Free spousal support estimator

USA Alimony Calculator

Get a clear, no-pressure estimate of monthly alimony and how long payments may last. Enter your state, the length of the marriage, and both spouses' incomes to see the numbers.

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Estimate your monthly alimony

Enter a few details to see an illustrative estimate. No personal information is stored or shared.

Your results

Illustrative estimate only.

Estimated monthly payment

$0/ month

Enter your details above to see your estimate.

How long payments last

—

Enter your details to see the estimated term

Not applicable

One-time payout option (buyout)

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Total if paid monthly: —

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Monthly take-home income (after alimony & est. taxes)

Payer keeps—

Recipient has—

How marriage length changes the term (±1 year)

1 year shorter marriage:—

1 year longer marriage:—

Plain-English summary by role

If you are paying alimony (higher earner)

Enter incomes and marriage length above to see a plain-English summary of what you would pay, keep, and owe after taxes.

If you are receiving alimony (lower earner)

Enter incomes and marriage length above to see a plain-English summary of what you would receive, keep, and plan for.

Show step-by-step math & state law breakdown

Calculation notes

Enter your details above to see exactly which statutory formula or guideline was used for your state.

Based on

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Illustrative estimate only

Tax note: Per the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), alimony payments for divorces finalized after Dec 31, 2018, are no longer tax-deductible for the payer or taxable for the recipient.

Actual alimony awards vary by state, judge, and individual circumstances. Use this estimate as a starting point, not a final answer.

Family law methodology

How is Alimony Calculated?

Alimony — also called spousal support or maintenance — is the payment one spouse makes to the other after divorce to close the gap between two households. There is no single American rule: every state sets its own standard, and courts follow one of two paths — a strict statutory formula or case-by-case judicial discretion.

Path 1 — Formula states

Strict mathematical guidelines

States such as New York, California, Texas, Illinois, Massachusetts, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Virginia, Kansas, and North Carolina codify percentages, caps, and duration tables — 30% minus 20% in New York, 33⅓% of net income in Illinois, a 20% / $5,000 ceiling in Texas. The math produces a predictable number.

Path 2 — Discretion states

Subjective judicial discretion

Most states — Washington, Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut, Georgia, and others — list statutory factors instead of arithmetic. Judges weigh the standard of living established during the marriage, each spouse’s age and health, earning capacity, contributions, and custody of the children to reach a fair and equitable result.

What courts weigh

One factor shapes the rest: child support is worked out first in most states, so it changes how much income is left over for spousal support. That is why this child support and alimony calculator includes a children toggle — switch it on and the estimate drops in the states whose formula accounts for child support.

Standard of living

The lifestyle the couple established during the marriage.

Income & earning capacity

Each spouse's current earnings, employability, and future potential.

Length of the marriage

Longer marriages support larger and longer-lasting awards.

Age & health

Both spouses' physical condition and realistic work horizon.

Contributions

Career sacrifices, homemaking, and support for the other’s education.

Children & custody

Child support is calculated separately and often lowers the income available for alimony.

Property division

The marital estate awarded to each spouse at divorce.

Tax treatment

Post-2018 TCJA rules: alimony is neither deductible nor taxable.

Example calculation

A standard income-disparity scenario

A 12-year marriage where the payer earns $120,000 and the recipient earns $40,000, with no children — the classic income-disparity case:

Payer gross income$120,000 / yr → $10,000 / mo

Recipient gross income$40,000 / yr → $3,333 / mo

AAML guideline25%–35% of payer gross − 20% of recipient gross

Estimated payment$1,833 – $2,833 / month

Duration (12-year marriage)58 months (4.8 years)

Settlement planning

Lump-Sum Alimony Buyouts & Post-Support Cash Flow

Most support awards are agreed as a set of monthly payments — but the same money can be settled in one payment up front. That trade is called an alimony buyout: instead of writing a check every month for years, the payer hands over a single lump sum today, often by letting the recipient keep more of the house or more of a retirement account, so both spouses can move on cleanly.

Why is one payment today worth less than adding up every future check? Because money in hand now can sit in a safe account and earn interest over the same years those checks would have arrived. This alimony buyout calculator shows the same payment stream at 3.5%, 4.5% and 6.0% — the higher the rate, the smaller today’s lump sum, and the wider the gap between “paid monthly” and “paid up front”. Taking the deal up front means accepting a lump sum spousal support payment today instead of years of monthly checks.

In the 12-year, $120,000 payer / $40,000 recipient scenario used above, the monthly checks add up to $135,314 over 58 months — but settled as one single payment today they are worth $121,406 at 4.5%, $124,321 at 3.5% or $117,208 at 6.0%. That difference is what a settlement is really negotiating: the payer pays less in total, and the recipient gets the money sooner.

After the estimated $2,333-per-month transfer, the payer keeps about $5,167 per month (52% of the combined post-transfer total) and the recipient has about $4,833 (48%). The question after support is the simple one: what does each household actually have left to live on? The take-home split shows both sides after estimated taxes and after the payment, and since 2019 alimony is neither taxable for the receiver nor deductible for the payer, every dollar moves across unchanged. Print the calculator above as a spousal support worksheet and the inputs, the step-by-step math and these settlement figures all come out together on one clean page.

Educational summary of U.S. alimony law as of 2026. Statutes change; this is not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney in your state for advice about your situation.

For a 50-state overview of divorce and family law rules, see theCornell Legal Information Institute’s table on divorce.

Select Your State

Alimony rules vary by state. Choose your state for a tailored estimate and answers to common questions.

FAQ

Alimony calculator questions

Answers about how the estimates are produced, how accurate they are, and how support amounts and terms vary by state.

Is this alimony calculator free to use?

Yes. It is free, with no account, paywall, or hidden fees. Enter your state, the length of the marriage, and both spouses’ gross annual incomes to see an instant estimate of monthly spousal support and how long payments may last.

How accurate are these alimony estimates?

Estimates are illustrative, not legal advice. Each state runs on the statute or guideline we encode for it — the 20% / $5,000 ceiling in Texas, the net-income formula in Illinois, the two-prong guideline in New York — using simplified inputs such as a flat net-income estimate where a state works from net income. Real awards also turn on health, earning capacity, standard of living, property, and the judge’s discretion.

How to calculate spousal support: what inputs do I need?

Four inputs: the length of the marriage, the payer’s gross annual income, the recipient’s gross annual income, and whether children are involved. Pick your state first — each state page runs a spousal support calculator built on that state’s own rule, so the same four inputs produce different numbers in Illinois, Texas, or California.

How much spousal support should I expect from a calculator?

A spousal support calculator can only give you a band, not a verdict. Formula states return a single statutory figure; discretionary states return the practitioner range — roughly 25%–35% of the payer’s gross income minus 20% of the recipient’s — because no statute fixes the number. Use the estimate to frame the conversation, then check it against your state page’s methodology section.

Why do some states show a range instead of an exact number?

Because those states do not set alimony by formula. Where the court decides case by case, we report the band practitioners expect — roughly 25%–35% of the payer’s gross income minus 20% of the recipient’s — rather than inventing a single figure. A range means the outcome depends on the facts; a single number means the state’s own rule produced it.

Does this calculator handle child support too?

No — it estimates spousal support only. Child support needs custody and parenting-time inputs this tool does not collect. Where a state reduces alimony because the payer also owes child support, the estimate applies that adjustment and says so in the calculation notes; verify the child support figure against your state’s own guidelines.

How long does alimony last in my state?

The term depends on the length of the marriage and your state’s duration rules — half the marriage in Virginia and California (under 10 years), a fixed percentage table in Illinois and Colorado, and statutory caps in Texas. When the estimate is $0, no payment term applies. Long marriages in some states can receive an indefinite term, which runs until the court orders otherwise.