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February 27, 2023
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Do you have to file a tax return if your only income for 2022 was alimony?

  • February 27, 2023
  • 2 replies
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Best answer by MonikaK1

It depends. Alimony that is paid pursuant to a divorce agreement entered into before the law changed is still deductible/taxable. And, not all states (California is an example) conform to the Federal law change. Finally, you would need to file if your alimony is taxable and exceeds the minimum threshold for the filing requirement for your filing status.

 

The taxation of alimony on federal tax returns recently changed because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). Today, alimony or separate maintenance payments relating to any divorce or separation agreements dated January 1, 2019 or later are not tax-deductible by the person paying the alimony. The person receiving the alimony does not have to report the alimony received as taxable income.

 

Prior to the changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, alimony payments were tax-deductible by the person making the payment. The person receiving the alimony had to claim it as income on their federal tax return.

 

See this TurboTax article for more information regarding alimony.

 

See here for who is required to file.

 

2 replies

MonikaK1Answer
February 27, 2023

It depends. Alimony that is paid pursuant to a divorce agreement entered into before the law changed is still deductible/taxable. And, not all states (California is an example) conform to the Federal law change. Finally, you would need to file if your alimony is taxable and exceeds the minimum threshold for the filing requirement for your filing status.

 

The taxation of alimony on federal tax returns recently changed because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA). Today, alimony or separate maintenance payments relating to any divorce or separation agreements dated January 1, 2019 or later are not tax-deductible by the person paying the alimony. The person receiving the alimony does not have to report the alimony received as taxable income.

 

Prior to the changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, alimony payments were tax-deductible by the person making the payment. The person receiving the alimony had to claim it as income on their federal tax return.

 

See this TurboTax article for more information regarding alimony.

 

See here for who is required to file.

 

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February 27, 2023

amounts received pursuant to a divorce or separation agreement entered into after 12/31/2018 are not reportable or taxable. any such agreement entered into before 1/1/19 is reportable and taxable except if it is modified after that date to expressly provide that the post-12/31/2018 rules are to apply. w