What Percentage of Income Should Be Paid in Alimony?

Divorce is rarely easy. Complicated emotions coupled with needing to determine how to divide property and assets make the process difficult without some guidelines in place. State family laws seek to provide some degree of assistance to the parties and the court to determine issues such as how much support one spouse should pay to another.

Spousal Support

Spousal support -- the modern term for alimony -- is money paid to a spouse to prevent undue hardship on that spouse’s financial and social situation. Public policy and other concerns want to avoid one spouse going from living comfortably to living in squalor due to the divorce and that spouse’s financial dependence. Courts do not award spousal support in every case; the award is discretionary in many states. Courts use several guidelines to determine if spousal support is necessary.


Spousal support guidelines vary by state. Generally, courts look at factors such as the length of the marriage, the health and age of each spouse, the spouse’s earning ability and current income, the needs of each spouse and the prior standard of living. In Michigan, for example, courts must look at 11 different factors and comment on each factor in their determination as to whether spousal support is necessary. If spousal support is necessary, courts may determine the amount based on a percentage of both spouses' income.

Amount and Example

State family laws that regulate spousal support typically determine the amount based on a differential percentage of both spouses' income. According to Legal Zoom, a common approach is to take up to 40 percent of the paying spouse’s net income subtracted by 50 percent of the supported spouse’s income. If the paying spouse nets $3,000 each month and the supported spouse earns $1,500, the amount would be $450 ($1,200 minus $750). In Pennsylvania, the court subtracts the paying spouse’s income from the supported spouse’s income and multiplies it by a percentage -- 30 percent with dependent children and 40 percent without dependent children. Under the same conditions -- with the paying spouse making $3,000 and the supported spouse earning $1,500 -- the amount in Pennsylvania would be $450 if the marriage has dependent children or $600 without dependent children.

Other Issues

A court may order different types of spousal support. It could, for example, be a one-time, lump sum payment or it could last for a specific period of time. Couples can also agree on an amount. To protect your legal rights with regard to this issue, you should seek independent legal advice from an attorney.