Alimony payments can be claimed as an adjustment to income on your current year return. Recipients of alimony payments are required to report the payments as income on the return for the year in which the payments were received.
How does this affect my 2018 return? If you have an existing alimony order, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will not affect how you report your alimony (received or paid). You will continue to report the payments or income on your return until the time the order is no longer valid or modified (if the modification specifies that TCJA treatment now applies).
Alimony orders made after December 31, 2018 - New orders for alimony (after December 31, 2018) are not deductible on the tax return.
Beginning in 2019, the rule for alimony reporting changes.
- Deductions for alimony orders executed after December 31, 2018 have been eliminated.
- Recipients of alimony are no longer required to report the income on the tax return.
