How maintenance works in New York
New York uses the word maintenance for alimony. Since the 2015 reform, both temporary maintenance, paid while the divorce is pending (N.Y. Dom. Rel. Law §236(B)(5-a)), and post-divorce maintenance (§236(B)(6)) start from the same guideline formula. The judge orders the guideline amount unless it would be unjust or inappropriate under the factors in the statute. The calculator above applies the formula to your numbers. It cannot tell you what a court will order.
Who pays
The payor is the spouse with the higher income and the payee is the spouse with the lower income. Income is measured as for child support under the Child Support Standards Act (Family Court Act §413(1)(b)(5)): gross income as it should appear on the federal tax return, plus other income the Act counts, such as investment income not on the return, certain benefits and some self-employment deductions added back, and any income the court imputes. For post-divorce maintenance, income from property distributed in the divorce also counts.
From that figure the Act subtracts:
- Social Security and Medicare taxes actually paid, and New York City or Yonkers income tax actually paid;
- unreimbursed employee business expenses, except where they reduce personal expenses;
- alimony or maintenance actually paid to a former spouse who is not part of this case, under a court order or a valid written agreement;
- child support actually paid, under an order or written agreement, for other children the spouse must support;
- public assistance and Supplemental Security Income.
Maintenance paid or to be paid to the other spouse in the same case is not subtracted. The calculator has a gross income field and a deductions field for each spouse, and works on the difference.
The formula
The court runs two calculations and takes the lower one. If the result is zero or less, the guideline amount is zero.
| Situation | First calculation | Second calculation |
|---|---|---|
| Child support is paid for children of the marriage and the payor is the noncustodial parent | 20% of payor income minus 25% of payee income | 40% of combined income minus payee income |
| No child support for children of the marriage, or child support is paid but the payor is the custodial parent | 30% of payor income minus 20% of payee income | 40% of combined income minus payee income |
Example with no child support: a payor earning $90,000 and a payee earning $30,000. The first calculation gives $27,000 minus $6,000, or $21,000. The second gives 40% of $120,000 minus $30,000, or $18,000. The guideline amount is the lower figure, $18,000 a year, which is $1,500 a month. Both conditions matter for the first row: child support must be paid for children of the marriage and the payor must be the noncustodial parent. If the higher earner has custody, the second row applies even though the other parent pays child support. When there is child support, maintenance is figured first, then moves from the payor's income to the payee's income for the child support calculation.
The income cap
The formula applies to the payor's income up to a cap. The statute set it at $184,000 and raises it every two years from March 2020 by the change in consumer prices; the Office of Court Administration determines and publishes each new figure. The cap is $241,000 from March 1, 2026 (it was $228,000 before), and the next adjustment is due on March 1, 2028. When the payor earns more than the cap, the guideline amount is the formula on income up to the cap, and the judge decides whether to award anything on the extra income, stating the factors and reasons. If the cap has been adjusted and the calculator does not yet have the new figure, it shows no guideline amount for a payor above the old cap, only the result up to the old cap as a minimum.
The self-support reserve
Maintenance cannot leave the payor with less than the self-support reserve, the same figure used for child support: $21,546 a year from March 1, 2026. If the formula would cut below it, the amount becomes the payor's income minus the reserve. If the payor's income is already below the reserve, the law presumes that no maintenance is awarded.
How long it lasts
Temporary maintenance ends no later than the divorce judgment or the death of either spouse, and its duration is set by looking at the length of the marriage. For post-divorce maintenance, the statute offers an advisory schedule based on the length of the marriage, from the wedding to the filing of the divorce. The bands are not rounded to whole years: a marriage of 15 years and 6 months is more than 15 years, so it falls in the second band. Enter the extra months in the calculator.
| Length of marriage | Share of the marriage length |
|---|---|
| Up to 15 years | 15% to 30% |
| More than 15, up to 20 years | 30% to 40% |
| More than 20 years | 35% to 50% |
The judge may use the schedule or not, must consider the statutory factors either way, and may award maintenance with no end date in an appropriate case. Expected retirement and retirement assets also count. Post-divorce maintenance ends on the death of either spouse or the payee's remarriage.
When the judge departs from the guideline
The court can adjust the amount after finding it unjust or inappropriate, looking at factors such as age and health, earning capacity, the standard of living during the marriage, care of children or relatives, domestic violence that limits earning ability, tax consequences and contributions as a homemaker. It must put the unadjusted amount and its reasons in writing or on the record. Spousal support in Family Court under Family Court Act §412 follows the same formula. For the child support side, see the New York child support calculator.