Alimony is a payment to or for a spouse or former spouse under a divorce or separation instrument. It does not include voluntary payments that are not made under a divorce or separation instrument.

Alimony is deductible by the payer and must be included in the spouse’s or former spouse’s income. To be alimony, a payment must meet certain requirements. Different requirements generally apply to payments under instruments executed after 1984 and to payments under instruments executed before 1985.

For more information on these requirements, please refer of IRS Publication 504 Divorced or Separated Individuals.

To enter alimony received:

1. From within your TaxACT return (Online or Desktop) click on the Federal Q&A tab
2. Click Other Adjustments to expand the section, then click Alimony paid
3. Enter the amount you paid and the recipient's SSN on the following screen (excluding child support payments and property settlements)

To enter alimony paid:

1. From within your TaxACT return (Online or Desktop) click on the Federal Q&A tab
2. Click Other Income to expand the section, then click Alimony received
3. Enter the amount of alimony you received on the following screen (excluding child support payments and property settlements)