Has alimony come up, to pay or to receive? Learn whether your state uses a formula to set it.
Alimony Rules by State: Formula States and Discretionary States
Find your state in the two lists below to learn how alimony is set where you live: the formula states show the arithmetic, the discretionary states show the factors the judge weighs, and the duration section tells you how long it can last.
Quick answer
9 states set alimony with a statutory formula, an advisory guideline or limits tied to marriage length or income: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York and Texas. 40 jurisdictions leave the amount to the judge under a list of factors (Kansas adds only a flat 121-month limit, K.S.A. 23-2904), and California and Pennsylvania use a formula only for temporary support while the case is pending. Illinois, for example, sets maintenance at 33 1/3 percent of the payor’s net income minus 25 percent of the payee’s, and Massachusetts limits general term alimony to between half and 80 percent of the marriage’s length in months for marriages of 20 years or less. Rules were checked on October 14, 2026.
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By the Legal Cost by State Editorial Team·Last updated and source-checked October 14, 2026
What to do next
Three things you can settle before anyone names a number.
1
Find which list your state is in
The section below names the states with a formula, guideline or cap; every other state leaves the amount to the judge under a list of factors.
2
In a formula state, write down the inputs the formula names
Each spouse's net or gross income and the length of your marriage in months are what the Illinois, New Hampshire and Massachusetts rules read.
3
In a discretionary state, read the factor list and note which apply
Ohio's statute starts with the income of the parties from all sources; those factors are what a judge will ask you about, and some states still weigh fault.
Formula state or discretionary state: which is yours
Every state falls in one of these two groups.
Formula, guideline or cap (9 states)
Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York and Texas. The statute or a court-adopted guideline supplies a starting amount, a maximum length tied to the marriage, or both; a judge can usually depart from it only with a finding.
Discretionary (40 jurisdictions)
The statute lists the factors a judge must weigh and leaves the amount and the length to the judge. Several of these states still set outer limits on length.
Learn more. Tap a topic to open it.
Learn the arithmetic in Illinois, New Hampshire and Arizona, and which other states use a formula.
In Illinois, when the spouses’ combined gross annual income is under $500,000 and the payor owes no support from a prior relationship, maintenance is 33 1/3 percent of the payor’s net annual income minus 25 percent of the payee’s net annual income, and the result, added to the payee’s own net income, may not exceed 40 percent of the couple’s combined net income (750 ILCS 5/504).
New Hampshire sets term alimony at the lesser of the payee’s reasonable need or 23 percent of the difference between the spouses’ gross incomes, unless the court finds that justice requires an adjustment (RSA 458:19-a). Arizona directs its Supreme Court to establish spousal maintenance guidelines, and the guideline amount is the award unless the court finds in writing that applying it would be inappropriate or unjust (A.R.S. 25-319).
The dataset records advisory guideline ranges in Colorado (C.R.S. 14-10-114), an advisory guideline in New Mexico (N.M. Stat. 40-4-7) and a statutory maintenance formula in New York (Dom. Rel. Law 236(B)). Texas caps court-ordered maintenance at the lesser of $5,000 a month or 20 percent of the payor’s income and generally requires a marriage of 10 years (Tex. Fam. Code ch. 8). Those four rest on a national comparison table, not a reading of each statute.
Learn the length limits tied to the marriage in Massachusetts, Illinois, Florida and others.
Massachusetts limits general term alimony to one-half the months of the marriage for marriages of 5 years or less, 60 percent for 10 years or less, 70 percent for 15 years or less and 80 percent for 20 years or less; after 20 years the court may order it for an indefinite length (M.G.L. c. 208 s. 49). Illinois multiplies the length of the marriage by a factor that starts at .20 for a marriage under 5 years and rises by .04 each year to .80 for 19 to 20 years; at 20 years or more the court orders maintenance for the length of the marriage or indefinitely (750 ILCS 5/504).
New Hampshire caps term alimony at 50 percent of the length of the marriage unless the parties agree otherwise or justice requires an adjustment (RSA 458:19-a). Florida lists four forms of alimony: temporary, bridge-the-gap (no more than 2 years), rehabilitative (no more than 5 years) and durational, which is not available after a marriage of less than 3 years and may not exceed 50, 60 or 75 percent of the length of a short, moderate or long-term marriage (Fla. Stat. 61.08).
Some discretionary states set limits too. Kansas courts may not award maintenance for more than 121 months, though a decree can reserve the power to reinstate it (K.S.A. 23-2904). Maine presumes that general support is not awarded after a marriage of less than 10 years, and that it does not run longer than half the length of the marriage for marriages of 10 to 20 years (19-A M.R.S. 951-A).
Learn the factors judges weigh where no formula applies, and where fault still counts.
Ohio’s statute is typical: the court must consider a list of factors that begins with the income of the parties from all sources, including income from the property divided (Ohio R.C. 3105.18). Washington sets maintenance as the court deems just, without regard to misconduct, after weighing the requesting spouse’s financial resources and other factors (RCW 26.09.090).
Fault still counts in some states: it can bar alimony in Georgia (O.C.G.A. 19-6-1), marital misconduct can bar it in North Carolina (N.C.G.S. 50-16.3A), and fault may matter in Virginia (Va. Code 20-107.1). Those three rest on the national comparison table.
Learn how support works while your case is pending, set by formula in California and Pennsylvania.
California and Pennsylvania sit outside the two groups. In California, temporary support during the case is set with local guideline formulas, while support after judgment is decided on statutory factors (Fam. Code 4320). In Pennsylvania a formula applies to support while the divorce is pending, and alimony after the divorce is factor-based (23 Pa.C.S. 3701). Florida’s statute also lists temporary alimony as its own form.
In the dataset, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York and Texas set alimony with a formula, an advisory guideline or limits tied to marriage length or income. Kansas’s flat 121-month limit (K.S.A. 23-2904) leaves the amount to the judge, so Kansas is counted as discretionary.
Under 750 ILCS 5/504, when combined gross income is under $500,000, maintenance is 33 1/3 percent of the payor’s net income minus 25 percent of the payee’s, capped at 40 percent of combined net income; the length is the marriage length times a factor from .20 to .80.
It depends on the state and the length of the marriage: Massachusetts caps general term alimony at 50 to 80 percent of the marriage’s months up to 20 years, New Hampshire at 50 percent, Kansas at 121 months, and discretionary states without a cap leave it to the judge.
Florida’s statute now lists four forms, temporary, bridge-the-gap, rehabilitative and durational, with durational capped by the length of the marriage (Fla. Stat. 61.08).
In some states. Washington sets maintenance without regard to misconduct (RCW 26.09.090); fault can bar alimony in Georgia, marital misconduct can bar it in North Carolina, and fault may matter in Virginia.
In Massachusetts, general term alimony is suspended, reduced or terminated when the payor shows the recipient has maintained a common household with another person for at least three months (M.G.L. c. 208 s. 49). New Hampshire term alimony ends on the payee’s remarriage unless an agreement says otherwise (RSA 458:19-a).
Support ordered while the divorce is pending; California and Pennsylvania set it by formula even though alimony after the divorce is decided on factors.
In the formula states, yes, with findings: Arizona requires a written finding that the guideline amount would be inappropriate or unjust, and New Hampshire allows an adjustment when justice requires it.
Because even in formula states the result turns on income definitions, the length of the marriage and findings a judge can make, and in most states the amount is discretionary.
Information on this page reflects laws and published figures as of October 14, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice, and not a prediction for any matter. Rules and fees change; check the court or agency page linked for each figure.
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