Alimony or separate maintenance – in general

Amounts paid to a spouse or a former spouse under a divorce or separation instrument (including a divorce decree, a separate maintenance decree, or a written separation agreement) may be alimony or separate maintenance payments for federal tax purposes.

A payment is alimony or separate maintenance if all the following requirements are met:

The spouses don't file a joint return with each other;

The payment is in cash (including checks or money orders);

The payment is to or for a spouse or a former spouse made under a divorce or separation instrument;

The spouses aren't members of the same household when the payment is made (This requirement applies only if the spouses are legally separated under a decree of divorce or of separate maintenance.);

There's no liability to make the payment (in cash or property) after the death of the recipient spouse;

The payment isn't treated as child support or a property settlement; and

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.