Many divorce settlements and court orders will include provisions for spousal support (“alimony”) and child support. Aside from questions of how these amounts are to be calculated, and additional consideration must be how each of the spouses must treat alimony sums with regard to federal and Massachusetts tax laws. This post provides a brief introduction to how the Internal Revenue Service considers alimony for federal tax purposes. The general rule is that the tax consequences for alimony payments depend on whether you are the person paying or receiving spousal support. If you are the person making the payments, you can use Form 1040 or Form 1040NR to deduct those payments from your income, while if you are the person receiving the payments then you need to declare those sums as income. Note, however, that there are conditions that the IRS imposes on what constitutes a payment of alimony, and rules that determine whether a payment qualifies as alimony. Not all amounts paid from one spouse to another will be considered to be spousal support for tax purposes. For example, the following are not considered to be alimony by the IRS: Child support (this applies the reverse of the alimony rule, meaning that the payer cannot deduct child support from income and the recipient does not need to declare such sums as income) Noncash property settlements Use of the property of the payer, or amounts spent to maintain the payer’s property Payments that are part of the community income of your

Experts agree, the family structure in Massachusetts and throughout the United States is changing. A high school degree is no longer enough to land a well-paying blue collar position that promises a cushioned life. These economic shifts impact more than the number of people who are living at and below the poverty line, they also impact divorce cases, when disparity of income applies. Those who have a higher education and a college degree are less likely to experience divorce when compared to someone who only holds a high school diploma. This is due to the fact that there are often few benefits to entering a marriage when one is already successful on their own. In cases where both individuals hold college degrees, income is often equal and stressors within the marriage are significantly lower. In some situations, only one spouse brings in the income that supports both individuals and any children that they may have, even if they both hold college degrees. This might be due to the working spouse’s career choices or other circumstances that ultimately cause the unemployed spouse to stay home. When these couples experience divorce, the spouse that has been home may be entitled to receiving spousal support from the other. Contributions to the marriage are a determining factor in deciding if alimony will be required from one spouse, but a disparity in income can also play a significant role. Divorce cases in which alimony is paid are becoming more frequent with changing family dynamics and