Spousal Support in Illinois

Illinois statute uses the term maintenance rather than alimony. It is governed by 750 ILCS 5/504 and decided by the circuit court as part of a dissolution of marriage case.

Under 750 ILCS 5/504, the guideline amount is 33.3 percent of the payor's net annual income minus 25 percent of the payee's net annual income. The statute caps the result. The payee's total net income, including maintenance, cannot exceed 40 percent of the couple's combined net income. This guideline applies below the statute's combined income threshold.

For marriages under 20 years, 750 ILCS 5/504 uses a duration guideline. It multiplies the number of years married by a percentage that rises with marriage length. For marriages of 20 years or longer, the court can order maintenance equal to the length of the marriage, or for an indefinite term.

No. It applies when the couple's combined gross annual income is under the statute's income cap. Above that threshold, or when the guideline result would be inappropriate, the court decides maintenance using the broader statutory factors instead.

It can. Illinois law terminates maintenance if the recipient cohabits with another person on a resident, continuing conjugal basis. Illinois courts apply that standard based on the facts of the relationship, not simply on sharing a household.

For divorces finalized after December 31, 2018, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act changed the tax treatment of maintenance. The paying spouse can no longer deduct it. The recipient no longer reports it as taxable income. Agreements executed before 2019 generally keep the older tax treatment unless later modified.