Introduction
This spousal support calculator helps you estimate how much alimony you may pay or receive after a divorce. It uses two widely recognized formulas — the AAML (American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers) method and the Income Differential method — to give you a low, mid, and high range. You enter your incomes, length of marriage, state, and other key details. The tool then shows a monthly estimate, a likely duration, and a full step-by-step breakdown of the math behind the numbers.
Spousal support laws vary by state. Some states use strict formulas. Others leave the decision mostly up to a judge. This calculator accounts for factors like career sacrifice, standard of living, disability, and marital misconduct to adjust the estimate. It also includes a what-if slider so you can see how income changes affect the result.
This tool is for educational purposes only. It does not replace legal advice. Court-ordered alimony depends on many facts that no online calculator can fully capture. Use these results as a starting point, then speak with a family law attorney in your state for guidance specific to your case.
How to Use Our Spousal Support Calculator
Enter details about your marriage, income, and circumstances below. The calculator will estimate a monthly spousal support range, how long payments may last, and a full breakdown of the math behind the numbers.
State of Divorce: Pick the state where your divorce is being filed. Each state handles alimony differently, and the results will reflect your state's general approach.
Your Role in This Case: Choose whether you expect to pay support or receive it. This tells the calculator which spouse is the payor and which is the recipient.
Children from This Marriage: Select how many children you have together. Child support is calculated separately using our child support calculator, but children can affect the overall financial picture.
Date of Marriage: Enter the date you got married. This is used to figure out how long your marriage lasted. If you need help calculating the exact time span, our date duration calculator can help.
Date of Service / Filing: Enter the date divorce papers were filed or served. The calculator uses this as the end date of your marriage.
Length of Marriage Slider: This auto-fills from your dates, but you can drag the slider to override it. Longer marriages usually mean more support.
Marriage Characterization: This auto-updates based on marriage length. Short, standard, long, and very long marriages each follow different support guidelines.
Your Date of Birth: Enter your birthday so the calculator can factor in your age. Age matters for things like the Rule of 65 and retirement considerations. You can use our age calculator if you need to verify your current age.
Spouse's Date of Birth: Enter your spouse's birthday. The recipient's age plays a big role in how long support may last.
Family Size: Enter the total number of people in your household. This is used in the needs-based analysis.
Your Actual Gross Annual Income: Enter your total yearly income before taxes. Include wages, salaries, bonuses, and all other earnings. If you need to convert an hourly wage, try our hourly to salary calculator.
Your Attributed (Imputed) Income: If a court believes you could earn more than you currently do, enter that amount here. Leave it at zero if this does not apply.
Spouse's Actual Gross Annual Income: Enter your spouse's total yearly income before taxes.
Spouse's Attributed (Imputed) Income: If a court might assign a higher earning capacity to your spouse, enter that amount here.
Your Monthly Mortgage Principal: Enter just the principal portion of your monthly mortgage payment. Do not include interest, taxes, or insurance. If you need to review your full mortgage breakdown, our mortgage calculator can help.
Spouse's Monthly Mortgage Principal: Enter your spouse's monthly mortgage principal payment, if any.
Your Monthly Living Expenses: Enter what you spend each month on bills, food, housing, and daily needs. This is used in the needs gap analysis. Our budget calculator can help you organize these figures.
Spouse's Monthly Living Expenses: Enter your spouse's total monthly living costs.
Your Estimated Total Assets: Enter the total value of your assets, such as savings, investments, and property. Our net worth calculator can help you tally everything up.
Spouse's Estimated Total Assets: Enter the total value of your spouse's assets.
Total Marital Debt: Enter the combined debt you and your spouse share, like mortgages, car loans, and credit cards. If you are looking at strategies to pay it down, consider using our debt payoff calculator or debt snowball calculator.
Marital Misconduct: Select whether either spouse committed misconduct such as adultery. In many states, this can raise, lower, or block a support award.
Employability of Receiving Spouse: Choose the option that best describes the receiving spouse's job situation. Someone who cannot work will likely receive more support than someone with a strong career.
Career Sacrifice: Select this if either spouse gave up their career or stayed home to support the family. This often increases the support amount.
Standard of Living During Marriage: Pick the lifestyle that best matches how you lived while married. Courts try to keep both spouses close to this standard after divorce.
Fault / Cause of Divorce: Choose who, if anyone, is at fault for the divorce. In some states, fault can change the support amount.
Contributing Circumstances: Check any boxes that apply, such as one spouse being the primary homemaker, supporting the other's education, nearing retirement, relocating for the other's job, having a prenuptial agreement, or having a disability.
Rule of 65 Notes: If the recipient's age plus years of marriage equals 65 or more, they may qualify for longer or permanent support. Add any notes about this here.
Disability Flags: Check these if the receiving spouse has a permanent or indefinite disability. This can extend support duration significantly or make it open-ended.
Extraordinary Circumstances: Check this if unusual factors apply, such as caring for a disabled child. Describe the situation in the text box that appears.
Deviation from Guideline: Check this if the actual agreed-upon or court-ordered amount is different from the calculated guideline. Enter the agreed amount and the reason for the difference.
Step-Down Support Schedule: Check this if support will decrease over time in stages. Enter the monthly amount and number of months for each tier.
What-If Slider: After you calculate results, use this slider to see how changes in the payor's income would affect the support estimate. This preview does not change your entered inputs.
What Is Spousal Support?
Spousal support, also called alimony, is money one spouse pays to the other after a divorce. Its main goal is to help the lower-earning spouse cover their living costs while they adjust to life on their own. A judge decides the amount based on things like how long the marriage lasted, how much each person earns, and whether one spouse gave up a career to stay home.
How Spousal Support Is Calculated
There is no single formula used across every state. Most courts look at two common methods. The first is the AAML formula, which takes 30% of the higher earner's income and subtracts 20% of the lower earner's income. The result is then checked against a cap so the receiving spouse does not end up with more than 40% of the couple's combined income. The second method is the income differential approach, which takes 30% to 40% of the gap between the two incomes. Courts often use one or both of these as a starting point, then adjust based on the facts of the case. If you need help with the underlying percentage calculations, we have a tool for that as well.
What Affects the Amount and Duration
Several factors can raise or lower a spousal support award. A longer marriage usually means a longer and larger payment. If the receiving spouse has a disability or was out of the workforce for many years, the amount may go up. If the receiving spouse has strong earning ability, the amount may go down. Fault, such as adultery, matters in some states but not all. A prenuptial agreement can override guideline amounts entirely.
Duration works on a sliding scale. Short marriages of under five years typically result in support lasting only 20% to 30% of the marriage length. Very long marriages of 20 years or more can lead to support that lasts indefinitely, especially if the recipient is older or has a permanent disability.
Types of Spousal Support
- Rehabilitative — Temporary support meant to help the receiving spouse gain skills or education to become self-sufficient.
- Bridge-the-Gap — Short-term help covering immediate needs right after the divorce.
- Reimbursement — Pays back a spouse who supported the other through school or career training.
- Permanent or Long-term — Ongoing payments typically reserved for long marriages or cases where the recipient cannot work.
Important Things to Know
Spousal support laws vary widely from state to state. Some states use strict formulas, while others give judges broad freedom to decide. Awards can also be changed later if either person's income or circumstances shift significantly. This calculator gives you an educational estimate based on widely used guideline methods. It is not legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, speak with a family law attorney in your state.
As you plan your finances during and after divorce, you may also find these tools helpful: our take home pay calculator to understand your post-tax income, our retirement calculator to reassess your long-term savings plan, our emergency fund calculator to determine how much cash to keep on hand, and our cost of living calculator if either spouse is relocating to a new area. If you are also navigating property division, our home affordability calculator and rent vs buy calculator can help you figure out your next housing situation. For understanding how your income is taxed going forward as a single filer, check out our income tax calculator and tax bracket calculator.