Tax Alimony Deduction Guide for Divorce Settlements (2026)
Understand alimony tax rules: pre-2019 deduction, post-2019 changes, divorce agreement timing, and alimony tax treatment.
Summary
Alimony tax treatment changed in 2019. This guide explains deduction rules based on divorce agreement date.
Key Steps
- 1Pre-2019 agreements: payer deducts, recipient reports as income.
- 2Post-2019 agreements: no deduction for payer, no income for recipient.
- 3Modification rules: modifying pre-2019 agreement may change treatment.
- 4Child support: never deductible, always tax-free to recipient.
- 5Property settlement: transferring assets between spouses is tax-free.