorced Americans, alimony payments are no longer tax-deductible for the payer, and they aren't considered taxable income for the person receiving them, ending a decades-long practice. The changes affect divorce agreements signed after Dec. 31, 2018.

Received 1099-MISC for Alimony payments. Yes, you should report this income as Alimony. Keep the 1099-MISC, and a copy of your 2016 tax return in case the IRS contacts you about this income. If this income is alimony, and you report it as such, you are correctly reporting the income.

Alimony Is No Longer Deductible Additionally, only cash could count as deductible alimony, no transfer of property or any other possessions. However, with the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, alimony is no longer available as a deduction.

Alimony payments will fall under new tax rules starting in 2019.Under the new regulations, the individual who pays alimony to an ex-spouse will no longer be able to deduct those payments. And the recipient of the money will no longer pay taxes on that income.

1, 2019, alimony or separate maintenance payments are not deductible from the income of the payer spouse, or includable in the income of the receiving spouse, if made under a divorce or separation agreement executed after Dec. 31, 2018. This also applies to a divorce or separation agreement executed on or before Dec.

Alimony can be a one-time receipt or a periodic receipt or a combination of both. It is not specifically covered in 'income' as defined under the Income Tax Act, 1961 ('the Act') and there is no specific provision which governs its taxability.