Updated for the July 2025 schedule
Virginia Spousal Support Calculator 2026
Virginia has exactly one spousal support formula, and it is temporary by design. It runs in juvenile and domestic relations district court while a case is pending, and only when the spouses together gross $10,000 a month or less. This tool runs that formula and is honest about everything outside it.
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Estimate Virginia pendente lite spousal support
Estimated monthly pendente lite spousal support: $620.00
The court sets the actual award; this is the statutory formula amount, not a guarantee.
| Line item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Pendente lite spousal support without minor children: 27 percent of payor monthly gross income minus 50 percent of payee monthly gross incomeIf negative, the presumptive amount is zero.Va. Code § 16.1-278.17:1 (pendente lite spousal formula: 26%/58% with children, 27%/50% without; combined income <= $10,000; JDR courts) (Virginia General Assembly) | $620.00 |
| Presumptive pendente lite spousal support, monthly (floor zero)Va. Code § 16.1-278.17:1 (pendente lite spousal formula: 26%/58% with children, 27%/50% without; combined income <= $10,000; JDR courts) (Virginia General Assembly) | $620.00 |
Duration limits
- Reserved right to seek support: Rebuttable presumption that a reservation of the right to seek spousal support lasts half the length of the time between the date of the marriage and the date of separation (§ 20-107.1, 2020 amendments).
Va. Code § 20-107.1
Assumptions
- The formula applies because combined monthly gross income is at or below $10000; the court may deviate for good cause shown (§ 16.1-278.17:1).
- TEMPORARY support only: final spousal support after divorce has no Virginia formula; the court weighs the 13 factors of § 20-107.1(E).
- The formula is presumptive only in juvenile and domestic relations district court (Title 16.1); circuit courts set pendente lite support in their discretion under § 20-103 and are not bound by it. Pre-2020 percentage history (28/58 and 30/50) is official-confirmation-required.
- Spousal support paid under a court order or written agreement is deducted from the payor gross income before the § 20-108.2 child support guideline runs.
Estimate only. The court or state agency calculation controls.
Virginia alimony under Va. Code § 16.1-278.17:1 (pendente lite formula, JDR district court); § 20-107.1 (final spousal support, discretionary factors), effective 2020-07-01.
One formula for temporary support, thirteen factors for the rest
Pendente lite means while the case is pending. When a support case is in a Virginia juvenile and domestic relations district court, section 16.1-278.17:1 gives the judge a presumptive formula for that temporary period, provided the parties’ combined monthly gross income is $10,000 or less.
The formula has two versions. With minor children in common, the presumptive award is 26 percent of the payor spouse’s monthly gross income minus 58 percent of the payee spouse’s. Without minor children it is 27 percent minus 50 percent. A negative result means no presumptive award. The court can deviate from the formula for good cause.
Those percentages are the 2020 numbers. The General Assembly lowered them that year to reflect the federal tax change that ended the deduction for support payments; older references to 28 and 30 percent describe the pre-2020 law.
Two boundaries matter. First, the formula belongs to the JDR district courts; a circuit court handling a divorce sets temporary support in its discretion and may look at the formula without being bound by it. Second, final spousal support after a divorce has no formula at all. Section 20-107.1(E) gives the court 13 factors, from the length of the marriage and the standard of living to each spouse’s earning capacity and contributions, and the judge weighs them case by case.
When your combined income is above $10,000 a month, this tool will not print a number, because Virginia law does not supply one. It shows the 13 statutory factors instead, which is what the court will actually use.
- What the formula covers
- Temporary (pendente lite) support in JDR district court while a case is pendingsource
- With minor children in common
- 26% of payor monthly gross minus 58% of payee monthly grosssource
- Without minor children
- 27% of payor monthly gross minus 50% of payee monthly grosssource
- Income limit
- Combined monthly gross income of $10,000 or less; above it, judicial discretionsource
- Final spousal support
- No formula; 13 statutory factors under § 20-107.1(E)source
How to use this estimate
Enter monthly gross income for both spouses, before taxes. This formula runs on gross, unlike Pennsylvania’s net-income version, so do not subtract anything first.
Answer the children question for this marriage: minor children the spouses have in common select the 26/58 version, because child support will be computed alongside. No common minor children means 27/50.
Read the result as the presumptive temporary figure a JDR court would start from, not a prediction of final support. If your combined income tops $10,000 a month, or your case is a circuit court divorce, expect a discretionary decision built on the section 20-107.1 factors this page lists.
What this estimate includes
- The § 16.1-278.17:1 formula, both versions, at the 2020 percentages
- The $10,000 combined-income gate, applied exactly: at the line the formula still runs
- The 13 final-support factors of § 20-107.1(E), shown when the formula does not apply
- The reserved-support presumption: a reservation lasts half the length of the marriage
What it leaves out
- Any final spousal support amount; Virginia gives judges factors, not math
- Duration of the award, which the formula statute does not set
- Fault-based defenses, which can bar support entirely in some cases
- Circuit court pendente lite awards, which the formula does not control
Virginia spousal support FAQs
Is there a Virginia alimony formula?
Only for temporary support, and only in a narrow lane: juvenile and domestic relations district court, combined monthly gross income of $10,000 or less. There, section 16.1-278.17:1 presumes 26 percent minus 58 percent with common minor children, or 27 percent minus 50 percent without. Final spousal support after divorce has no formula anywhere in Virginia law.
Why does the calculator refuse to compute above $10,000 combined income?
Because the statute stops there. Above $10,000 of combined monthly gross income the formula does not apply, and any number a calculator printed would be invented. In that range the court weighs the 13 factors of section 20-107.1(E), which this page shows you instead.
What are the 13 factors for final spousal support?
Section 20-107.1(E) directs the court to weigh the parties’ needs and resources, the marital standard of living, the length of the marriage, ages and health, child-related work limits, monetary and nonmonetary contributions to the family, property interests, the equitable distribution award, earning capacity, the time and cost of gaining education or training, career decisions made during the marriage, contributions to the other spouse’s career or education, and tax consequences along with any other fair consideration.
Did Virginia change the formula percentages?
Yes, in 2020. The pendente lite percentages dropped to 26/58 with children and 27/50 without, replacing the earlier 28/58 and 30/50 structure, after federal tax law stopped letting payors deduct support. If a source quotes 28 or 30 percent, it is describing the pre-July 2020 rule.
Does the formula bind a circuit court divorce case?
No. The formula sits in Title 16.1, the JDR district court title. A circuit court sets temporary support under section 20-103 in its discretion; many circuit judges consult the formula as a reference point, but they are not required to follow it.
How long does Virginia spousal support last?
The formula statute does not say; pendente lite support naturally ends when the case does. For final awards, duration is part of the court’s discretionary call, and since 2020 a decree that merely reserves the right to seek support carries a rebuttable presumption that the reservation lasts half the length of the marriage, measured from marriage to separation.
How does spousal support interact with child support in Virginia?
Spousal support is figured first and then feeds the child support math: the amount paid under an order or written agreement is deducted from the payor’s gross income and counted in the payee’s. Our Virginia child support calculator has a field for exactly that hand-off.
Good to know in Virginia
- If you searched for a Virginia alimony calculator, the pendente lite figure here is the only spouse-to-spouse number Virginia computes by rule; everything after the decree is a factor-weighing decision.
- The JDR formula exists so temporary support hearings are fast and predictable at ordinary incomes; contested final support is where the 13 factors, and lawyers, do the real work.
Official sources
Official sources last verified: .
- Va. Code § 16.1-278.17:1 (pendente lite spousal formula: 26%/58% with children, 27%/50% without; combined income <= $10,000; JDR courts)
Virginia General Assembly Last checked
- Va. Code § 20-107.1 (spousal support; 13 factors, no formula; reserved-support 50%-of-marriage presumption)
Virginia General Assembly Last checked
Reviewed by SupportDecode Editorial Team Page content reviewed Sources Methodology Update log
Changelog: page first published with the 26/58 and 27/50 pendente lite formulas, the $10,000 income gate, and the 13-factor final-support framing. Material changes are dated in the update log.