Overview of Income Calculation for Alimony Purposes

The answer may be simple for a W-2 spouse. But what about a self-employed spouse? What about a spouse who is willfully unemployed or underemployed? Calculating income for alimony may not be as straightforward as many think.

While some income is easy to determine, self-employment income, capital gains income, passive income, and sometimes even phantom income can make alimony determination more complex. Our legislature, both on the federal and state levels, does not make this easier for husbands and wives when they pass laws regarding the taxability and deductibility of alimony.

Learn Income Determination and Alimony Imputation

Our pages on the subject explain how a court determines income for alimony purposes. We also committed one page to a better understanding of income imputation when a spouse is willfully unemployed or underemployed and has the capacity, ability, and opportunity to be gainfully employed.

We hope you enjoy our pages on income calculation for alimony, and we welcome your feedback on anything you read within them. You may access them by navigating to the alimony link that you will find at the top of our website or simply clicking on the links below.