Reporting Alimony And Child Support – Tax Guide •

Skip to main content Sign inStart filing Pricing How it works Why 1040.com? About Us Our Guarantees Filer Reviews Resources Tax Calculator Tax Guide Track Refund Check e–file status Print Return Blog Support Supported Tax Forms Knowledge Base Contact Support Sign inStart filing

Tax guide

Alimony and Child Support

Table of Contents

Taxes for Families

Choose a Chapter

Who Can You Claim

Child Tax Credits

Adoption Credit

Child and Dependent Care

Foster Parents

Claiming Child When Divorced

Claiming a Parent

Marriage and Divorce

Dependents for Head of Household and EIC

Alimony and Child Support

Filing as a Widow(er)

Kids and Taxes

You got this—all you have to do is start!

We make filing taxes delightfully simple with our flat–rate price. Every feature included for everyone.

Start filing

More Tax Guides

Choose a guide

FAQ

Coronavirus Pandemic News and Resources

Tax Reform 101

Tax-Related Identity Theft

Filing Your Taxes 101

For Students and New Grads

Taxes for Families

Affordable Care Act

Taxes and Your Job

Taxes for the Self-Employed

Tax Breaks for Homeowners

Health and Life Insurance

Investing and Retirement

Tax Savings Strategies

Tax Relief for Disaster Situations

Tax Terms

IRS Tax Dates

State Taxes

How do alimony and child support affect my taxes? 

After a divorce, it’s common to forget that alimony and child support are important parts of filing your tax return. 

Who reports alimony payments as taxable income? 

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 changed the way alimony is treated on tax returns for divorces that were finalized in 2019 or afterward—so the date your divorce was finalized is important. 

For divorces finalized in 2018 or prior years: 

• Alimony you pay is deducted from your taxable income, but must meet certain requirements to be deductible: 

• The payment must be by cash, check, or money order. 

• You and your spouse can’t live in the same home. 

• You can’t count payments made after your ex-spouse dies or remarries, since you’re not obligated to pay those. 

• The payment cannot be for child support. 

• Alimony you receive is considered taxable income. 

For divorces finalized in 2019 or later years: 

• The alimony you pay is not deductible. 

• Alimony you receive is deductible, since it’s no longer considered taxable income, but you must still report the income on your taxes. 

Regardless of the year your divorce was finalized, you must give your ex-spouse your SSN, so that he or she can report the payments on his or her taxes. Your ex -spouse can probably get your SSN from a prior tax return, but if he or she doesn’t have your SSN and can’t get it from you, the IRS can fine you $50. 

How do taxes work for child support? 

If you pay child support, you can’t deduct the payments from your taxable income. You just report your income normally, and don’t decrease it by the amount of your support payments. 

If you receive child support, you don’t include the amount in your taxable income. You also can’t count child support as earned income to qualify you for the Earned Income Credit. 

In either case, you do not report child support on your taxes. 

If you pay child support, you might be able to claim the child as a dependent. Even though you get no tax break for the support payments, the fact that you are making payments means you at least partly support the child, so you may be able to claim the child as a dependent. 

Ready to file? Taxes for alimony and child support is simple with 1040.com. 

Finances can get complicated after a divorce, but at 1040.com, keeping things simple is our top priority. Just sign up or log in to get started. 

Also see: Claiming a Child When You’re Divorced or Separated Who Can You Claim as a Dependent? Marriage and Divorce 

It’s not too good to be true. See what others are saying about filing taxes online with 1040.com

Trustpilot Try it for yourself