How is alimony calculated in Texas? Texas law dictates that the paying spouse will pay either 20% of their average monthly gross income or $5,000, whichever is smaller. The difficulty with determining how much alimony should be paid is in finding all sources of income that should be taken into account and determining whether the recipient is entitled to alimony in the first place.
Overview of Alimony in Texas
Alimony in Texas is known as “spousal maintenance.” Texas courts don’t award alimony in every divorce case, but only when the spouse seeking alimony meets strict eligibility requirements.
How do courts decide alimony amounts? Under Texas alimony law, courts determine divorce support payments by calculating the average monthly gross income of the spouse from the alimony being requested. This figure includes:
- Wages, salary, commissions, overtime, tips, and bonuses.
- Royalties, interest, and dividends.
- Self-employment income.
- Rental income.
- Severance, pensions, retirement benefits, or any other form of income.
The court then multiplies the spouse’s average monthly gross income by twenty percent and compares the result to $5000. The payor spouse must pay the lesser of the two amounts.
Alimony doesn’t last forever. Under Texas law, the duration of alimony payments depends on the length of the marriage. If the marriage lasted 20 years or less, alimony payments continue for up to five years. A 20-30-year marriage could result in alimony payments for up to seven years. If the marriage lasted more than 20 years, alimony payments continue for up to 10 years.
Eligibility for Alimony in Texas
State guidelines for spousal support indicate that a court may only award alimony if:
- The spouse requesting alimony will not have enough property after the divorce to provide for their reasonable needs and
- The spouse from whom alimony is requested was convicted of domestic violence within the previous two years or
- The spouse requesting alimony cannot make a living due to a disability or
- The marriage lasted at least 10 years, and the spouse requesting alimony cannot earn enough to make a living or
- The spouse requesting alimony is unable to make a living because they need to care for a disabled child.
Factors Affecting Spousal Support
The court will consider several factors before setting the final amount and duration of spousal support payments. Factors affecting spousal support include:
- The ability of each spouse to provide for their needs
- The education level of each spouse
- The length of the marriage
- The age of both spouses
- The employment history of both spouses
- The earning ability of both spouses
- The physical and emotional condition of the spouse asking for maintenance
- Any child support either spouse must pay
- Any contribution either spouse has made to the other spouse’s education
- Any attempts by the spouse seeking maintenance to find employment
- The behavior of both spouses during the marriage, including adultery or cruelty by either spouse
Modifying Alimony Payments
Modifying alimony payments is possible only if you can show a material and substantial change in your circumstances. Texas law does not allow alimony payments to be adjusted upward, but a court can order a lower alimony payment if your circumstances change. Talk to a family law attorney if you need to file for a spousal support modification.
Alimony and Taxes
Spousal support tax implications vary between spouses. According to the IRS, if your divorce or separation agreement was executed after 2018, the spouse paying alimony cannot treat the payments as deductible and the spouse receiving alimony need not include alimony as income.
Contractual Alimony
Texas allows a divorcing couple to negotiate alimony privately as part of their divorce. Contractual alimony is different from spousal maintenance ordered by a court. The payment amount is not predetermined based on the paying spouse’s income, so the payments can be larger than court-ordered spousal maintenance. If a couple agrees to contractual alimony, the court will enforce their agreement as binding.
Here are some alimony negotiation tips you should consider before agreeing:
- Prepare for the negotiation by gathering any relevant financial records.
- Don’t let your emotions interfere with the process. Your best course of action is to make a compromise agreement that will benefit both of you.
- Seek professional help, such as legal representation and mediation, to help you resolve the negotiations.
Call a San Antonio, Texas Family Law Firm Today
If you’re going through a divorce, the San Antonio spousal support lawyers at Higdon, Hardy & Zuflacht, L.L.P. can help. Every partner at our firm is board-certified in Family Law, a distinction earned by less than one percent of Texas lawyers. Let us help you with your case. Call Higdon, Hardy & Zuflacht, L.L.P. at (210) 349-9933, or contact us online today.