Updated October 24, 2026. Quick answer: Tax Topic 452 is the IRS page on alimony and separate maintenance. It lists the requirements a payment must meet and the payments that never count, such as child support. It also splits the tax treatment by when the divorce or separation agreement was executed.
Quick reference
| Item | What the IRS topic says |
|---|---|
| What may qualify | “Amounts paid to a spouse or a former spouse under a divorce or separation instrument” |
| Joint return test | “The spouses don’t file a joint return with each other” |
| Form of payment | “The payment is in cash (including checks or money orders)” |
| Child support | “Child support is never deductible and isn’t considered income.” |
| Agreement executed after 2018 | “Alimony and separate maintenance payments the recipient spouse receives under such an agreement are not included in their gross income.” |
The tests a payment must meet
The topic says “A payment is alimony or separate maintenance if all the following requirements are met:” Among them, it lists “The payment is to or for a spouse or a former spouse made under a divorce or separation instrument” and “There’s no liability to make the payment (in cash or property) after the death of the recipient spouse”.
Two more tests are “The payment isn’t treated as child support or a property settlement” and a rule on the agreement itself: “The divorce or separation agreement does not designate the payment as not includable in gross income of the payee spouse and not allowable as a deduction to the payer spouse.”
What does not count
The topic says “Not all payments under a divorce or separation instrument are alimony or separate maintenance.” The excluded items include “Child support,” “Voluntary payments (that is, payments not required by a divorce or separation instrument).” and “Payments to keep up the payer’s property,”
When a decree calls for both, the topic says “the payments apply to child support first.” It continues “Only the remaining amount is considered alimony.”
Tax treatment and reporting
For older agreements, the topic says “Generally, alimony or separate maintenance payments are deductible by the payer spouse and includible in the recipient spouse’s income if paid under a divorce or separation agreement executed before 2019.”
For newer ones, it says “The payer spouse can’t deduct alimony or separate maintenance payments made under a divorce or separation agreement (1) executed after 2018, or (2) executed before 2019 but later modified if the modification expressly states the repeal of the deduction for alimony payments applies to the modification.” Our page on alimony modifications and the deduction looks at the modification wording.
On reporting, the topic says “you may deduct from income the amount of alimony or separate maintenance you paid, whether or not you itemize your deductions.” A recipient is told “you must include the amount of alimony or separate maintenance you received as income.” Both sides are told to exchange a taxpayer number: “You must provide your SSN or ITIN to the spouse or former spouse making the payments, otherwise you may have to pay a $50 penalty.” See also Schedule 1 lines 18 and 19 and lines 2a and 2b.
Where this comes from
This page describes the IRS page titled Topic no. 452, Alimony and separate maintenance, as served on irs.gov on October 24, 2026. The IRS page shows that it was last reviewed or updated on 24 Sep 2026. The IRS can change a topic after we read it, and the IRS page controls. General information, not tax or legal advice.
Common mistakes
- Counting child support as alimony. The topic says “Child support is never deductible and isn’t considered income.”
- Treating a short payment as alimony first. The topic says “the payments apply to child support first.”
- Treating a voluntary payment as alimony. The topic excludes “Voluntary payments (that is, payments not required by a divorce or separation instrument).”
- Applying one rule to every agreement. The topic ties the result to when it was executed: “executed before 2019”
- Leaving off the other spouse’s number. The topic warns “your deduction may be disallowed”
Related: IRS tax topics by number, Alimony modifications and the deduction, Schedule 1 lines 18 and 19, Schedule 1 lines 2a and 2b, Divorce and your money, Divorce timing tax calculator, and Schedule 1 (Form 1040).
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Answer againSources
- IRS, Topic no. 452, Alimony and separate maintenance (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc452
- IRS, Tax topics index (irs.gov): https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics
Read from the IRS pages linked above on October 24, 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice. The IRS topic page and the instructions for your own form control, and your own facts decide the outcome.