Massachusetts Alimony Guide 2026

There is no single required number. Section 53(b) says alimony should generally not exceed the recipient’s need or 30 to 35 percent of the difference between the parties’ gross incomes. That guideline does not apply to reimbursement alimony, and a judge can deviate with written findings.

Need is a court finding, and the statute gives a range, not a point. Selecting 30, 32.5, or 35 percent without those findings would manufacture a rule the statute does not contain.

General term alimony is capped at 50, 60, 70, or 80 percent of the marriage months for marriages up to 20 years, and may be indefinite after that. Rehabilitative alimony lasts at most 5 years, and transitional alimony ends no later than 3 years after the divorce.

At the recipient’s remarriage or either spouse’s death, and ordinarily when the payer reaches full retirement age under Social Security. A judge can set a different end date for good cause in the first judgment, and extending an existing order needs clear and convincing evidence.

It can. If the payer shows the recipient has kept a common household with another person for at least 3 continuous months, general term alimony can be suspended, reduced, or ended. It can be reinstated if that household ends, but not past the original end date.

Unless the parties agreed otherwise, general term alimony can be modified in amount or length after a material change of circumstances. A payer’s new spouse’s income is not counted. Income from a second job or overtime is presumed not to matter when the person works more than one full-time position and that extra work began after the first order. Reimbursement and transitional alimony cannot be modified.

No. Section 53(c) requires the court to exclude gross income it already used to set a child support order. When both are at issue, judges compare calculating alimony first with calculating child support first, as the 2025 Child Support Guidelines describe.

The court may order either party to pay alimony while the action is pending under section 17. Alimony can also be requested after a divorce if the judgment did not address it, under section 34.

Not for newer orders. Under federal rules, alimony paid under agreements signed after 2018 is not deductible and is not income to the recipient. Massachusetts follows that treatment for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2022.

Yes. For general term and rehabilitative alimony, the court may go beyond the amount and duration limits with written findings that deviation is necessary, for reasons such as advanced age, chronic illness, or health insurance costs.