Alimony/Spousal Support Calculator
Estimate spousal support amount and duration from income gap and marriage length.
About Alimony/Spousal Support Calculator
Most guidelines start from the income gap and apply a percentage, with duration tied to marriage length. Marriages beyond twenty years often attract indefinite support in jurisdictions that retain it. Spousal support is far more discretionary than child support, and many jurisdictions have abolished formulaic approaches entirely in favour of judicial assessment.
Formula
Alimony/Spousal Support
Support ≈ income gap × a jurisdictional factor; duration scales with marriage length
- income gap
- Difference in earnings, the usual starting point for support
- duration guideline
- Often a fraction of marriage length, rising for long marriages
Worked example
With the default values below, Alimony/Spousal Support Calculator returns Estimated Annual Support of $17,400.00. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Higher earner annual incomeminimum 0
- 90,000
- Lower earner annual incomeminimum 0
- 32,000
- Length of marriageminimum 0 years
- 14 years
- Support factor applied to the gapaccepts 0–60 %
- 30 %
- Recipient ageaccepts 18–90 years
- 45 years
Results
- Estimated Annual Support
- $17,400.00
- Estimated Monthly Support
- $1,450.00
- Income Gap
- $58,000.00
- Estimated Duration
- 5.60 years
- Duration Basis
- Medium marriage — duration typically a share of the marriage length
Step by step
- 1Values used
- 2Alimony/Spousal Support
- 3Estimated Annual Support= 17,400.00
- 4Estimated Monthly Support= 1,450.00
- 5Income Gap= 58,000.00
- 6Estimated Duration= 5.60 years
- 7Duration Basis= Medium marriage — duration typically a share of the marriage length
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 5 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 2 decimal places, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
- This is a general illustrative estimate and is not legal advice. Laws, formulas and guidelines vary substantially by jurisdiction and change over time, and courts retain discretion. Consult a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction before relying on any figure here.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
This is a general illustrative estimate and is not legal advice. Laws, formulas and guidelines vary substantially by jurisdiction and change over time, and courts retain discretion. Consult a qualified lawyer in your jurisdiction before relying on any figure here.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Alimony/Spousal Support calculated?
Support ≈ income gap × a jurisdictional factor; duration scales with marriage length Most guidelines start from the income gap and apply a percentage, with duration tied to marriage length. Marriages beyond twenty years often attract indefinite support in jurisdictions that retain it.
Why does Alimony/Spousal Support matter?
Spousal support is far more discretionary than child support, and many jurisdictions have abolished formulaic approaches entirely in favour of judicial assessment.
What values do I need to enter?
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Higher earner annual income, Lower earner annual income, Length of marriage, Support factor applied to the gap, Recipient age. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.